Rethinking Modernism: Activating Junkalor

Bauhaus Lectures on May 19th and 20th will give an introduction to „Designing Ecologies“. Regarding architecture, it leads to interweave design closely with multiple demands towards building physics, climate technology, life cycle balance, social factors and others.
Although it often needs highly specialized engineers for calculating, architects need a thorough understanding of the contributing factors themselves. It is this ambiguous situation, which sets up a mayor challenge today. Besides this, traditional qualities marking excellent design remain valid. Options of reuse and upgrading should be preferred to destruction and recycling and buildings with a vivid history contribute to social coherence of society.
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Activating Junkalor will be the task of Dessau Summerschool of Architecture in 2010 in respect to its overall topic of ´Rethinking Modernism´. We will work on the abandoned Art Nouveau Hall in Dessau, a plant of Hugo Junkers, a German aircraft pioneer and partner of Walter Gropius when Bauhaus moved from Weimar to Dessau in 1926. At present, deconstruction is going on at the neighbouring areas. Just recently, on April 21st, 2010, the Building Committee of Dessau City Council made a postponement for the tearing down of this particular hall until September, 2010.
Unless a strong concept is developed, which combines options of its stepwise realization with a very low budget, the Art Nouveau Hall will be deconstructed within the following months as well. Industriekultur Hugo Junkers e.V., a mainly student – run organization taking care of this issue for the recent time, provides this studio with plans and other materials and will contribute to this project.
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Studio consists of four phases:
… Phase 0: Qualities of the Existing
Present three photographs you take at the site. Show qualities of the existing which you identify as to be most important. The photographs have to be modified digitally and shall transport your issue self explaining without text. Upload the three photographs as .jpg 600*480 (landscape) to Forum Phase 0 at the moodle – platform. Deadline: May 20th.

… Phase 1: Concept
Develop an idea for Activating Junkalor and the surrounding area by strengthening the existing spatial qualities and a plan of realization in three steps, the first and the second of which has to respect the need for very low costs. Core of the concept is a use you set as to be powerful on the long term. Show an option that includes the Lamalla – Hall and the Administration – Building into your concept. Upload your result as .pdf to Forum Phase 1 at the moodle – platform. Deadline: June 1st.

… Phase 2: Design-To-Cost and Design-To-Ecology
Refine the design of stepwise realization of your concept to aspects of ecology. Optimize the enlightened space, detail openings to light, check the energetic behavior. Calculate and optimize the first and the second step of your concept to aspects of necessary investments to be as low as possible (core data will be provided). Upload your result as .pdf to Forum Phase 2 at the moodle – platform. Deadline: June 17th.

… Phase 3: Competition
In order to initiate the results as convincing as possible for the Building Committee of Dessau City, we will conduct the last phase of studio as a competition. There will be three prizes offered as rewards. The following five criteria will contribute to the ranking: a) Concept and its Stepwise Realization; b) Cost of 1st and 2nd Step; c) Ecological Value; d) Final Design at 3rd Step; e) Presentation on July 8th. Upload your result as .pdf to Forum Phase 3 at the moodle – platform. Deadline and Final Presentation: July 8th.

Studio will be embedded in Universities´ cooperation with the German Environmental Agency (UBA), which is located in Dessau and with the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.
Our excursions will lead us to highlights of Ecological Building in Germany.
According to exam regulations, successful completion of this module requires a written or drawn work. Form of final exam: presentation. Start: May 17th, 2010. End: July 09th, 2010

Prof. Dipl. Ing. Stephan Pinkau, s.pinkau@afg.hs-anhalt.de

Junkalor Art Nouveau Hall. Situation on March 30, 2010