The design projects in small groups under intensive supervision serve to develop and hone students’ individual design skills. The scale runs from constructive building details and building objects to an ensemble or even an entire settlement and living environment. Contents covered are construction and architectural style, technology and aesthetics, use and repercussions, fundamentals, goals, processes and developments in their natural, landscape-specific and socioeconomic context. The instruction methods foster motivation and independent learning.
In the first two semesters different contents are simultaneously explored in two design courses. In the last four semesters a topic is explored in an interdisciplinary setting together with experts from the field within the context of an integrated design project.
All design courses encourage outstanding presentations in plan, models, images and writing. The projects also serve to apply, strengthen and integrate the contents taught in theoretical subjects.
Practical projects from the area of knowledge and technology transfer offer a more in-depth relationship with reality with regard to the projects and their professional realisation.
The students choose their semester projects at the beginning of a semester from a list of projects proposed by the instructors. All projects are completed either alone or as a cooperative effort in teams of various sizes. The instructors determine the scope, the characteristics and the requirements of the projects. They coordinate team building, structuring and the general procedure. Project work involves competition, developing alternatives and the internal coordination of working groups.
The projects are evaluated in mid-term and end-of-term assessments. External guest critics support the design studios and evaluate the students' individual performance together with the instructors. They also provide valuable feedback regarding the methods applied within the projects and the quality of the work.