How can neighborhood G become even more attractive?

As part of a project, students at Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (THI) have developed concepts to upgrade the neighborhood and improve the quality of life.

A room full of possibilities: Professor Tom Siegel (2nd from left) discusses ideas for neighborhood G with students (Photo: THI/Franziska Märkl).

Seating, pavilions, and autonomous guides - these are just some of the ideas that fourth-semester students from the Technical Design program have developed for Quartier G. Under the guidance of Professor Tom Siegel, they first analyzed the area, which is to become a new creative center for Ingolstadt with the THI and its institutes, the brigk, the Museum of Concrete Art and Design, the Audi Academy and the Maritim Hotel.

In the next step, the bachelor students analyzed the needs of the various target groups, such as museum visitors, university staff, hotel guests, and start-ups, and conducted a survey on their wishes: How can visitors best find their way around the site? How can the buildings be optimally utilized? A model on a scale of 1:250 helped visualize the district. ‘The main requirement for the students was controllable kinematics, i.e. movable interactive objects that would make the Quartier G experience as pleasant as possible for visitors,’ explains Professor Siegel.

The students had already presented their initial concept ideas at this year's WIKOIN and the ON Campus Festival. In autumn, their work will be made accessible to the public in an exhibition at THI. On the contrary: based on these initial drafts, potential visitors to the neighborhood will be surveyed once again. The students will then develop their concepts further. ‘Iteration is an important step in all design processes. It's always about collecting ideas based on analyses, deriving concepts from them, and optimizing them through re-evaluation and reflection,’ says Siegel. The result should be realizable designs that contribute to making the foundry site a vibrant place for innovation and shaping the future.