IWZ Fachhochschule, Cologne (GER)

project partial new construction of "Centre for Engineering Science" awarding authority Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW, branch Cologne (GER) team WW+, Esch-sur-Alzette/Trier (LUX/GER), HDK Dutt & Kist, Saarbruecken (GER) gfa 90.855 m² total area 130.648 m² competition phase 04/2012 - 06/2012 restricted competition participation

Urban Concept

The extension of the Fachhochschule site IWZ Cologne means that all the departments on the existing precinct will be newly arranged around a focal point - a campus. A strip lengthening the east/west axis and housing the key public institutes of the Hochschule provides a link between the neighbouring residential areas. The new institutional buildings lie along a north/south axis, which incorporate the Pyramidenpark to the north and the Humboldtpark to the south through the distinguishing design of the free spaces and the new road network, thus integrating and expanding the campus. The gradual extension of the IWZ will be completed in five construction stages.

Functional solution

Clear structural units of varying height for the institutes, which share a charged relationship, create urbanity and density. The arrangement of the buildings in an east/west direction and the dispersed row layout create a fluent connection between the existing green spaces and the neighbouring zones. The buildings complement one another with projections and recesses and open up for the functional and spatial networking within the Hochschule. The emergence of intermediate spaces reveals exciting room situations, which contribute to the enlivenment of the campus and encourage spontaneous or planned gatherings.

Since meeting points are an important element for students during their studies, the structure of the entire science centre is designed to be open, in a bid to foster the exchange of information. As a result, both the internal communication and the interaction between the school and adjoining areas are positively influenced. The new canteen, the lecture auditorium, the laboratory building as well as an extendable space for a café or similar uses are located in the new centre of the campus. While the departments of electrical engineering and vehicle systems are all located in the southern premises, along with their three main centres (seminar rooms, halls and laboratories), they are separated from one another in terms of their functions. The department of machine systems is also in their immediate vicinity and separate, in order to make optimal use of the departmental rooms and to reinforce a clear internal orientation. The relaxed structure of the design allows for a constant adaptation to the continuously changing circumstances of the organisation of the Hochschule, in that the departments are extendable in their surface areas. Above the multi-storey car park, there is in addition an entire row area, which allows for a versatile use and is geared entirely to the demands of the science centre.