As part of the annual Schlaun Competition for urban planners, architects and civil engineers, students are also honoured every year in North Rhine-Westphalia in recognition of their designs in connection with specific challenges in Germany’s most populous federal state. This year, two students of the Master’s degree programme in Architecture at the University of Liechtenstein have won the coveted recognition awards.
As part of the annual Schlaun Competition for urban planners, architects and civil engineers, students are also honoured every year in North Rhine-Westphalia in recognition of their designs in connection with specific challenges in Germany’s most populous federal state. This year, two students of the Master’s degree programme in Architecture at the University of Liechtenstein have won the coveted recognition awards.
At their meeting in Düsseldorf on 9 May 2014, the nine-person expert jury selected the winners from 56 entries. In total, five recognition awards – two in the area of architecture and three in the field of urban development – and four urban development prizes were granted. In the area of architecture, the recognition awards of EUR 1,200 each went to the two students from the University of Liechtenstein, Denisa Balaji from Oradea in Romania and Stefan Madlener from Dornbirn in Austria.
Both are students of the Master’s degree programme in Architecture in the Sustainable Design studio of Professor Dietrich Schwarz. Students from the TU Dresden, the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf and the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences were also honoured with recognition awards and prizes. As part of the fourth Schlaun Festival on 1 June 2014 at the Erbdrostenhof in Münster, the winners from the University of Liechtenstein will accept their awards.
2013/2014 Schlaun Competition: Düsseldorf
The task
The object of the third Schlaun Competition for urban planners, architects and civil engineers was a 52-hectare inner-city area of the state capital Düsseldorf. Entrants were required to produce a “book of ideas” showing visions for attractive, independent city districts. The judges expected a fundamental analysis, covering the issues of living and working in an urban centre and individual, recreational opportunities for retreat.
The students’ solutions
With his design for a German-Japanese centre, Stafan Madlener selected the district known as Little Tokyo in the centre of Düsseldorf as his starting point. The combination of cultural and educational establishments, public places such as restaurants, art galleries and apartment hotels, as well as inner courtyards and roof-top gardens, should strengthen integration and understanding between the Japanese and German cultures, while also promoting the awareness of visitors and people living nearby.
Stefan Madlener: German-Japanese centre
The design of Denisa Balaji entitled “With[in] Context Düsseldorf” provides a balance between architectural planning and social lifestyles and sees urban planning go hand in hand with economic, social and environmental factors. The focus is on communal areas with terraces and wide access balconies for a diverse range of communities and age groups – from the elderly to large families, young couples, commuters and students.
Denisa Balaji: “With[in] Context Düsseldorf”
Third Schlaun Competition NRW
The Schlaun Competition has been held since 2011 by the Schlaun Forum in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), in cooperation with local architect and engineer associations, the Association of German Architects (BDA), the Association of German Master Builders (BDB) and the chambers of architects and engineers in NRW. The initiative aims to promote the building culture in NRW as a response to the increasing inhospitableness of human living areas. The Schlaun Forum has also set itself the task of supporting Master’s students and young graduates from the areas of urban development, landscape planning, architecture and civil engineering.