Hanover's Vahrenwald district is on the move. The development of the previously isolated area around the Musikzentrum and the reconnection with its surroundings offer the opportunity to act as a catalyst for sustainable neighbourhood development in the surrounding and beyond - as an exciting productive quarter for cultural industries and urban production, as a green corridor that connects and improves the urban climate and as an open, inviting urban space for play, sport and exercise, especially for children and young people.

In terms of urban space, the neighbourhood has two central qualities. On one side, the urban space is characterised by the typical 'Vahrenwald block' - clearly structured spaces, characterised by residential use and protected greenery in the inner courtyards, but also a lack of public green, recreational and play areas. On the other side, the railway line borders the neighbourhood - a strong barrier effect, noise pollution, but also biotope structures worthy of protection and plenty of space for previously underrepresented uses and new ideas.

A targeted opening towards the neighbourhood and a diverse mix of uses will turn the site into an inclusive meeting place that combines commerce, housing, culture, education and social participation. Low-threshold cultural and leisure activities not only promote creativity and equal opportunities, but also strengthen the residents' sense of belonging. By reflecting on different planning scenarios, an overall concept was developed that focuses on resilient, phased urban development, utilises the potential of the existing buildings and anticipates the dynamics of the local cultural scene.

The transformation of Trnavské Mýto into a dynamic cultural and urban hub is entering its next phase. With the building permit secured, Istropolis—designed by CITYFÖRSTER and KCAP in collaboration with Immocap—will break ground in summer 2025.

The project will introduce a state-of-the-art concert and congress hall, modern residences, and high-quality office spaces. The 3,000-person venue will host diverse cultural and business events, featuring in-the-round seating and multi-event flexibility. Offices will include a grand atria and flexible workspaces, while the residences will be nestled within green courtyards and pedestrian-friendly streets.

Istropolis sets new standards in sustainable urban development, integrating passive climate solutions, energy-efficient design, and biodiverse public spaces with 147 trees, 70 local plant species, and dedicated cycling infrastructure. Long overlooked despite its central location, Trnavské Mýto will soon be revitalized with green promenades, fountains, and a lively public square, supporting markets, gatherings, and everyday life.

With construction set to begin, Istropolis moves from vision to reality, shaping the future of Bratislava through architecture, sustainability, and vibrant public life.

The overall objective of the assignment is to develop a Tourism Master Plan for the Tourism Development Area (TDA) of Dushanbe and surrounding areas that is seamlessly integrated with plans for national, regional, and urban development, including relevant legal and regulatory requirements, sociocultural and environmental safeguards, financing needs and modalities, and assessment of economic viability of proposed investments along with more detailed pre-feasibility studies on the highest-priority individual projects. To achieve the overall objective, the following specific objectives are established:

1. Conduct a comprehensive Strategic Analysis for tourism development in Dushanbe, including tourism demand and marketing mix fundamentals of tourism clusters, supporting factors and resources for destination competitiveness and sustainability, infrastructure and urban services in tourism clusters, regulatory/planning framework, sociocultural and environmental impacts.

2. Develop a Tourism Master Plan for Dushanbe based on its key success factors as international destination, defining strategic framework, spatial tourism planning, a governance structure for tourism development, high-level development plans in critical components of tourism competitiveness and sustainability, sociocultural and environmental safeguards, and investment plan with the prioritization of the proposed projects.

3. Prepare Concept Papers for the highest priority investment projects, including description, rationale, scope, and expected impacts.

Our design proposal for a pedestrian bridge competition in Meidling, Vienna, transforms the district by combining urban design, nature, and community. The task was to link the new security center development, with 4,000 employees located north of the highway and train tracks, to the tram station in Meidling to the south.

Instead of simply building a linear connection, we envisioned the bridge as a floating public space that reclaims underutilized infrastructure. Spanning roads and railways, the design connects existing parks, creating a cohesive green corridor. At its heart is an elevated public square- a vibrant space featuring green areas, a nature-inspired playground, a sports zone, and a café with views of Vienna.

