The Faculty of Architecture at Fachhochschule Dortmund is delighted to announce an outstanding success! Lennart Girkes is one of the five winners of the BDA Masters 2025. His Bachelor's thesis, supervised by Prof. Christine Remensperger, impressed the jury of the Association of German Architects BDA NRW with its reflective approach to current social and design issues.
The award-winning works are dedicated to topics such as commemorative architecture, new forms of housing, dealing with buildings from the 1970s, the future of clubhouses or the participation of residents in urban development processes. All of the award-winning designs impressed the jury with their responsible yet experimental approach to architectural issues and their clear design approach.
A total of 30 final theses from 13 universities in North Rhine-Westphalia were nominated for the competition. Bachelor's graduates from architecture and urban planning study programs were eligible to enter. The five winners each received a scholarship of 2,000 euros to start their Master's degree.
For the first time this year, the "Prize of the Nominees for the BDA Masters", endowed with 1,000 euros, was awarded twice. The nominated students jointly awarded this prize to two projects.
To work
In his bachelor's thesis, Lennart Girkes develops a pioneering transformation approach for an administrative building from the 1975s. Instead of the planned demolition, he proposes a conversion into a diverse place to live and work, supplemented by sports and recreational facilities. At the same time, he pleads for the abandonment of the planned new housing development and instead focuses on reforestation. The work thus makes a strong contribution to the turnaround in construction and the preservation of existing structures.
The conceptual quality is particularly evident in the careful further development of the floor plan typology. Incised atriums bring light into the deep existing buildings and create spacious circulation areas. Targeted openings create external connections and areas for communal encounters. The striking load-bearing structure of the building is used to integrate a variety of apartment typologies and differentiated open space qualities.
The jury praised the sensitive handling of the existing building right down to the structural detail. The energy-efficient refurbishment is convincing: a recessed new façade level creates spacious loggias for all apartments, while the characteristic parapet elements of the existing façade are retained.
