The state forest of Hessen covers an area of approximately 342,000 ha. In the age of forest dieback, forest maintenance, preservation and increase are of particular social interest, the basis for which lies in sustainable forestry.

To this end, a forest education centre is to be designed this semester on the grounds of the Forsthaus Hirschköpfe forester's lodge, east of Darmstadt. The spatial programme includes seminar and training rooms, rooms for administration as well as workshops and service buildings of a forestry district. In addition to the sustainable care and management of the state forest, the core tasks of the Hessenforst state enterprise include the provision of forest education and the organisation and operation of the forestry offices. Responsibility for the biodiversity of the forest is of the highest interest.

Central aspects of the design approach to the forest education centre are to be continued in detail.

This semester, the focus of the ENKO II design and construction course is on the construction task of a studio house with a workshop and guest rooms. The Hofgut Oberfeld in Darmstadt was chosen as the location and setting. The aim is to integrate a new building into the existing structure, combined with an intensive examination of the surrounding rural context.

Wood as a renewable, innovative building material has experienced a new heyday in recent years. The seminar in SS2020 deals intensively with smaller wooden buildings. The respective aesthetic design potentials as well as their construction possibilities will be explored.