This „hijacking infrastructure" approach reimagines the site not as a gap to bridge but as an opportunity to enhance engagement, recreation, and ecological richness in the surroundings. The design incorporates native trees, water-permeable surfaces, and rainwater management to improve its environmental footprint. Parks like Theodor-Körner-Park and Kasernenpark are unified under the MeidLine vision, offering complementary activities while enhancing space for greenery and biodiversity.

A participatory development process ensures the local community helps shape the final space, which could host events, markets, and performances. By prioritizing green infrastructure and flexible urban design, the MeidLine not only connects but revitalizes. This project demonstrates how underutilized infrastructure can catalyze social cohesion and environmental restoration, creating a greener, more dynamic future for rapidly growing cities like Vienna.

Renders by: The Big Picture

The area in Munich's north is shaped by a tension between agricultural use and recreational activities. To resolve conflicts among stakeholders, a „green forum" is proposed – a negotiation space addressing topics such as social inclusion, local identity, ecological diversity, and sustainable development. The plan aims to preserve open spaces while creating new neighborhoods that integrate seamlessly into the landscape and meet urban and ecological requirements.

Three potential development areas emerge: two urban quarters north of Feldmoching and east of Ludwigsfeld, and a green-blue quarter north of Fasanerie. Feldmoching-North offers a mixed-use concept framed by a noise protection forest and commercial spaces. Ludwigsfeld-East will feature a balanced housing mix, communal living options, and noise mitigation through commercial zones. The Fasanerie quarter focuses on an open, landscape-oriented design with retention areas. Green neighborhood zones in all developments connect existing areas with new ones, creating meeting points and fostering community. A mix of social offerings, communal housing, and businesses promotes vibrant, resilient neighborhoods.

Mobility is enhanced through improved public transport (tram extensions and express buses), new cycling and pedestrian paths, as well as car and bike-sharing. The goal is a structure that enables short distances and minimizes individual motorized traffic. This concept combines sustainable urban development with the unique characteristics of the landscape, creating a future-proof area.

Large-scale networked, small-scale mixed and circularly organised - this is how we envisage the future urban expansion of the growing city of Leipzig. The landscape and urban space of Heiterblick-Süd is characterised by typologically very different settlement clusters within an open space shaped by woodland and agriculture. The design takes up this existing structure and supplements it with another compact and mixed neighbourhood embedded in a flowing and interconnected landscape - the neighbourhood island Heiterblick.

The landscape of the Paunsdorfer Bogen is continued both to the north and south and linked with the forest and field areas to the east of the motorway. The compact neighbourhood contour folds inwards and creates green fingers that act as climate corridors and ensure effective air exchange within the neighbourhood. This creates a total of five clusters that overlap in the centre and form a bundled, central district hub with a wide variety of uses. In addition to the common centre, five green squares will create a hub and meeting points for the various neighbourhoods. These will have clear addresses and different characters. The individual neighbourhoods each have their own mix of different residential building typologies, while the centre of the district is characterised by a vertical mix of uses and public ground floor zones. The focus here is on communal and sufficient forms of living.

At Campus Flensburg the landscape takes center stage. The site, which is shared between the European University Flensburg (EUF) and the University of Flensburg, features areas of dense urban structures juxtaposed against expanses of undisturbed nature. Because of its proximity to the town's centre, the campus constitutes an important site for enabling citizens' access to nature, as well as a social space and a logistical link for students. Our design acknowledges this, and despite expanding the campus to accommodate more students and add new uses, no additional land is sealed.

The plan was developed through a cooperative workshop procedure together with our team-mates at TREIBHAUS. It embraces the different urban planning qualities of the two universities and the connecting landscape park as well as the needs of all stakeholders, locating shared facilities for all users at the heart of the campus. A central element of the design is the campus loop, which serves as an important pedestrian route across the campus while also facilitating orientation. This path is complemented by the garden loop, a greener route creating connections to the open spaces and the surrounding area.

