“WAITING FOR WELZOW” – Development projects by BTU students on display

On display are works from the design projects ‘Perspectives for a New Culture of Care’ and the Bachelor’s degree projects ‘Spaces for a Shared Tomorrow’. The development projects were carried out during the summer term in the chair of Architectural Design, Typology and Space under the supervision of Prof. Katharina von Stuckrad and her team at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. The designs showcase a wide range of potential courses of action and opportunities for the development of a new centre for Welzow.

WELZOW IN TRANSITION

In 2030, the bucket-wheel excavators at the coal mine near Welzow will come to a standstill. What remains, for the time being, is a landscape shaped by extractive lignite mining, as well as the small town of Welzow, whose history and identity are closely linked to the coal industry. After decades of intensive opencast mining, the town and its residents are facing a profound transformation – and with it, the question of how the town’s future can be shaped.

Taking as their starting point key questions of identity, memory and community, architecture students on the Bachelor’s programme developed a total of 31 development projects, including 16 Bachelor’s theses. On two plots in the centre of Welzow, buildings were designed to spatially explore new forms of communal living. The design brief focused on everyday life in old age – not as a homogeneous phase of life, but as a multi-layered reality balancing self-determination, care, dependency and social integration. The aim was to develop spatial concepts that respond to this complexity and enable new forms of communal living.

The developments are intended as an invitation and a contribution to reflecting on change without losing one’s own identity.
The team from the BTU chair of Architectural Design, Typology and Space comprises:
Prof. Katharina von Stuckrad, Esther Ahr, Antonia Leicht, Danny Liu, Christian Gork and Muamer Osmanovic. 
They are all looking forward to presenting their ideas on 16 and 17 October at the former Pushkin School in Welzow and discussing possible futures for Welzow’s town centre in engaging conversations. 

Exhibition opening hours:
Friday, 16 October:
1.00 pm – 6.00 pm / 1.00 pm soft opening, 4.00 pm vernissage
Saturday, 17 October:
10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Contact:
Prof. Katharina von Stuckrad
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg
Architectural Design, Typology
and Space Prof. Katharina von Stuckrad
katharina.vonstuckrad(at)b-tu.de