Leipzig (DE)

Inhabited milieu's challenges

Based on the Jupiterstraße neighbourhood centre in Leipzig-Grünau, spatial development concepts are being sought for the suburban settlements of the steadily growing city of Leipzig. With the Leipzig-Halle conurbation and a population of over one million people, Leipzig is the economic centre of eastern Germany. The 23 lakes around the trade fair city of Leipzig, newly created as a post-mining landscape, shape the image of the city on the waterfront in the metropolitan region of Central Germany.
Exemplary models for combining living and working in a large housing estate are to be developed that contribute to local supply, meeting places and culture. Decisive impulses for lifelong learning in the neighbourhood are desired, as are green and open space concepts that go beyond the district. A new school building is expected, as is a critical examination of the site, new building and spatial typologies, and proposed solutions for a contemporary approach to the inadequate scale in the area.
An identity-forming concept and, in particular, a long-term vision are sought for the project site, which is characterised by demolition, abandonment and loss of function. This vision is to be exemplary for the future change in the significance of Grünau, a district in the west of Leipzig that appears largely isolated from the rest of the city. In addition, the visions to be developed should be exemplary for the transformation of central service areas into large housing estates of post-socialist urban development in Europe.

Questions to competitors

Under the guideline of the fifteen-minute city, the awarding authority expects proposals for short-, medium- and long-term measures to overcome the current lack of effectiveness and identification plaguing the Jupiters-traße neighbourhood centre. Which strategies and visions are needed to create a vibrant urban space with cross-district appeal?
How can the urban layout be developed for contributing to the debate on multicoding, re-densification and the mixing of the social with the functional while strengthening a community perspective for careful urban growth? Also in terms of both functionality and urban development?
What are spatial strategies and typologies of integrating small-scale and flexibly usable areas for business, services, and cultural and social offerings, and how is it expected to impact the mix of uses?
What is the expected outcome of the critical examination of the site in terms of the development of new building and spatial typologies, and how will they promote an urban spatial quality that invites appropriation to address the current lack of scale? Also, in what ways should the designs facilitate orientation and identifica- tion, particularly in areas adjacent to neighboring quarters?
How are the uses of open spaces and areas of vegetation intended to be intensified, while existing green structures are preserved and qualified to create cross-district opportunities for all generations and population groups?