The Integrated Design Studio in Urban Design and Landscape Architecture was offered each summer semester until 2023 as part of the core curriculum in the fourth semester of the Bachelor's programmes in Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Since the winter semester of 2025, the studio has formed part of the curriculum in the seventh semester of the Bachelor's programme.

Munich’s population continues to grow. At the same time, the city’s remaining land reserves are steadily diminishing, while affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce. Against this backdrop, the question of sustainable urban development has become ever more pressing—both within the existing urban fabric and on the few remaining development sites. New approaches are required that address social and ecological challenges alike while supporting a diverse and liveable city for the future.

The integrated design studio Rappenweg explored how Munich’s remaining large-scale development sites can be planned to meet current and future demands for housing, work, public open space, and infrastructure. Beyond their potential for urban development, these predominantly peripheral sites play an important ecological and climatic role for the city. Issues such as fresh-air circulation extend far beyond the boundaries of the individual site and affect the urban environment as a whole.

Messestadt Riem is one of Munich’s largest urban development areas and has been shaped through a series of urban design and landscape architecture competitions since the 1990s. Shortly before the studio began, the competition for the fifth development phase had been concluded. The winning proposal was developed by 03 Architekten in collaboration with Studio Vulkan Landscape Architecture. The Rappenweg site represents the final component of this urban development area, which covers approximately 560 hectares.

The approximately 24.5-hectare project site adjoins a wide range of existing urban conditions that required careful consideration throughout the design process. To the northwest, it directly borders the Riem Landscape Park. To the east, the site marks the municipal boundary with the neighbouring community of Haar. Around Gronsdorf S-Bahn station, the surrounding area is predominantly characterised by detached and semi-detached housing, while more recent apartment buildings have been developed along the railway corridor. The railway line also forms the southern boundary of the project site.

The heavily used railway corridor presented a particular design challenge due to noise emissions. At the time of the studio, parts of the site were still occupied by small-scale commercial businesses. However, in view of creating a compact urban neighbourhood with an appropriate level of density, high-quality public open spaces, and an efficient and legible circulation structure, the existing building stock offered only limited potential for preservation.

The studio explored the future of mixed-use and liveable urban neighbourhoods. New ideas of living together, working, mobility, consumption, leisure, and adaptation to climate change called for innovative design approaches. What level of density is required to create vibrant neighbourhoods? How much unsealed open space can be preserved or newly created? And how can social, ecological, and economic objectives be brought together in the most effective way?