Aachen West

Dear Aachen was about discovering how students use, perceive and think of the public space in the city of Aachen. The gathered knowledge will be used by the city’s planning department in the upcoming development of the Campus West-area, the improvement of the Republikplatz and the train station Aachen West.

The main question of Dear Aachen was:
How do students perceive and use the city of Aachen, and how can we learn from this to enhance future developments?

The question has been interpreted on two different scales:
1. the city in general;
2. the Republikplatz and the adjacent area.

The choice for the main question came from a general feeling, living among the city’s planning department, that there are multiple issues related to students in Aachen: the feeling they don’t integrate, that they regard their stay temporary and that they leave immediately after graduating. The reason for the study on the second scale, the Republikplatz and the surrounding area, is the upcoming development of the Campus West and the railway station Aachen West and the modernization of the square itself.

The information gathered through Dear Aachen leads to insights on both scales: more understanding on the use of (public) space, and interpretations of the insights becoming handles on which future projects and developments can be based, among more common and already gathered insights.

Hunting ground: Aachen (D)
Hunting period: 2015
Client: Stadt Aachen