This year's award ceremony took place at the Gaskessel in Wuppertal - including a tour of the current exhibition and a show at the Visiodrom. The award ceremony was the festive highlight of the evening.

Background: task and competition

The Urban Mining Student Award was initiated by Professor Annette Hillebrandt (University of Wuppertal) together with Professor Dr Anja Rosen (Münster School of Architecture) in 2018 and is aimed at architecture students in German-speaking countries. The focus is on the idea of urban mining, i.e. the conscious use of existing buildings as a valuable store of materials, and recyclable, sustainable construction. We are looking for innovative, high-quality design solutions that show how existing buildings can be rethought in a resource-saving way and transformed into sustainable neighbourhoods.

This year, the focus was on the question of how the partially listed site of the former Hardt & Pocorny cloth factory can be developed into a lively, intergenerational neighbourhood - with residential, commercial and training facilities for around 90 trainees in the skilled trades sector. The owner of the site and cooperation partner of the competition is renaissance Immobilien & Beteiligungen AG, which will redevelop and remodel the site.

The entries were assessed by a jury according to their urban mining concept, i.e. the use of re-used components, recyclable construction, dismantling capability, preservation of existing buildings, measures for biodiversity and microclimate improvement as well as a sustainable mobility concept.

Further information on this year's competition and the tasks from previous years can be found on the website www.urbanminingstudentaward.de.

The jury

The jury met on 22 April 2026 at the University of Wuppertal and was made up of Sabine Djahanschah (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt), Professor Marc Günnewig (University of Wuppertal / Managing Director of modulorbeat), Christine Ruiz Duran (Project Manager Sustainable Building, DGNB Consultant), Barbara Zettel (Editor of Detail Magazine) and Christian Baierl (Rennaissance AG), who was elected Chairman.

The award winners

1st prize: "Kette.Schuss.Knoten" - Katharina Frescher and Julius Gasper (Trier University of Applied Sciences)

First place and the prize money of 1,500 euros went to the design "Kette.Schuss.Knoten". The jury recognised the entry as "outstanding" in its conceptual stringency, constructive precision and spatial quality: the existing building of the former cloth factory is not only used further here, but also transferred into a new spatial and constructive order. The team has translated the leitmotif of the art of weaving - warp, weft, knot - into an architectural principle that develops the linear structure of the factory into an urban fabric. In addition to the use of existing railway tracks as load-bearing structural elements, the almost utopian high proportion of reused components was emphasised.

The second prize was awarded equally twice and was endowed with 1,000 euros each.

2nd prize: "The blue thread" - Viktoria Berger and Lukas Dauenheimer (University of Wuppertal)

"The Blue Thread" impressed with its respectful, minimally invasive development of the existing building. The authors took an in-depth look at the historical ensemble and consulted contemporary specialist literature for the graphic reconstruction. The idea of reopening the historic watercourse and responding to heavy rainfall events with retention areas for water, cisterns and rainwater utilisation in line with the sponge city concept is clever from an urban planning and climatic perspective. The floor plans are clearly structured and of very high spatial quality and the origin of the materials to be reused is plausibly demonstrated.

2nd prize: "Community Bridges" - Mona Weish and Noah Sattler (University of Wuppertal)

"Community Bridges" was also awarded second prize. The design offers an entirely barrier-free solution for the local height situation, with several bridges linking the different levels of the site and the buildings. The result is a genuine "universal design" for a living community. A cultural centre is logically located at the central access hub. The re-use concept, in which the existing railway tracks are used both in the development and in the interior fittings - for example for movable cubes in the multifunctional workshop - has been consistently thought through. Flexible, high-quality interior spaces are created in each building. The plans transparently show the origin, condition and installation location of the materials. The refurbishments are carried out in urban mining design.

3rd prize: "Wupperpfad" - Jan Heinrichs and Valentin Riede (University of Wuppertal)

The "Wupperpfad" design was awarded third prize and 500 euros in prize money. The jury praised the careful treatment of the existing buildings and the activation of the entire bank of the Wupper. With targeted, minimal interventions, new spatial qualities are created without weakening the historical character. Possible changes of use and future circulation have already been considered. The consistently applied envelope and courtyard principle promotes flowing transitions between interior and exterior spaces. Parts of the building are removed when added spatial value is created. The eponymous Wupperpfad connects the neighbourhood as a continuous element.

Two recognition prizes are each honoured with 300 euros, an annual subscription to the magazine "DETAIL Inspiration" and the reference book "Sortenrein Bauen".

Recognition: "Zwischen RAUM" - Laura Schick and Eric Heinz (University of Wuppertal)

The jury recognised the design "Zwischen RAUM". The urban planning approach was recognised with the activation of the Wupper space and the creation of a communicative centre as a neighbourhood stage. The urban mining concept is based on the dismantling of the dilapidated railway line, whose rails are reused in a variety of ways as structural elements in the façades, ceilings and roof. The mobility concept also impresses with its realistic approach to car parking spaces and deliveries; the listed façades are carefully renovated.

Recognition: "Collective neighbourhood" - Lisa Rodewald and Marla Korten (University of Wuppertal)

The "Collective neighbourhood" design was also recognised. The work is convincing as a solid, consistently elaborated response to the task: housing, crafts and green spaces are interwoven into a lively neighbourhood in the old cloth factory. Particularly noteworthy are the finely differentiated housing mix, the very well thought-out outdoor spaces with a high quality of stay and the consistently implemented on-site re-use concept.

At the request of the sponsor, two further special prizes were awarded and honoured with 300 euros each.

Special prize for the best individual idea: "WIEDER:HERGESTELLT" - Nina Zoe Nevermann, Claudio Schröder and Josephine Petereit (Münster School of Architecture)

With the special prize for the best individual idea, the sponsor recognised a design approach that "exemplifies the spatial and atmospheric potential hidden in the existing building of the former Hardt & Pokorny cloth factory in Radevormwald". The design sees the considerable differences in height of the site not as a problem, but as a spatial resource. The proposed generous, green open staircase develops far beyond a mere access function into an identity-creating urban space.

Special prize for the best inspiring atmosphere: "Badevormwald" - Clara Brandis (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

The sponsor's special prize for the best inspiring atmosphere went to "Badevormwald", a design that is less about spectacular formal gestures than about atmosphere and spatial conception. Even the title formulates a new identity for the town and combines existing buildings, landscape and utilisation to create a concise spatial image. The existing structure remains clearly recognisable, but is placed in a new relationship to the Wupper through targeted, urban-mining-appropriate interventions - the water's edge is not a technical residual area, but is treated as an identity-forming social space. The visualisations are able to create a particularly inspiring atmosphere.