Spatial Strategies for the Temporary Use of Undeveloped Areas on the Campus of the Technical University of Nuremberg

The interdisciplinary design studio, held during the summer semester of 2021, explored spatial strategies for the phased development of the growing campus of the newly established Technical University of Nuremberg (UTN). The aim of the studio was to develop a strategic design framework for the site and its continuously evolving connections to the surrounding urban fabric. Rather than addressing the entire site with the same level of detail, the focus was placed on identifying key spatial interventions and their interrelationships. The final outcome was a spatial strategy that made the temporal sequence of the overall transformation legible while illustrating precise design solutions through discipline-specific methods of representation.

The 37-hectare site of a former railway marshalling yard in the south of Nuremberg was planned to become the future campus of the newly established Technical University of Nuremberg over the coming decades. Founded in 2021, the university had already developed an innovative concept for teaching and research that combined on-site education with digital learning formats. At that time, however, the campus itself existed only on paper and in the minds of its initiators. On site, a vast gravel landscape awaited the first phased construction projects and their future users. A small number of commercial businesses, extensive storage and logistics areas for a car dealership, and islands of ruderal vegetation characterised the area. Plans envisioned an innovative campus for teaching, learning, communication, and student housing, complemented by additional supporting uses. Urban planning for the campus was already underway. Completion of the first construction phase, covering only about one quarter of the site, was scheduled for 2028, while full development was not expected before 2052.

Against this backdrop, the studio addressed the question of how the land awaiting future development could be used in the meantime. How could this temporal and spatial "gap in use" become an opportunity rather than simply remaining vacant, creating benefits both for the university and the surrounding neighbourhoods?

The Waiting Lands Lab, organised in the summer of 2021 by the Chairs of Sustainable Urbanism and Landscape Architecture and Transformation at the Technical University of Munich, explored the extraordinary spatial potential of this landscape in transition and developed strategies for its temporary activation.

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