NICHTS ZU VERLIEREN architectural tuesday TH Köln

With the architectural tuesday 2025/26 "Nothing to lose", we are discussing a scenario at the Faculty of Architecture at TH Köln: instead of demolition and new construction, the university complex on the Deutz campus would remain and be further developed in its existing state. An initially convincing idea in the urgently needed rethinking of the use of existing buildings. However, what was once intended to prevent demolition becomes a challenge in the scenario of further construction: the IWZ has been officially listed as a historical monument since 2012.

This seems paradoxical. Doesn't the preservation order fundamentally rule out complete demolition? At the very least, it determines how the "relics" of a bygone era are treated. How could the IWZ be rethought and further developed while preserving the heritage values and involving the heritage protection authorities as an active partner in the discourse? Or would monument protection actually stand in the way of major interventions - and thus the future of the building?

As part of the architectural tuesday "Nothing to lose", the contribution of the specialization in monument preservation and planning in existing buildings therefore asks: What values is the monument status of the IWZ and comparable buildings based on and how can it be meaningfully applied to large modular structures from the 1970s? How does the "younger" architectural heritage change our monument discourse?

With a desire to play with ideas and open discussion, we will finally ask the question: How could the task of the IWZ become a task for monument protection?

On the first evening of the series, the panelists will include

Prof. Dr. Andreas Putz (TU Munich)
Dr. Ulrich Krings (former city conservator)
M.A. Clara Grothkopp (TH Cologne and initiative.umbau)
Prof. Dr. Daniel Lohmann (TH Cologne)