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Panoramic view on the North Campus © Jürgen Huhn​/​TU Dortmund
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY

50 Years of Dortmunder Modell Bauwesen

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The picture shows a festively dressed audience in St. Petri Church in Dortmund. © Detlef Podehl
Around 300 invited guests from politics, science and practice celebrated the 50th anniversary in St. Peter's Church.
On 8 November, the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering of the TU Dortmund University celebrated its 50th anniversary. In the St. Petri City Church, a ceremony and a scientific symposium provided a framework to look back on the history of the “Dortmunder Modell Bauwesen” (Dortmund Model of the Art of Construction). Around 300 guests from politics, science, and practice were invited, including NRW Minister of Building Ina Scharrenbach.

The department was established in 1974 as the last of the eleven departments of the then-young University of Dortmund. Its unique concept, the “Dortmunder Modell Bauwesen”, was developed by professors Stefan Polónyi, Harald Deilmann, Josef Paul Kleihues, and Herrmann Bauer. With the support of the then-NRW Minister of Science Johannes Rau, who received an honorary doctorate from the department in 2004 for his commitment, a training philosophy was created that is still unique in Germany: Architects and engineers are trained together in interdisciplinary collaboration. In teaching, not only one’s own subject-specific competence is in the foreground, but also the understanding of the requirements of the other discipline.

This concept – with the principles of interdisciplinarity, practical relevance, and project work in teaching and research – is more relevant than ever in the face of challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity, said the dean of the department, Prof. Mike Gralla, in his welcome address. In their greetings, the Minister for Regional Identity, Local Government, Building and Digitalization of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ina Scharrenbach, and the Department Head of Environment, Planning, and Housing of the City of Dortmund, Stefan Szuggat, emphasized the department’s innovative strength, which has given impulses to the arts of construction and civil engineering over decades.

Internationality and innovation in teaching, research, and transfer

Today, the department has around 2,000 students enrolled in the two bachelor’s programs “Architecture and Urban Planning” and “Civil Engineering” and in the four specialized master’s programs. This includes the new English-language master’s program “Mechanics of Sustainable Materials and Structures,” which allows students to earn multiple degrees with partner universities in Europe. Since 2013, students of the department have been networking annually as part of the International Spring Academy with participants from various countries, with whom they develop new urban planning concepts for the city of Dortmund in teams. Another example of a current student project is the construction of a tiny house on the South Campus, which makes sustainable building tangible.

Not only in teaching and research but also in the public space, the department has left its mark over the decades. The striking pylon at the “Reinoldikirche” subway station in Dortmund was designed by Prof. Stefan Polónyi and colleagues. With the opening of the Baukunstarchiv NRW in 2018, which is under the scientific direction of TU Dortmund University, the city also gained an important center for the documentation and research of architecture and engineering art of construction. The affiliated institute “Deutsches Institut für Stadtbaukunst,” founded in 2008, also sets standards – for example, with the annual “Conference on the Beauty and Viability of the City.” Innovative impulses such as the “Building Information Cloud,” a spin-off funded by the federal government that develops novel analysis software for construction planning, or the founding of the Dortmund OPUS Engineering GmbH, which tests construction products, are among the department’s transfer successes.

Scientific keynote lectures on a sustainable art of construction

The anniversary offered not only an occasion to look back but also to discuss the future of building. In keynote lectures, among other things, the question was raised of how to reconcile aesthetic and functional demands in times of sustainability and digitalization. There was consensus that the Dortmunder Modell, through interdisciplinary collaboration and practice-oriented research, will provide impulses for the future. The importance of building in the existing fabric, the circular economy, and the strengthening of societal acceptance of sustainable approaches were identified as key focuses.

Ten people, including three women and seven men in festive suits, look into the camera. A banner and the altar of St. Peter's Church in Dortmund can be seen in the background.
Stefan Szuggat, Department Head of Environment, Planning, and Housing of the City of Dortmund, Ernst Uhing, President of the Architektenkammer NRW (NRW Architects’ Chamber), Prof. Christoph Gengnagel from the Berlin University of the Arts, Dean Prof. Mike Gralla, Vice Dean of Research Prof. Christian Hartz, NRW Building Minister Ina Scharrenbach, Vice President Academic Affairs Prof. Wiebke Möhring, Dr. Matthias Jacob from the Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie (German Construction Industry Federation), Prof. Heike Hanada, and Prof. Wolfgang Sonne were present.
The picture shows NRW Construction Minister Ina Scharrenbach behind a lectern in the St. Petri church in Dortmund. To her right is a stand with “50 years of construction”. Behind her is the altar of the church.
Welcome address from Ina Scharrenbach, Minister for Regional Identity, Local Government, Building, and Digitalization of the State of NRW.
The picture shows four men and one woman in St. Petri Stadtkirche in Dortmund. There are also two bar tables in front of them. The altar can be seen in the background.
Panel discussion on the topic “BAUKUNST im Dortmunder Modell” with all speakers, moderated by Prof. Wolfgang Sonne (right).

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