UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - Tuzla, Competition Honourable Mention

• Open
• Public
• South

The construction of the University Campus signifies a historic shift in the urban development of Tuzla. It illustrates the ongoing transition from an industrial society to a knowledge based society. A society in which labor, natural resources and capital are being replaced by knowledge as main asset of social and economic cohabitation. Academic research and learning does not only secure the status quo but allows the future to take place. It raises necessary questions, brings innovation and last but not least economic wealth.

This proposal focuses on urban integration, the initiation of a far-sighted urbanization process and innovative building typologies. The campus is considered as academic neighborhood, which is well linked to the surrounding areas and which is open to all citizens. The proposed urbanization process enables a flexible development over time and displays great empathy for nature. The proposed building typologies turn the campus into a three dimensional laboratory for learning, working and living. The campus is designed to facilitate multidisciplinarity and to create a stimulating working environment, encouraging out of the box thinking.

Many details of the future campus are still unknown. During the development and usage of the campus, the anticipated programs will undergo constant change. Who would dare to predict the teaching concepts and research methodologies of 2050? Who might be the stakeholders of research by then? Considering this long term perspective and dynamics, the campus will be in a perpetual state of revision. How to acknowledge this indeterminacy of the program, future and knowledge? By proposing a methodology that combines desired urban / architectural qualities with programmatic instability.

At this moment it would be nonsense to aim for an exclusive urban fabric and perfectly designed architectural forms, one should build towards. This proposal focuses rather on the possibility for a flexible development over time, in which all desired qualities and programs are present from day 1. In this regards the proposed architectural schemes are considered merely as diagrams, illustrating desired urban / architectural qualities and levels of cross programming.