Towers visions in the theater hall

On Wednesday evening, around 100 invited guests listened to the exciting dialog series "stadt.gestalten", an event organized by the Design Advisory Board of the City of Aachen, the Department for Urban Development, Construction and Mobility and  Studierendenwerk. The topic of the evening, which was presented in the theater hall by true high-caliber speakers: Building in existing fabics, using the example of the student residential towers on Rütscher Straße, which are to be completely redesigned and modernized in the coming years.

As a member of the design advisory board and "godfather" for the event, Kilian Kresing outlined in his introductory lecture the urban planning approach "Second Life. Weiterdenken - Weiterbauen" ("Thinking ahead - Building ahead"), which aims to preserve what already exists wherever possible and to establish transformation processes of conversion and building ahead as the core business of building culture. How this succeeds in Aachen without losing the actual character of the city, he showed with some promising building projects.

The renowned architect Anne Lacaton from Lacaton & Vassal Architectes from Paris brought valuable inspiration on the subject. This firm knows how to use valuable resources and create high quality with minimal intervention. Before discussing the redesign of the four residential towers, she presented impressive best-practice examples from her portfolio to the interested audience.

Revival of a "time-barred" competition idea

Founded by Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, the architectural firm Lacaton & Vassal is committed to the principle of conversion before demolition. "Never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, remodel and reuse" - their work, which is both economical and transformative, adapts existing structures to meet the needs of modern urban communities. In 2021, the firm was honored with the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest award.

As early as six years ago, Lacaton & Vassal participated in an architectural competition organized by the Studierendenwerk together with the city of Aachen for the redesign of the residential towers on Rütscher Straße, which were in need of renovation. In the winning design at the time, the architects increased the interior area of the residential units by adding "extensions" to the original facade, thus expanding the total living space of the buildings without changing their basic structure. Involved in the project was the then runner-up, Professor Pablo Molestina, who was also present that evening and helped explain the design, which at the time "disappeared without a sound in the box."

Sebastian Böstel, managing director of the Studierendenwerk and operator of the four residential towers since 2020, is now reviving the Rütscher Strasse redesign project. Together with the team from Lacaton & Vassal and Pablo Molestina, he initiated further feasibility studies last year in order to push ahead with the relaunch of this "lighthouse project" and the associated area on the Lousberg. A project for whose resumption Frauke Burgdorff, city building councillor in Aachen, and Hubertus Schäfer, landscape architect and chairman of the design advisory board, were also immediately enthusiastic.

Böstel saw the event itself as a good sign that the Studierendenwerk is opening up to the city again after years of stagnation and is seeking cooperation to work on joint projects. These are urgently needed, he said: The Studierendenwerk has a good 6,000 applicants on its waiting list, he said. "The student housing market is still very tight. One third of applicants are acutely looking for accommodation," said Böstel. Because of its social mission, he said, the Studierendenwerk must expand its housing capacity, focusing in particular on modernizing/expanding its existing buildings. A Sisyphean task: Since most of the 24 dormitories date back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and are in a correspondingly poor state of repair, they have been struggling with renovation backlogs for years.

Böstel emphasized that attractive and affordable living space that meets the demands of today's students can only be realized by incorporating innovative and economical design ideas for existing buildings. He was therefore extremely grateful to be able to build on the partnership of the city of Aachen and the expertise of the gratifyingly "unpretentious" architectural firms in this project.

After the presentations, host Frauke Burgdorff led a lively discussion. The closing words of the evening also belonged to her. In her closing remarks, she emphasized that Aachen is a "rebuilding city" and that its value lies in its existing buildings, thus offering great opportunities. She was sure that the city could take on an important pioneering role through the implementation of the towers project.