Student house as an example of good and sustainable architecture

Combining the new with the old, preserving the building's history in an identifiable way, and renovating the new spaces in close cooperation with the users in an open, flexible, heritage-friendly and energy-efficient way: this was the central task for the conversion of a building complex of the former Gottschalk textile factory into the new student house of the University of Kassel.

This project, which is unique in the German higher education landscape and serves as a model, was selected this year along with only one other building in Kassel as an example of outstanding architecture. It was to be presented to the wider public on June 26 and 27 on the occasion of the nationwide "Day of Architecture". However, in the 25th year of its existence, the "Day of Architecture" had to be canceled due to the Corona pandemic. All 166 building projects listed in Hesse can therefore only be viewed from the outside this year, access is not possible due to compliance with the distance rules.

The choice of the student house, which will open at the end of 2019, can nevertheless be seen as a distinction of the Chamber of Architects and Town Planners of Hesse, which has organized the "Day of Architecture" since 1995 and had planned 2020 under the motto "Resource Architecture". The focus is on "the relationship between the environment, people and space, which is crucial for the creation of good and sustainable architecture and vibrant urban spaces that serve as resources for today's and future generations," according to the program.

The Studierendenhaus houses all of the AStA's departments and services under one roof. The student self-administration and the autonomous departments are housed here. In addition, there are multifunctional self-study areas, initiative rooms and a cultural center for readings, concerts and theater. Under the motto "Students plan for students", the future user group was involved in the development process from the very beginning and was part of the project team. In addition to the architectural firm Kreter-Peters-Lubenow, the offices RBS-Ingenieure and PPC Projekt-Planung & Consulting GmbH, student representatives of the AStA and other specialist planners were also involved. The client was the University of Kassel.