Aachen's building culture has been honored: A few days ago, two Aachen residential construction projects were awarded prizes as exemplary, trend-setting and innovative buildings throughout NRW. In addition, Aachen architecture firms have also been honored with building projects from other cities. Every five years, the Ministry of Regional Identity, Communities and Local Government, Building and Digitalization of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in cooperation with the Chamber of Architects of North Rhine-Westphalia, honours the best buildings and properties of the respective period. On February 9, 2026, a total of 25 new or renovated buildings and open space designs from all over North Rhine-Westphalia were awarded the title "Exemplary Buildings NRW 2025" at the Kunstmuseum K21 in Düsseldorf.

The Aachen projects are:

• "Student living on the Lousberg"

Architecture: pbs architekten Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Aachen
Client: KD Stadtsanierungsgesellschaft Aachen Nizzaalle 34 mbH & Co. KG

• "Living together in the Wiesental"

Architecture: offfice03 - Waldmann & Jungblut Architekten Partnerschaft mbH, Cologne
Client: Miteinander im Wiesental

"Aachen is once again setting standards: with two award-winning residential construction projects, our city is showing how affordable, sustainable and community-oriented living space can be created. Congratulations to all the architects and developers - their commitment not only strengthens the city center, but also coexistence in Aachen as a whole," says Lord Mayor Dr. Michael Ziemons.

City Planning Councillor Frauke Burgdorff: "We are delighted to be able to support such outstanding projects with the Urban Development and Urban Planning and Building Supervision departments. Many thanks to the clients and architectural firms for their excellent cooperation and mutual understanding."

Corinna Karlscheuer from KD Stadtsanierungsgesellschaft Aachen Nizzaalle 34 mbH & Co. KG says: "We would like to thank the city of Aachen for its support during the planning phase and the design advisory board for its constructive guidance. We have succeeded in creating high-quality student apartments in a great location - the award honors the outstanding architecture."

"We want to be a role model for how sustainable and energy-efficient buildings can be these days. And we want to show how nice it is to live in a community close to the city center, for young families and into old age," says Verena Dannapfel, Managing Director of Miteinander im Wiesental.

The two Aachen-based companies KADA WITTFELD ARCHITEKTUR GmbH and nesseler bau gmbh were also honored for the architecture of the "InnoDom Cologne" construction project in Cologne.

Excerpts from the jury statement:

Student housing on the Lousberg in Aachen
"Affordable student housing has been created in a central and sought-after residential area on the green edge of Aachen's city center and its educational landscape. 115 high-quality single and double apartments for a total of 157 students have been realized close to nature and the city in one of Aachen's most beautiful panoramic locations. [..]

The student residence on the Lousberg makes clever use of the hillside location and impresses with its special design qualities. The dormitory as a house type is provided with new and extended floor plan configurations that show trend-setting approaches in terms of living and usage qualities. In addition, the student residence at Lousberg combines social aspects with resource-saving architecture in an exemplary manner."

Miteinander Wohnen im Wiesental in Aachen
"Self-determined living is hardly feasible for the vast majority of people. The cooperative project "Miteinander Wohnen im Wiesental" is consistently geared towards the needs of its residents. On a 1,500 square meter, polygonal plot, 16 residential units have been built on five floors without any profit orientation with the aim of guaranteeing stable rents in the long term. 40 percent of the living space is publicly subsidized. [..]

High-quality apartments are created in an exemplary manner with low resource consumption, while at the same time promoting community building. The timber construction method not only saves resources, but is also aesthetically pleasing. The jury emphasized the participatory planning process, which also distinguishes the project."

You can find the entire press release of the NRW Chamber of Architects here: https://www.aknw.de/aktuelles/news/details/news/auszeichnung-vorbildlicher-bauten-in-nordrhein-westfalen-2025.