The overall campus design observes holistic principles of sufficiency and circularity; requirements for buildings, infrastructure and parking spaces are critically scrutinised, while sustainable mobility and energy solutions go hand in hand with integrated design to ensure that resources are efficiently shared and reused. The consistent development of ground-level parking and a strategy of redensification preserves the defining quality of the campus to be preserved - its green, open landscape.

The Henschel Quarter opens up hertitage sites to the public and secures them through flexible use. It is integrated into the city and is accessible to everyone. The aim is to preserve the historic industrial culture and make it usable. Listed buildings are carefully restored and remain part of the public space. The industrial past will be preserved through minimally invasive interventions, while new and predominantly commercial uses will revitalize the old halls. The open space will be transformed, historical traces such as tracks and crane runways will be preserved, supplemented by green spaces and playgrounds. In terms of urban planning, small-scale building typologies create the transition to adjacent districts, while high points mark important locations. Connections for pedestrians and cyclists create a continuous and close-knit network in the district. The existing buildings will be supplemented by new buildings whose design is based on the industrial character. Historic parts of the buildings will be retained and partially integrated into the outdoor space. In the center of the quarter, a "hall for all" with restaurants, culture and sports will be created, surrounded by creative and commercial uses.

The Henschel Quarter focuses on sustainability by preserving the existing buildings and reusing gray energy. Demolition materials are recycled on site and new buildings are constructed from sustainable materials. Renewable energies such as solar panels and geothermal energy supply the quarter, while open spaces improve the microclimate, and the combination of history, commercial, cultural and innovative offerings makes the Henschel Quarter a vibrant part of Kassel.

What potential does Frankfurt's city centre have for conversion and sustainable inner city development? The Gutleut district in the heart of Frankfurt has so far been an infrastructurally characterised transit area and largely isolated from the nearby banks of the Main. The concept pursues the vision of transforming the area into a productive city and combining urgently needed affordable housing with urban production and new neighbourhood infrastructure. Gutleutstrasse becomes a climate strip and connects the north and south of the neighbourhood as a linear open space. Green axes connect the neighbourhood with the water. Public and residential facilities such as a school, daycare centre, local supermarket and neighbourhood meeting point ensure frequency and short distances. Institutional spaces such as the sports hall and theatre open their doors to the neighbourhood.
The banks of the Main will be designed as a sports and recreational area and, together with the Klimastrip, will create a new blue-green neighbourhood character. In the overarching urban context, Gutleut-West will in future follow the guiding principle of a high-contrast, loosened-up and green urban landscape. Striking landmarks such as the power station and the water reservoir characterise the cityscape and mark the transition to the city centre. The central idea of 'infrastructure as a lever' illustrates the transformative potential of human-centred infrastructures. Such infrastructures go beyond their original, purely technical function and create the conditions for positive social developments. They offer the opportunity to attract interesting stakeholders from different areas and thus create synergies that radiate far beyond the built environment.

How can the quality of living and lifestyle of a city and village be combined? The urban village Lörick combines characteristics that are classically described as 'urban', such as high urban density, a mix of uses and good infrastructure, with those of 'village' coexistence, such as neighbourhood identities and a direct connection to green spaces. This makes it a meaningful and integrated addition to the Düsseldorf district of Lörick, which is characterised by the contrast between urban and village structures.
The landscape and urban design concept picks up on the historically anchored field structures developed over decades, which still characterise and surround the planning area today. The landscape was successively divided into strips of different widths with a north-south orientation and thus cultivated over the years. This existing structure is taken up spatially and transformed to meet the requirements of an urban village. Analogous to the north-south orientated field structures of the surrounding landscape, differently programmed 'field strips' are created that accommodate buildings and open space uses. Each building is given as large an intersection as possible with a green strip characterised by the landscape, so that the desire to live in the countryside is addressed despite the high urban density.

