The “Campus Design Master Plan” is now being evaluated. The aim? To make campus a more attractive place to work and study.

Katrin Tominski

The best ideas, the greatest friendships, and the most successful partnerships are born on campus. This is where real life and real discoveries happen – away from the conventions and rules of traditional teaching. Or at least, that’s how legend has it. The reality reveals a more sober truth, however. “This is not an exciting place after classes finish. Where are the people, where can they meet, where are the spaces for research and learning?” asks Prof. Catrin Schmidt, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Director of the Institute of Landscape Architecture, who wants to see a more attractive, lively campus with a visible research presence. “We need a more vibrant campus.”

TU Dresden’s campus is the ninth largest by area in Germany. Yet life on campus is somehow lacking – there are few seats or places to hang out, few places to eat, and very little green space. Many trees have been cut down as part of ongoing construction work. To make campus more attractive, Dean Catrin Schmidt launched the “Campus Design Master Plan” together with the TUD Chair of Landscape Engineering, Irene Lohaus, and the Head of Central Technical Services, Kathrin Brömmer. The goal is to create a “livable” campus that will also reflect the research strengths of this University of Excellence.

“It is critical that TUD showcase its excellence,” says Brömmer, who believes potential for further improvement remains. “The various isolated, individual solutions do not show what TUD can really do.” Irene Lohaus, TUD Chair of Landscape Engineering, agrees. “We don’t yet have a campus that is truly connected.” To ensure that the new campus reflects all interests and does not become a chaotic patchwork, the project has been designed to be thorough and wide-reaching. An in-depth analysis is now to be carried out to establish the needs and wishes of staff and students. Following interviews with the deans of the various faculties, the project initiators wrote to the chairs. They also plan to conduct an online survey of staff. A project work group bringing together the Students’ Council, Studentenwerk Dresden, the tuuwi student environmental initiative, the campus design project group and competition winners alongside the City of Dresden and Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (SIB) is actively involved in development of a new campus project with workshops and panel discussions.

Last year, the sustainable campus competition produced a whole host of visions for a campus redesign – from bees, butterfly meadows, and community gardens on campus to canopies, bionic shade providers, and a bike leasing system. “Now it’s a matter of turning the ideas and suggestions from researchers and students into a strategy,” says Professor Lohaus. She explains that they are to bring on board a landscape architecture firm to develop a range of different scenarios, and that they are already at the final stage of the tender process. “We want people to identify with the campus,” Brömmer tells us. Dean Schmidt explains that once they have the plan, they will officially present it to everyone. “The University Executive Board is supporting the project.”

But who is going to pay for it all? “First, we have to be clear about what we want, and then we will find creative ways to fund it,” says Schmidt, explaining that SIB, the state enterprise responsible for real estate owned by the State of Saxony, is the developer on campus. “We can only steer things indirectly.” She adds that there is a budget for exterior landscaping for every new build and renovation project – there just needs to be an overarching plan to bring everything together. According to Irene Lohaus, “such a framework is often fundamental to acquiring funding.” For her part, she absolutely believes there is potential for additional finance, and she reminds us that it is the City of Dresden that is responsible for the roads.

Speaking of roads and paths: This is what the project initiators see as one of the biggest shortcomings on campus. “It is very hard to find your way around,” says Lohaus, who believes there is room for improvement in terms of accessibility. “We need to develop better signposting,” Brömmer agrees. The thinking is that this would also help to create a more connected, cohesive campus.

The project initiators also see an “absolute need for action” on mobility. Because campus includes housing but parking is extremely limited, there have been complaints from residents. At the same time, however, employees and students need places to park their vehicles. “Lots of people use the semester ticket and the job ticket,” says Brömmer, “but about 30 percent do come by car.”

Another big issue is trees on campus: Many have been cut down and have yet to be replaced, according to Schmidt. The tuuwi student environmental initiative’s tree sponsorship project is reportedly already having some success here, with the first trees already planted – and new campus trees to be “launched” in May. “Behind every tree is a donor,” says an enthusiastic Brömmer. “The willingness is there.” In other words, the first green corners have already been created. Future scenarios for the entire campus are to be presented later this spring. Some lovely spots exist already: The gardens at the Hülsse-Bau and Barkhausen-Bau buildings are great places to relax.

The Campus Design Master Plan is being implemented by the Institute of Landscape Architecture and the Chair of Integrated Transport Planning in cooperation with Directorate 4 Property Management, Technology and Security. Ideas, requests, and suggestions are always welcome and can be emailed to

This article appeared in the Dresdner Universitätsjournal (university newspaper, UJ) 09/2018 of May 15, 2018. The complete issue is available as a free PDF download here. Printed copies and PDF files of the university newspaper can be ordered from . More information can be found at universitaetsjournal.de.