DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany 2024 Goes to Student House Competition procedure worth imitating
The shower of awards for the Student House at Technische Universität Braunschweig continues. The two architects, Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke, and the university are delighted to have been honoured by the German Architecture Museum (DAM). The prize will be awarded on 26 January 2024 in Frankfurt am Main. The DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany has been awarded annually to outstanding buildings in Germany since 2007. The Student House was selected from 104 buildings from Germany in a staggered jury process. All 24 buildings on the shortlist will be on display in an exhibition at the German Museum of Architecture from 27 January to 28 April.
The Student House was awarded the German Architecture Prize in September 2023 and the Lower Saxony BDA Prize and HeinzeArchitekturAWARD in November 2023.
The Student House has once again won an award. The two architects received the DAM Prize 2024 from the German Architecture Museum. Photo credit: Iwan Baan
“Wonderfully light, open architecture”
The jury, which also visited the Student House on site, praised the building’s wonderfully light, open architecture and delicate structure. It is also extremely sustainable, as the steel and glass construction can be completely dismantled and reused. The jury was particularly impressed by the background: “An unusual and exemplary competition process, advertised and organised by the Department of Architecture among academic staff.”
Jury comments (full jury comments in the DAM press release)
Alexander Fthenakis, architect in the field of planning and construction, research and teaching: “The quality of the project lies in the development of a modular, integrative and filigree construction system that offers students a wide range of spaces through the playful combination of its individual elements and gives the pavilion, which is open on all sides, a delicate and optimistic expression.”
Barbara Ettinger-Brinckmann, architect and President of the Federal Chamber of Architects from 2013 to 2021: “A light, airy, open house in which inside and outside, above and below merge, a wonderful place to learn, together and alone! The proportions and integration are just right. The details have been thought through with great precision and care. A convincing space – a space as a teacher that inspires the mind and soul of the students with its spirit and soul.”
Comments from TU Braunschweig
President of TU Braunschweig, Professor Angela Ittel: “It is fantastic to see the enormous impact of the bold idea of the Faculty of Architecture to organise an internal competition among young architects. The debut work of the two architects Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke is a wonderfully successful example of giving young architects the opportunity to prove themselves. The result is a wonderful and now multi-award-winning building exclusively for students. What impresses me most is how quickly it has become an integral part of our campus. Congratulations!”
Torsten Markgräfe, Head of Facilities Management at TU Braunschweig: “Our Student House is the first new building that TU Braunschweig has realised on its own after assuming the status of building owner, and it is also the first work of the young award-winning team. The realisation of the building was accompanied by an experienced office. This process – young, fresh architectural ideas paired with construction expertise – proved to be extremely successful in the construction of the Student House.”
About the architecture
Excerpt from the German Architecture Yearbook: (Original text: Peter Cachola Schmal, excerpt free for publication)
“The approximately 1,000 square metre, two-storey building with workstations for up to 160 students is a light, airy and delicate structure of white steel frame and glass. It is technically sophisticated and at the same time highly abstract and visually minimalist. The cantilevered roof spans the external staircases and, on the upper floor, a balcony-like circulation that extends the workstations outdoors. Finally, the Student House is characterised by a modern, functionalist beauty of self-evident details, reduced materiality and intuitive low-tech building services, such as mechanical ventilation, the central skylight and the folding sashes in the glass facade.
A house that also solves all of today’s problems, from energy saving and solar radiation to reversibility and reusability. The steel and glass house also answers many important questions about building today: How do we want to work? What will these “third places” look like, places that are not just for living or working, but also for interacting and meeting? Who organises these meetings, what kind of groups are formed? All this can be observed in the Student House, which is very popular and almost always in use: seven days a week from 08:00 to 22:00.”
Exhibition on the award winners
On the occasion of the award ceremony, the exhibition “DAM Prize 2024 – The 26 best buildings in\from Germany” will take place from 27 January to 28 April 2024 at the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt in the DAM OSTEND on behalf of the Department of Culture and Science, Cultural Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main. In addition, all 24 buildings on the shortlist will be presented in reviews in the German Architecture Yearbook 2024.
About the DAM Prize
104 buildings from Germany were nominated for the longlist of the DAM Prize on the basis of extensive research by the state chambers of architects and experts. The buildings were to be completed between the end of 2021 and spring 2023. The five shortlisted building ensembles were inspected by the jury on site during a separate jury trip. In 2024, the prize will be awarded for the eighth time by the German Architecture Museum (DAM) in close collaboration with JUNG as cooperation partner.