For their project “The Renewable House,” Martin Richter and Matteo Ernst, architecture students at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, won second prize—worth 1,500 euros—in a competition for a modular exhibition concept. The competition, organized by the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V., focused on developing an innovative and creative solution for a module based on renewable raw materials that could serve equally as an exhibition space and a communication hub.
In the award-winning entry, the theme of “renewability” is reflected not only in the sustainable choice of materials and the construction method—which is reversible and resource-efficient—but also in the design and its formal language. Through two archetypal houses of different sizes—one nested inside the other—featuring gabled roofs, varied materials, and dimensions, the exhibition pavilion symbolically grows from a small house into a large one. Visitors enter the pavilion through the small, solid house and proceed into the large, light house. In conjunction with a snail-shell-like path, the design reinforces the theme of the growing house. The outer skin, made of hemp fabric, functions like a tent canvas and can be reused after the event.
Two additional entries submitted by Mainz University of Applied Sciences received an “Honorable Mention” (awarded 250 euros) in the competition. The “Mutur Pavilion” (a portmanteau of “Movement,” “Future,” and “Nature”), conceived by Anna Haufe and Noah Ebert, combines two functions. On the one hand, it serves as a statement about how buildings should be constructed: sustainably. It is built from mushroom mycelium bricks and is compostable. On the other hand, it provides an interactive setting in which innovative building materials and construction methods can be showcased. The “eCompass” design—a combination of “ecological” and “compass”—submitted by Nour Hourani and Eugenia Iosob is intended to show the path toward sustainable building and conscious living. Upon leaving the round exhibition pavilion, built entirely of bamboo, visitors are expected to have learned something about sustainable living and to question their consumption habits.
Sketches of the Mutur Pavilion and eCompass projects
The entries were evaluated by a five-member, independent jury. Students enrolled in the winter semester of 2022/2023 in a department at a university or university of applied sciences that focuses on building with renewable raw materials were invited to participate in the competition.
One of the top five winning designs is to be constructed—possibly after technical modifications—in coordination with the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). To this end, the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR), as the commissioning party, will enter into a partnership with a design firm or contractor to handle the detailed design and subsequent project phases. The copyrights will remain with the students.
