Abstract

To build in human-friendly frame. Architecture and urban concept of the University of Passau

After 1945 the foundation of new universities in the Federal Republic of Germany consisted of three phases. The university of the independent city of Passau belongs not only to one of the last provisional universities in Bavaria, but also in the old Bonn Republic (commissioning winter semester 1978/1979). Main arguments for this new foundation were among others a tradition several centuries long as a place of education and research (Higher Education Institution of Jesuits 1622, Philosophical-Theological University 1923 –1978), equality of opportunity in the area of education anchored in Bavarian Constitution and the lack of university in the administrative district of Lower Bavaria. The legal anchoring for the location of the University of Passau in 1972 as well as the decision to a combined urban idea- and construction-competition in 1976 paved the way for the progressive realization of a modern campus area which was in spatial and structural connection with the four-wing complex of the former Augustinian Monastery of St. Nikola in west of the historic Old Town. Concerning the architectural and urban design of the new university, Passau, like other German cities, received inspiring ideas both from home and abroad, the model of the campus area being a good example. However, specific solutions related to the regional situation were searched and found in detail. The structural and landscaping design of the university area in Passau can be considered as an outstanding urban project. It’s relevance goes beyond Passau

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