Geschichte als Haus | Haus als Geschichte: Reimagining Brutalist Heritage Through Adaptive Reuse | Masters Design Thesis

Site Context

What place could be more suitable for this than the university campus in Bockenheim?

The project focuses on the former cafeteria and social center of the Unicampus— a Brutalist building from the 1970s designed by Heinrich Nitschke. With its striking street presence and generous spatial qualities, the building holds enormous potential, despite being scheduled for demolition — a process that would result in the loss of around 4,500 tons of embodied CO₂.

Design Process

The aim was therefore to design a new typology—House of the Population—and a transformation forum that respectfully acknowledges the existing structure while reimagining its future. The transition from the personal sketchbook to the project’s “diary” illustrates an approach that understands the building as a material bank: the new HoP relies on only a few, but highly conscious interventions. The guiding principle: not to create ideology, but raw honesty.

Final Outcome

The design reduces the building to its raw existing state and presents materials in their unfiltered honesty. In this way, the building itself becomes a carrier of memory and the starting point of its own transformation—with a clear focus on the processes of adaptation and reuse. 

A demolished ceiling slab becomes the substructure of a new staircase, while former flooring material is repurposed as a defining façade element. At the same time, necessary additions are deliberately visible—new structural elements in green, spatial interventions in wood and glass that introduce light and openness.

The result is a flexible framework between past and future that enables the building to continuously evolve. In this way, the HoP responds to the changing needs and ideas of its users. A progressive, transformative, and honest house—and a built invitation to participation and a conscious use of resources.

Conclusion: Ultimately, the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse can serve as an alternative to demolition by embracing change over time. Through minimal yet thoughtful interventions, it transforms an existing structure into a flexible, resource-conscious framework that connects history, memory, and future possibilities.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]