With an updated concept, Fachhochschule Dortmund continues to pursue the goal of bundling its study and research programs at one location. The development of the former Hoesch site ("Smart Rhino") into a UAS location proved to be uneconomical. For this reason, the UAS, the Ministry of Culture and Science and the city are now exploring whether the site in the Hafenquartier on the northern Speicherstraße can be used for the UAS. Until now, the UAS has been spread across several locations. In future, there could only be one location on the Speicherstraße site.
Minister Ina Brandes: "The campus in one location creates new opportunities for interdisciplinary networking - a decisive success factor for universities of applied sciences, because the transfer of research to application often requires direct exchange with other faculties. Fachhochschule Dortmund as a science location could benefit just as much from a campus university as the city's residents, because valuable space on Sonnenstraße and the Ruhrschnellweg could be put to new use."
Dortmund's Lord Mayor Thomas Westphal: "The Fachhochschule Dortmund is an excellent fit for the new harbor district. We are now looking into the structural feasibility in more detail. To this end, we are forming a joint project group with the university and DSW21. The development of Speicherstrasse and the future of the HSP site are of course of great importance for Dortmund in terms of urban development, which is why we will set up a steering group with the parliamentary groups in the council to monitor the project."
Planning a single-site campus
Demographic change, increased demand and the easy availability of digital courses will play a decisive role in the UAS's adapted concept for planning a single-location campus. According to the city, the UAS could be integrated very well into the urban development concept of the "Hafenquartier nördliche Speicherstraße".
"The new quarter stands for creativity, technology and sustainability and would therefore be a perfect location for us to assume our social responsibility as an innovative place of learning," explains UAS Rector Prof. Dr. Tamara Appel. "Here we can promote the reciprocal interlinking of teaching, research and transfer with Business Studies, civil society and politics - with impulses for Dortmund's Nordstadt district."
The City of Fachhochschule Dortmund and the Fachhochschule Dortmund will initially work with the Ministry of Culture and Science to explore how Speicherstraße Nord could be used to develop a single-campus location for the Fachhochschule Dortmund. The basis for this is the urban planning design by the Copenhagen architectural firm Cobe. At the same time, the UAS will draw up an adapted spatial plan and an updated university location development concept. This will then form the basis for the economic feasibility study of the project.