The historic port area of the Merwevierhavens (M4H) in Rotterdam will soon begin an extensive redevelopment. Once deeply embedded in the maritime world of the Port of Rotterdam, the area is now transitioning towards new futures. Industry is moving away, and new developments will transform the area towards into a vibrant mixed-use urban district. The planning framework envisions a circular economy, smart mobility and sustainable energy concepts, among other things.

Faced with the prospect of this change, Keilecollectief took the opportunity to ask itself "How do we want to build in the future?" This exhibition is a co-production of answers and further questions. It explores building cultures of the past, present and possible futures. The question is dissected into the themes of architecture, materials, urbanism, and landscape.

The question, "How do we want to build?" or rather, "How do we want to build cities?", inevitably entails the bigger question of "How do we want to live in future cities?" Cityförster's contribution to the answer is twofold. Over a historical-to-speculative timeline of 1900-2050, we worked to analyze the relations between socio-economic trends, spatial policy and iconic societal developments. Through this work it becomes clear that policy is always dictating a certain quality and style of life.

During the 20th century we observed the rise and increasing friction of our economy of growth, and how this resulted in the enormous climate impacts we are experiencing today. On the other hand, our research into four case studies reveals how urban factors such as the urban fabric, density and space ratios all impact our way of life. The study shows that high-density inner-city neighbourhoods are most cost-efficient, while also hinting that these neighbourhoods and their residents may generate lower ecological footprints.

Looking to the future, we propose spatial planning based on "sufficiency"; a rationale of urban design for a lifestyle of enough, instead of surplus. Owning less and sharing more is a key principle for community-based design, and future urban design should consider this at its core. With compact homes, biobased buildings and shared facilities, future cities should enable a sustainable lifestyle for all residents. This rationale, which reduces emissions of buildings, cities and residents, is what we call Carbon-Based Urbanism.

The exhibition was on public display from June 15 until September 15 2024 in Keilepand, Rotterdam, and was accompanied by a supporting programme filled with guided tours, open days, presentations, debate nights, movie screenings and serious games. Through this work, Cityförster contributes to the discourse about building practices in the Netherlands. The exhibition was a co-production with Keilecollectief, Group A/CarbonLab, Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven, De Urbanisten and Studio Adams, and was supported by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, Gemeente Rotterdam, Programmabureau M4H, AIR Rotterdam, Cordeel, Vandersanden, and Dura Vermeer Bouw Heyma.

The site of the former state authority building is located in the framework plan area of the federal district in Bonn. In the „Laboratory" area of specialization, this formulates a diverse mixed quarter with a residential focus for the site. Following a study on the distribution of use and building mass, an urban development framework plan was drawn up in 3 urban development variants.
This involves the preservation of two existing buildings with a gross floor area of around 45,000 m², the demolition of which had actually already been decided. Two urban residential courtyards and two high-rise buildings with a plinth level complement the existing „Liegende-8" and „L-building" to create a quarter with clearly defined urban spaces and, together with the green forum, form the robust basic structure.

To the north, a 120m high-rise building with the Secure Digital City Campus (SDC) and additional office space in the base leads across the opening square into the center and into the quarter. Privately financed residential housing is planned above the base. The counterpart to the high-rise building is the hybrid usage module at the southern corner with a three-storey primary school and daycare base and a small residential high-rise (max. 40 m), which houses subsidized apartments for students and trainees. The schoolyard is located under the existing trees along Nahum-Goldmann-Allee, while the outdoor daycare area is located on the roof of the base level.
One storey will be added to Liegende-8 in lightweight construction, accommodating the local supplier in the northern section and otherwise being used entirely by the city administration. The first floor areas form a generous arcade towards the green center and the 120m high-rise building. Two spacious residential courtyards (including the existing L-building) with active first floor uses towards the center (gastronomy & retail) complement the existing „Liegenden-8" to create an urban quarter.

