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Bachelor Project

At the centre of the Bachelor course is a design project run over the course of a semester. The project, framed within a thematic investigation, is carried out in small groups, each contributing to a wider group study of a given situation. A specific neighbourhood or context is chosen in Munich within which students act on a variety of sites.

The focus is in the design of buildings, interiors and urban spaces from strategic thinking to construction detail. The course encourages a growing sensitivity to the character of the city and how the design of a building engages with the wider character of the urban context.

The Professors are supported by Assistant Claudia Duell-Buchecker and a number of part-time Junior assistants who are practicing architects in the city. Alongside the design project a lecture series is run addressing related themes.

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SS 2003 – Bachelor Project (4th Sem / Exchange / BA Thesis) Living on the edge
Parkmeile München–Trudering

In contrast to the dense urban of cities, open spaces are often a valuable, enduring, resilient element in inner cities. Paradigmatic in that respect are the rectangular void of Central Park in Manhattan, the green space of Hyde Park in London, or the vast gravel field of Theresienwiese in Munich. These open spaces are located in the heart of the city and bordered by prominent and impressive buildings.

However, the rapid expansion of cities in the past century, particularly since 1945, has led to a lack of conscious planning for open spaces. These areas are often left as gaps or afterthoughts between suburban communities outside of the city. Nowadays, many of these loosely built areas require attractive green spaces and pathways connecting different parts of the city.

Munich, along with other cities, is making an effort to establish green strips – called “Parkmeilen.” These open fields should allow linkages, provide opportunities for leisure, sports or gardening. Instead of a strict concept of form giving, these open spaces follow a pragmatic shape, defined by the incidental borders of built areas and leftover spaces between. This is not seen as a critic, but as a chance to establish specific and surprising shapes of open spaces.

This semester we will work with these local qualities, giving sense to certain parts of the open space, and creating relations with buildings that border it. This will give a new and clear definition along the open space and provide character and recognition to areas that are currently underdefined. The buildings should stand for themselves and are able to influence the use and character of the open space in front of them. Some of these buildings would act very locally, while others could may act almost as monuments on a large distance, providing moments of orientation.

As a group we will investigate the wider area of a linear park; creating context, character of place and ideas of useful relations between inside and outside for living, working or rural production.

Stephen Bates and Bruno Krucker, April 2023

Living on the edge Parkmeile München–Trudering