Architecture students at Fachhochschule Dortmund have designed a sustainable building for Fredenbaumpark. The pavilion is to be built on the banks of the park lake for the International Garden Exhibition (IGA) 2027.
Only natural building materials such as clay or wood are permitted for the construction of the pavilion, which will be home to a boat rental and kiosk, among other things. Every metal screw has to pass a sustainability test at the planning stage. These requirements did not slow down the 15 budding architects from Fachhochschule Dortmund - on the contrary. "The ideas you have developed are incredibly exciting," praised Dortmund Mayor Norbert Schilff at the presentation of the students' work on the "Parkhaus, Parkraum, Parkbaum" project at the Baukunstarchiv NRW.
One design integrates the pavilion into the existing park in such a way that not a single tree has to be felled. Another connects the kiosk, boat rental and event rooms via barrier-free footbridges that open up to the lake. Another design adds an arcade to the area.
Close cooperation strengthens practice-oriented teaching
Fredenbaumpark has been somewhat neglected for some time," admits Mayor Schilff, referring to the old shed that currently stands by the lake. He sees a great opportunity in the interdisciplinary cooperation between the municipal parks department and Fachhochschule Dortmund: "With its students, Fachhochschule Dortmund has great planning capacities, while the city and parks department have areas and projects." For Prof. Dr. Tamara Appel, Vice-Rector for Teaching and Studies, the cooperation is a logical consequence. "As a university of applied sciences, we stand for practice-oriented and application-based teaching," she emphasizes. It is good for the students to be able to make a contribution to the future project IGA 2027.
After all, the budding architects' designs are more than just planning games. One of them is set to become reality. "We are looking for a good building that will enhance this location on the lake," explains Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Finger, Head of the Dortmund Green Space Office. The designs exhibited in the Baukunstarchiv NRW are the basis for this, adds his deputy Dipl.-Ing. Heiko Just. The students should also build their pavilion themselves if possible.
"We don't just want to draw pretty plans. We want to build!" says Guido Kollert, lecturer and research assistant at the Faculty of Architecture at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who is supervising the project together with his colleague Laura Wiederhold. The design of the pavilion means that essential parts of the construction work can also be carried out by non-professionals under supervision. Which of the designs will be implemented is still to be decided.