SUFFICIENT, DIVERSE, CIRCULAR

The competition area is the first step in the restructuring of the existing commercial area into a mixed-use residential quarter. Between the cultural axis with a new metro connection in the north and the Sandbach with the future development of a park in the south, the area offers potential for a lively quarter with added value for residents, nature and the neighborhood with open spaces, buildings and services that can be used in a variety of ways. The design is based on a compact urban development that conserves the valuable resource of land and offers space for nature, rainwater management and leisure uses. The unsealed surfaces enable lush vegetation that promotes biodiversity, generates a balanced microclimate and creates atmospherically strong places. To promote the local rainwater balance, rainwater is retained on site, infiltrated, evaporated or stored in cisterns to irrigate plants. A diverse mix of uses including living, working, supply and leisure facilities creates a lively, „complete" district and reduces the need for mobility. A multimodal mobility offer organized in the neighbourhood garage consisting of sharing and e-mo-bility offers, cargo bikes, bicycle trailers, etc. reduces the space required and enables the cost-effective use of current technologies. The sufficiency district approach also reduces individual ownership in favor of shared prosperity, thereby conserving the planet's resources. Flexible (timber)system construc-tion and compact building volumes enable cost-effective construction. The sustainable building materials used, such as wood, clay, straw, etc., are used so that they can be decomposed by type. The necessary energy is generated locally as far as possible - PV on roofs and some facades, as well as geothermal energy, are used.

As part of the Centrum Bremen 2030+ strategy, the city of Bremen has recognized the potential of rooftops for the transformation of the city centre and has taken initial measures to implement them. The action plan for roofscapes in Centrum Bremen offers new perspectives for the innovative use of roofs. Private and public owners of retail and office properties and parking garages were supported in identifying the potential of their roofs.

The planned conversion of roof areas is intended to create new spaces for people and nature and revitalize the city centre. Possible uses include social meeting places, cultural and gastronomic offerings, urban food production, the promotion of biodiversity, the improvement of the microclimate and energy production. Pilot projects were to be implemented after examining the structural, constructional and legal requirements and supported by funding of the federal ZIZ program.

However, the project revealed that implementation was made considerably more difficult by structural, building law and economic challenges. Although many owners were open-minded and the urban planning conditions were favorable, funding conditions and structural conditions often did not match. Nevertheless, the concept provides important insights into the transformation of the real estate portfolio and shows that realistic, long-term approaches are necessary in order to achieve sustainable and future-oriented development.

The documentation of the concept of action you will find here.
The roof catalogue you will find here.

The design of this project was guided by a desire to enhance both the functionality and aesthetic value of the area. The team sought to complete Engel's visionary concept for Victory Square, creating a central space that would serve as a dynamic and vibrant hub within Dejvice. By closing the semicircle around Victory Square, the project reinforces the strength of the square's geometric design and establishes a clear, cohesive axis through the heart of the UCT campus. This newly completed space offers a destination for students, residents, and visitors alike, contributing to the broader vitality of Prague.

A key aspect of the project was the creation of a new urban layout with carefully designed, symmetrical blocks that prioritized high-quality public spaces. These spaces were intended to be interconnected and easily accessible from all directions, enhancing the flow and integration of the area. The two adjacent blocks, while sharing a similar footprint, respond to their different contexts in distinct ways. The western block features a sunken square at the center of Zikova Street, serving as a lively academic and administrative hub. In contrast, the northern block offered a residential setting with a semi-enclosed courtyard, providing a peaceful retreat for its residents and visitors.

The architecture of the development took its cues from the surrounding Dejvice area, blending modern functionality with a clear sense of place. Each building's facade is designed to reflect its unique function, context, and orientation. The apartment buildings offer flexible layouts, accommodating a range of residential needs, while the office and institutional structures feature large, open atriums that activate the ground floor. These spaces remain inviting and lively year-round, even during the winter months. Additionally, the project prioritized sustainability, with an emphasis on energy-efficient buildings and infrastructure made from durable materials. The surrounding public spaces were designed to promote sustainable transportation options, contributing to a greener, more resilient urban environment.