The Aachener Stadtsaal am Bushof: a self-build project, designed and implemented by students of the Chair of Building Theory and Design at RWTH Aachen University, to make the staircase of the disused underpass on Kurhausstrasse usable.
Last year, the students looked at the urban environment of the bus station, investigated various options for using the staircase and developed a design for a civic hall. The project was supervised by two lecturers from the Faculty of Architecture, Bernadette Heiermann and Dr. Anna Weber. Planning permission was granted in 2021 and the first construction phase was completed. The Stadtsaal was opened in October 2021. A further construction phase to install a roof is in preparation. The next step is the installation of the roof construction, which is expected to take place at the end of July 2022 in the form of scaffolding. Students will then install a textile roof covering over the course of the summer to protect the Stadtsaal against all weathers.
The Stadtsaal is to be brought to life and used. The RWTH's Faculty of Architecture kicked things off with its annual exhibition in 2021.
Since then, other events such as upcycling workshops, plant swaps, games evenings, chess and a vintage movie night have been held there regularly, mostly by students.
These usually take place on Saturdays. So there is still plenty of room for all Aachen residents who would like to use the Stadtsaal and hold smaller events and exhibitions there. The Stadtsaal is intended to be a platform for all Aacheners.
The events, mostly offered by students, usually take place on Saturdays. So there is still plenty of room for events or exhibitions to take place. The current program of events can be found on Instagram with #stadtsaal and information can be obtained by contacting stadtsaal@gbl.rwth-aachen.de.