Johannes Bergerfurth

Since the presentation of the master plan in 2009, the future of the Lahnberge campus in Marburg has been uncertain. Large parts of the listed buildings are to be demolished and replaced by new structures. The majority of the buildings are teaching and research facilities that were constructed in the 1960s using the so-called “Marburg building system.” The system was one of the first post-war construction systems in Germany and is one of the most radical of its kind in terms of flexibility and serial prefabrication. One of the requirements for the system was adaptability to changing user needs. 

The buildings were designed to be able to respond to increasing student numbers without generating further major planning costs. The result was a table system that can be extended both vertically and horizontally and also offers the possibility of flexible rezoning within the existing building stock. However, these possibilities have not been utilised so far, and instead, designs that are foreign to the system were chosen as part of the expansion plans on campus. 

The aim of this work is to attempt a new approach to the system, one that focuses less on preserving it as a historical monument and more on highlighting the possibilities it offers for repurposing. This will be accomplished by examining the former chemical institute to determine how the system can be supplemented with new elements and how reductions can help to give it a new shape. 

The design suggests a three-stage utilisation concept by bringing the students and employees at Lahnberge campus, the residents of the city of Marburg, and visitors from outside the region under one roof. For this purpose, the building functions as the campus centre, provides social infrastructure, and offers space for a new construction academy.

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