School of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Winning design for the new replacement building at the Haspel of the Bergische University

06.01.2022|12:43 Uhr

ANDREAS SCHÜRING ARCHITEKTEN BDA have won the architectural realization competition "Replacement new building Haspel A at the University of Wuppertal". After the jury meeting, the jury awarded one first place, two third places and four recognitions. The two third places went to the designs of the planning offices augustinundfrank/winkler architects and puppendahlarchitektur gmbH. The selected designs combine a new, open orientation towards the Wupper and the suspension railway.

The competition was announced by the construction and real estate company of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (BLB NRW), as the owner of the state property. "The drafts submitted show creative possibilities for presenting and accommodating the given areas in different ways," says Elke Kolfen, branch manager of the BLB NRW in Düsseldorf, appreciative of the work of the participating architects' offices. The BLB NRW is now entering into negotiations with the three award winners. After this award procedure, one of the award winners is commissioned with the specific planning of the construction project based on his design.
The flooding in July 2021 also severely damaged the university campus in the Wuppertal valley floor. The task of the procedure was the planning of a new building for the so-called 'Haspel A' building of the University of Wuppertal. The replacement of the previously single-storey building with a multi-storey building is also intended to help improve the campus situation. And there is more: “The Haspel location should become an open and communicative place where the university and the city center can network and meet each other in a new and even better way,” Rector Prof. Lambert Koch describes the idea and is happy to achieve this goal together with the to realize BLB NRW. To this end, the competition program has been expanded to include an 'urban development and open space planning ideas' section.
With a view to the prominent location on the Wupper and the suspension railway with tens of thousands of passengers every day, when implementing the new building, value should be placed on high quality standards, especially with regard to functionality, design and sustainability. Specifications that the city of Wuppertal also welcomes. The first-placed competition entry strengthens the university location Haspel an der Wupper. The urban planning answer found is a gain in quality for the entire public space and also forms a face towards the Schwebahn, emphasize Mayor Uwe Schneidewind and Head of Building Arno Minas, both of whom represented the city on the jury.

The design by ANDREAS SCHÜRING ARCHITEKTEN BDA envisages two buildings, which through their arrangement create a common center on the campus and through their design make a reference to the Wupper and its suspension railway. The design by puppendahlarchitektur gmbH is also oriented towards the Wupper and gives the suspension railway passengers a glimpse through a transparently designed exhibition area. The submission by augustinundfrank/winkler architects uses external arcades and creates a modern educational landscape with its access stairs.

Online impressions: The competition, the submissions as well as the award winners and recognitions can be seen in a virtual exhibition on the BLB NRW website: https://www.blb.nrw.de/einblicke/projekte/projektdetails/wettbewerb-ersatzneubau-haspel-a-an-der-bergischen-universitaet-wuppertal 

Do you have anymore questions?
Corinna Dönges M.A.

Head of Press and Public Relations
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Phone +49 202 439-3047
E-Mail doenges[at]uni-wuppertal.de

Nicole Zander

Press officer
BLB NRW - Niederlassung Düsseldorf
Phone: +49 211 61707-304
E-Mail presse[at]blb.nrw.de

About the Bergische University

The Bergische Universität is at home in the heart of Europe; its wide range of subjects also includes courses that are not offered at any other German university, such as safety technology or industrial design. Cross-curricular innovation and team spirit characterize teaching and research; What distinguishes them from mass universities are good student-teacher ratios, a wide range of services and funding for currently more than 1,500 scientific workers and around 23,000 students. Active knowledge transfer and intensive cooperation in business and society ensure an excellent regional network from which graduates, researchers, innovations and start-ups benefit. 275 partner institutions worldwide offer a plus not only for international research projects, but also for the exchange of teachers and students from more than 110 nations. www.uni-wuppertal.de

About the BLB NRW

BLB NRW is the owner and lessor of almost all real estate in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. With around 4,100 buildings, a rental area of ​​around 10.4 million square meters and annual rental income of around 1.4 billion euros, BLB NRW manages one of the largest real estate portfolios in Europe. Its services include, among other things, the areas of development and planning, construction and modernization as well as management and sale of technically and architecturally highly complex real estate. BLB NRW employs more than 2,500 people in seven branches. More information at www.blb.nrw.de.

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