25 June 2014

'Möbiusban(k)d' ‒ University Kassel

In April 2014 a student project was tendered to design, to develop and to realize a slender concrete shell on the campus of the University in Kassel.

The time frame for the project was limited to 14 weeks - the duration of the summer term. A group of 27 students of the school of architecture in their bachelor- and master studies worked under the supervision of a mixed team of architects and structural engineers from the department of structural systems.
 

Two boundary conditions have been predefined. Firstly the site: The University has given the construction permission on a prominent spot visible from all sides directly in front of the central canteen. Secondly the material: A big pack of high performance concrete as well as the mesh reinforcement has been sponsored by the industry partner DUCON®.
 

The project started up with a competition phase where seven individual groups were asked to find a concept that reacts to the site with a function of their choice. The proposals, covering sculptures, roofs, benches and seats, have been reviewed by a mixed jury who selected one proposal for the following optimization and construction phases.

The winning concept was a concrete bench, which describes the form of a Möbius strip.

 

Award competition campus 2015 – Möbiusban(k)d; Competitionline Wettbewerbe und Architektur Verlags GmbH, Berlin; Januar 2015