This year's BDA Student Award (BDA Studienpreis) was presented at a ceremony at Walkmühle this week. The prize, which is endowed with 1,000 euros and was awarded for the seventh time, recognizes special achievements by architecture students and - as Luigi Penella from BDA Hessen emphasized - "sends out a signal that gives hope in times of crisis". Young architects today would approach tasks with more impartiality and dare to ask: "Why not?".
The President of RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Eva Waller, also emphasized the importance of studies in the current times: "Studying Architecture today means taking responsibility for the world of tomorrow." The study award impressively demonstrates how theory and practical experience intertwine at the HSRM and the quality of the training provided.
Lecture by Prof. Thomas Kröger
The event was framed by a detailed presentation by architect Prof. Thomas Kröger (Berlin). Using various projects as examples, Kröger showed how regional building traditions and contemporary requirements can enter into a relationship. The works presented included:
- Kirchwerder school near Hamburg, characterized by the typical regional "one-roof courtyard" and embedded in the rural canal landscape.
- Osterhof home school in the Black Forest, developed from the tradition of regional farm structures.
- Hessenthal elementary school in Schwäbisch Hall, a purely timber construction design from a competition.
- "Rickmers Reismühle" Bremen, a competition entry for the conversion of an existing building for age-appropriate living with modular residential units.
Two main prizes awarded
Jury member Nils Fröhlich emphasized the high quality of the 16 entries. For this reason, the jury decided to award two equal prizes this year:
-Katharina Schön and Daniel Krönung received the award for their project "Amphitheater - Freiluftbühne von Lißberg", designed for the Oberhessen 2027 State Garden Show. The project impressed with its lightness and clarity - translucent, resource-saving, mobile and reusable. Jury member Julia Christ praised the design as Architecture "that focuses on change, openness and community". The open-air stage is "not a monument, but an invitation - a place that connects people and shows that Architecture is strong when it remains open: for movement, for change and for life itself."
-Liv Ettingshausen received the study award for her project "House of Generations", a conversion of a townhouse in Bochum. With great sensitivity, the design transforms the character of the existing building and formulates a modern urban building block that stands for contemporary construction in existing buildings. Jury member Sabrina Wirtz particularly praised the fine analytical approach: "With analytical skill, difficulties in the existing urban and structural situation are identified and solved with architectural means."
Recognition for two further works
In addition to the main prizes, the jury also awarded two recognitions:
-Isabel Hiort was awarded for "A roof as a constant - restoration of the cloister" at Eberbach Monastery. Her work impressed the jury with its extraordinary sensitivity in dealing with the historic building. Jury member Nils Fröhlich emphasized the quality of the approach: the design combines "historical depth, constructive precision and contemporary appropriateness in an exemplary manner".
-Lena Al Reda and Hannah Eckert received recognition for the "Tanzbox Wiesbaden", the conversion of the former Wiesbaden sports arena into the new home of the Hessian State Ballet. Juror Sascha Galistel emphasized: "With few but precise structural interventions, the character of the building has been fundamentally changed." The project is exemplary of an Architecture "that makes change visible and sets the city in motion again."
