Science under construction
Interdisciplinary teaching project for the Q5 district in Überlingen
The Überlingen residential district is an example of how cities can reinvent themselves in the future and is one of the six “Urban Districts 2050” that the Federal Ministry is promoting as “lighthouse projects” for climate-neutral, sustainable living. In three construction phases, 180 apartments will be built by 2022 as part of an innovative living space that addresses questions of energy efficiency and fosters forms of socially acceptable and cross-generational living. The urban quarter envisioned as a “village for everyone.” The facility design aims to meet the various individual interests and needs of residents (including flat share, single, family living arrangements), while also creating a sense of community through the construction of meeting points and common rooms.
A historical display with a timeline is planned in the center of Q5 to sit opposite the café: the project course deals with its design. This timeline will be embedded in the ground and arranges relevant data from the history of the place in larger historical contexts. An important focus will be the history of ecosystems, natural resources and the role of humans as a geological factor in history. Based on the Überlingen example, the project course discusses the tasks and potentials of science in public space: which stories should be presented here and with what aim?
The project course which ran during the winter semester in 2020 began with a short organizational preliminary discussion and a round of introductions on October 23 at 9 a.m. (via Zoom). Following, there were four half-day workshops. In the workshops, periodizations (geological ages, epochs, Anthropocene) as well as the selection and presentation of the historical contexts that are to be represented on the timeline were discussed. At the end of March 2021, three concepts prepared by small groups were discussed with the architecture office and the graphic designer. Due to the pandemic there is a delay in the installment of the timetable.
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You can find further information on the residential project in Überlingen on the following websites: