Weimar, Germany

Cultural Landscapes & Urban Resilience

In this two-week intensive course, you will get a deep insight into the influence of human-made and natural factors on the built environment and develop responsive planning schemes for more resilient cities. You will learn about various aspects of urban resilience from an environmental as well as a cultural perspective, using different tools, scientific methods, and analysis, including GIS-techniques.

Faced with the robustness and readiness of our built environment and the challenges for society to cope with the vulnerability of these circumstances, urban resilience is often difficult to assess when it comes to its integration and implementation in everyday reality. In order to take unexpected occurrences of natural hazards – such as earthquakes, floods or droughts – into account and to become reactive in the built space, disciplines related to spatial development are increasingly important.

Next to the building-related knowledge about vulnerability and preventive or adaptive measures, the process and acceptance of these measures are dependant from cultural values. In this course, the overarching topic of urban resilience will therefore be treated with a transcultural perspective. Furthermore, the process of change that forms the cultural landscapes for urban resilience requires an interdisciplinary approach that takes diverse aspects for building schemes and planning processes into account. In this course, you will learn how to develop such an integrated urban design approach.

The course includes lectures on more general approaches to integrated urban development and urban sustainability, but also takes a closer look on urban resilience in the context of climate-sensitive planning by analysing urban heat islands and different building typologies and urban patterns. Part of the programme is GIS training and application in order to map such heat islands of informal and formal housing areas, using a practical, illustrative case study. Based on these findings, you will get the chance to create practical design solutions that respond to urban heat in the physical, cultural and social context.

In addition to the class programme, we have prepared a varied social programme for you: Meet participants from all over the world during our gaming night, the international food evening, at a joint free visit to the cinema, on a trip to Berlin or Leipzig or when diving into the vast cultural options that Weimar has to offer.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Course leader

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Philippe Schmidt M.Sc.
Dr. Conrad Philipp
Eng. Mohamed Abdel Aziz, M.Sc.
Dr.-Ing. Hassan ElMouelhi, M.Sc.

Target group

Students (Bachelor from 6th semester & Master) of disciplines related to spatial development like architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, urban and spatial planning, cultural-, social-, economic geography, development and others.

Previous knowledge:
• Interest to work in a holistic and interdisciplinary way on urban settlements and urban environment.
• Basics in GIS are desirable (no condition) and/or CAD.
• Good knowledge of English language.

Technical requirements:
• Writing and sketching material, explorative mind
• Laptop with the following software for Geographical Information Systems:

Please note:
• Some preparatory material (texts and a small task) will be sent out to participants 4 weeks before the course starts.

Course aim

The course will systematically approach an understanding of urban resilience that both connects man-made as well as natural conditions in the urban context, including scales from the urban to the building level.

Setting parameters for urban resilience
The complexity of Integrated Urban Development Concepts and the realities
Analytical approaches to urban heat islands (neighbourhood level and larger)
Societal ideals and the impact of urban green for the urban environment
Drawing out a comparative study between informal and formal settlements
Learn how affected areas can be connected to user-oriented systems
Consequences from the case studies for integrative planning schemes

Next to planning in an interdisciplinary and transnational context, the workshop offers different options to learn about different approaches and urban typologies and to assess them in a broader perspective for finally being able to shape and design in different geographical and cultural systems.

Fee info

EUR 700: 2 weeks (90 hrs)

The course fee is 700 EUR.

The course fee includes:

• Orientation & Support
• Programme according to description
• Teaching materials
• Bauhaus Summer School ID card
• Free use of buses in Weimar and local trains in Thuringia
• Certificate
• Internet access at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
• Free use of library
• Accompanying programme (except excursions)
• Free entrance to museums belonging to Klassik Stiftung Weimar
EUR 500: 2 weeks (90 hrs)

The course fee for students is 500 EUR.

The course fee includes:

• Orientation & Support
• Programme according to description
• Teaching materials
• Bauhaus Summer School ID card
• Free use of buses in Weimar and local trains in Thuringia
• Certificate
• Internet access at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
• Free use of library
• Accompanying programme (except excursions)
• Free entrance to museums belonging to Klassik Stiftung Weimar