Photo 1: Visit to Mannheim railway station with Dr. Hanno Ehrbeck
The Mannheim workshop, held from 11 to 15 November, 2024, was a critical part of an international academic initiative focused on redeveloping the area around Chernivtsi’s main railway station in Ukraine. It was organized by BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg in collaboration with RPTU and Chernivtsi National University, with funding support from GIZ and the City of Mannheim.
This workshop was a key component of a larger course that began on September 4, 2024, and will conclude on December 17, 2024. Offered as a semester-long study project to 20 students from five Ukrainian universities and a short-term Stegreif to 10 students from BTU and RPTU, the course addressed the challenges facing Chernivtsi due to the ongoing war. At the same time, it aimed to shape a forward-looking vision for a resilient, vibrant, and sustainable future for the city, going beyond the immediate impacts of the war.
Building on the groundwork laid by Ukrainian students in earlier stages of the course, the Mannheim phase shifted the focus to urban design proposals for the study area. A site visit to Mannheim’s train station and its surroundings provided inspiration, highlighting approaches used in Chernivtsi’s twin city to tackle similar challenges. Workshop participants, including 13 students from Ukraine and 10 from BTU and RPTU, worked in mixed teams to explore three key themes:
- Mobility Hub: Reimagining the railway station and its immediate surroundings as a transportation hub and vibrant public space.
- Urban Linkages: Developing a framework to connect the station area with the old town.
- Mixed-Use Neighbourhood: Designing urban proposals to transform an industrial area into a mixed-use district.
Each team developed an urban design guideline and proposed three site-specific interventions for their focal areas, addressing mobility, public space networks, connectivity, and mixed-use development. Participation of representatives of Chernivtsi’s city administration, including the chief architect, provided valuable insights that anchored the proposals in practical needs and opportunities.
The face-to-face nature of this workshop was particularly significant. Bringing Ukrainian students to Germany gave them the chance to collaborate directly with their international peers, an important opportunity considering that, over the past two years, BTU’s cooperation with Ukrainian universities had mostly been conducted online due to the war. This experience was another in a series of BTU’s efforts to support education in Ukraine, strengthening international teamwork and deepening institutional ties, making this phase of the course both enriching and impactful.
By Dr.-Ing. Sepideh Zarrin Ghalam, BTU Cottbus – Senftenberg
Photo 2: Visit to the City of Mannheim with Dr. Ehrbeck
Photo 3: Final Colloquium
Photo 4: Final Colloquium, Chernivtsi’s Chief Architect gives feedback to students