Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: Bauhaus.Journal online

Just one year ago, Bachelor student Philipp Kohl found himself standing in this very lecture hall, explaining his idea for a greener city: he sought to draw attention to the repurposing of parking areas with the one-day »Weimar parkt um!« initiative. In April 2019, Philipp and his fellow students converted several parking spaces outside Schützengasse 6–10 into a place for encounters between 11 am until 6 pm. What was special about this project is that it was also run by students who designed the course themselves and ran it in the winter semester 2018/19. Today, Philipp and the Master student Wiebke Mros are sharing their experiences with others.

Inspired by their predecessors’ projects, five student groups are currently developing innovative mobility concepts that are to be implemented at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in the coming months. At least three of the projects are dedicated to the subject of cycling:

Focus on cycling

Amin Shqeirat, Ricardo Reichenbach and Valentin Dürselen agree that all students should use this environmentally-friendly means of transport. However not everyone can afford a bicycle. Hence the three Bachelor students plan to organise a bicycle auction during which donated bikes are auctioned off to students at affordable prices. The three have already been given nine bicycles, which will be made roadworthy in time for the auction in spring.

Meanwhile, the aspiring civil engineer Fabian Reimann is attempting to raise awareness for the services offered by the university bike repair shop. He is using stickers, flyers and relentless manpower to advertise the university’s free repair service and cargo trailer hire service. Maintenance of the newly installed bicycle pumps is one further concern of his: simple usage instructions should help to increase the service life of the pumps installed on Marienstraße and Coudraystraße.

Christoph Schremmer and Tim Stratmann take a somewhat more light-hearted approach to the subject: they want to organise a bike disco. This basically means that bicycle-powered generators should supply electricity for a music system, thus enabling climate-friendly celebrations. Similar campaigns have already been run in Berlin and Freiburg.

Next stop: Weimar!

In order to also cover longer distances in the most climate-friendly manner possible, Paul Auspurg, Raphael Schröder and Stefan Metz want to simplify ride sharing in Weimar. The problem: pick-up and drop-off points are often close to the motorway, which is difficult to reach without a car: Based on the project idea of a ride sharing bench, the group would like to improve the transport link between Weimar and Gelmeroda. The three imagine a designated waiting station for this where people are picked up by cars driving past and given a lift the around three kilometres into town.

Road safety outside schools

In the age of the parent taxi, urban planning students Robin Wieland and Philip Lehmann have set themselves the task of promoting a traffic-calmed area outside the International School in Weimar with a campaign day. The idea is to raise awareness for this issue by means of posters and specially created »safety zones« in which stopping outside the school is prohibited. Public transport and bicycles are to moreover be promoted to help make the journey to school safer and more climate-friendly overall.

For more information, see our website: www.uni-weimar.de/bauhausmodule