Students of the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology took part in the next part of the workshops under the international ARCHEA project. Held in an online format, the November event brought together participants from five European universities. The task was to create new urban design proposals for a neighborhood in the Aachen-Mitte district. The Polish team designed a new green and ecological neighborhood.
"Aachen Central Park" is a project made by students from the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology during an urban planning workshop organized as part of the international ARCHEA ARCHitectural European medium-sized cityproject . Students from five European universities participated in the workshop in an online format: Università di Bologna, Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Università degli Studi di Parma, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Normandie and Silesian University of Technology.
Silesian University of Technology students' project revitalizes Aachen neighborhood
© Silesian University of Technology
Driescher Hof neighborhood
The goal of the workshop was to create urban planning proposals for the site of a housing estate built in the 1970s, located on the outskirts of the Aachen-Mitte district of Aachen. The team of the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology, under the supervision of Dr. Tomasz Bradecki and Dr. Katarzyna Ujma-Wąsowicz, consisting of: Natalia Żak, Patrycja Sikorska, Adrianna Popielarczyk, Olga Ościłowicz, Karolina Piotrowska and Jakub Swoboda designed an ecological residential district with a recreational character.
The goal of the students was to design a green and ecological residential area
© Silesian University of Technology
As the workshop participants say:
Driescher Hof is a very diverse space, both in terms of development and the character of the place. Located between the central part of the city and large green areas, it has great, untapped, potential. The district itself, on the other hand, is described by residents as uninteresting and in places unsafe.
A green and ecological district of Aachen
The main goal of the students of the Silesian University of Technology was to give the neighborhood character, revitalize and organize it and create inclusive places. The priority was to design an ecological and green neighborhood that would positively affect its residents, but also a whole urban infrastructure. An important element of the park in the center of the estate inspired by Central Park in New York. The students proposed to completely change the character of the post-military and industrial areas and adapt them into residential areas.
The stepped layout of the buildings allows all apartments to be lit
© Silesian University of Technology
The new part of the estate was formed in such a way as to provide views of green spaces. The stepped layout, in which the height of the buildings decreases toward the southeast, allows the best illumination of the apartments and opens up the view of the park. The tall buildings on the boundary of the park are positioned in such a way as to obstruct the view as little as possible, while the boundaries of the new Aachen central park are clearly marked. The first floor of the buildings provides space for service and integration functions for residents.
Undeveloped land was used by students for a large park
© Silesian University of Technology
The remaining undeveloped areas were earmarked for a large park linked to the existing greenery - forest and fields, which binds the two fragments together. At the same time, the newly designed park is separated thanks to tall buildings from the existing buildings and the planned residential area. In this way, the workshop participants received two independent residential units connected by an extensive green area with service and recreational functions.
revitalization and social spaces
The project by students from the Silesian University of Technology also involves revitalizing the existing residential development by creating two local centers. In the northern part of the set area there is an existing center (pharmacy, doctor, kebab) in the form of a concrete square with scattered cubic objects. The new solution is to concentrate all these services in one building with a central green courtyard in the middle. The second idea was to create a village center in the southern part of the development, which fits in with the suburban character of the space. This center can also serve the residents of single-family houses and allotment owners as a market where they can sell their own products.
Tall buildings separate the park from another part of the city
© Silesian University of Technology
In important points of the estate, students placed buildings with service functions that form the dominants of the establishment - a cultural facility, cafes, restaurants, bicycle rentals, a pharmacy and a neighborhood store. They have the form of circles, which distinguishes them from the residential buildings. They have been connected to each other by a main avenue passing through the park, so the user has a chance to visit several interesting places during his walk.
The ARCHEA project is funded by the European Union under the ERASMUS Action KA-2 series.
Full information about the project is available on the ARCHEA website and on the pages of the Silesian University of Technology.
compiled by Dobrawa Bies
based on materials authored by students of the Silesian University of Technology
