TU Dresden

The campus of the Technical University in Dresden is a typical European university campus, an isolated community of scholars, turning its back on the city. Currently the campus is so spread out, that it is difficult to experience it as one coherent campus. In relation to the 200-year anniversary in 2028, a new masterplan will function as a base for future development strategies of the campus and determine the most relevant projects for realization. 

TU Dresden is located on the edge of the inner city, with a large diversity of urban and architectural structures and landscape features from different time periods. Atmospheres, beautiful by themselves, but all together enhance the fragmented spatial character and lack of unity. The domination of parked cars is huge, which makes it difficult to orientate and enjoy the outdoor space of the campus. Therefore, Karres en Brands in collaboration with the TU Dresden, developed 3 different scenarios. These were presented to the public, followed by an open discussion. The strongest elements from each scenario were combined into one holistic masterplan for the campus, that strengthens identity, urban cohesion and gives direction to the transformation of the TU Dresden campus of the future. 

By reintroducing a clear structure and concentrating flows, the public spaces of TU Dresden create a new strong base for knowledge sharing on the inclusive campus while powering interaction and knowledge building. 

A campus is never finished; by developing a set of guidelines and defining a quality control process a high level of quality can be guranteed. To ensure the implementation of the masterplan ideas and creating a coherent campus setting, Karres en Brands continued their work and in collaboration with the TU Dresden developed a toolbox which describes all furnishing elements and pavement for the public space. The toolbox provides options for historic and more modern areas of the campus and takes the step-by-step implementation of the masterplan into consideration. The chosen materials comply with the design manual of the city of Dresden while providing an own identity to the campus which will blend in as part of the city in the future. A special focus was put on barrier-free design, longevity and sustainable use of the chosen materials. 

The large-scale framework of the masterplan in interaction with the small-scale toolbox elements can give an answer to all future developments and in that way slowly built up a coherent, maintenance-efficient and inviting campus.