Term paper convinces jury

With the project “Ab in die Lücke,” the city of Zittau won first prize in the Saxon city competition “Ab in die Mitte.” This marks the first time Zittau has succeeded in bringing home the top prize. The prize includes 30,000 euros in financial support for the project’s implementation. This year’s competition was held under the motto “Strengthening the City Together: Taking Action, Sharing, Having a Say...”.

Mayor Thomas Zenker is thrilled: “I am very pleased that we were able to win the title with a project specifically designed to improve the quality of life in our city for young people. I am certain the prize money will give the project a significant boost.”

Students in the Master's degree programme in architecture at the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences for Technology, Business, and Culture and in the bachelor’s program in ecology and environmental protection at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences developed several designs for the landscaping of an overgrown vacant lot during a workshop in Zittau. The workshop was the result of the 2018 competition entry “Zittau Gärtnert.” At that time, Zittau received an award for the scientific support of its project provided by architecture professor Ronald Scherzer-Heidelberger from the HTWK Leipzig. For several years now, Scherzer-Heidelberger and his students have been supporting the state competition “Ab in die Mitte! Die Cityoffensive Sachsen” (Off to the Center! The Saxony City Initiative) aimed at revitalizing Saxon municipalities.

The goal of the students’ semester project was to explore possibilities for transforming this vacant lot into an ecologically effective, publicly accessible open space within Zittau’s “concrete” downtown area. Due to its proximity to the CafeX youth center and the wild trees on the property, the project was given the working title “The Young Forest.” The students’ design proposals form the core concept of the project, which has now been awarded the grand prize.

The initiative for the “Ab in die Lücke” project came from Zittau’s city manager, Stephan Eichner. Together with the Economic Development Agency, the Zittau Urban Development Corporation, the association “Zittau lebendige Stadt” (Zittau: A Vibrant City), and the Zittau chapter of the German Child Protection Association, he developed Zittau’s competition entry based on the students’ work.