Global migration flows are increasing for various reasons, and societies around the world are becoming increasingly culturally diverse.

Germany is currently the second top destination for international migrants. The country has already received multiple waves of immigrants in the past century – from guest workers to refugees – but its attitude toward foreign newcomers has historically been conservative. However, with the Skilled Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz) passed in 2023, the Federal Government now aims to push Germany into a “Modern Immigration Country” (Ein Modernes Einwanderungsland).

Within this new national ambition, the integration of foreign newcomers is highly prioritised; and public institutions are expected to facilitate this two-way process between local Berliners and foreign newcomers.

To support this, the public library emerges as a highly relevant institution. As an architectural typology, it began as a house for collections and on-site reading. Yet over time, digitalisation has largely reduced the need for this building to fulfil this specific function; thus liberating and shifting its focus to become an active site of social connections, where people from all walks of life can encounter each other regularly.

Furthermore, in Berlin’s future city development, the Senate envisions the public library as a mixed-use centre for strengthening social cohesion and bringing life to new residential districts (Neue Stadtquartiere). While there are already well-located public libraries – already enjoyed by existing Berliners of the vicinity – that can serve these districts, they are not spatially nor technically equipped to meet the multimedia & multi-programmatic needs for this social ambition.

This leads to the research question: How can we design a public library that facilitates the integration of migrants into the local community?

It calls for the project to critically examine and design a district-level public library, which primarily aims to be a social connector for facilitating integration. The secondary goals are to host and disseminate diverse media types; and to serve as an upgraded futureproof district centre.

Hospitals, as public buildings, establish connections with people in ways unparalleled by other structures. The architecture of a hospital directly influences its functionality, profoundly impacting the delicate balance between life and death. In today's information society, where the body is increasingly viewed as a collection of data for tracking health, the focus shifts decisively towards preserving life.

The focus of this graduation project is the development of a hospital tailored to a concept known as the ‘Human Data Twin.’ This project seeks to explore the effects of digitalization in healthcare, specifically examining how datasets and artificial intelligence (AI) influence the architectural design and functions of hospitals. The term ‘Human Data Twin’ refers to the unique concept of digitizing the human body with large datasets to create a human data twin (HDT) in cyberspace. This allows hospitals to conduct real-time simulations, optimizations, and evaluations, providing personalized diagnosis to empower individuals in making informed decisions, enhancing health performance, and extending life expectancy.

The transformative approach to healthcare through digitization has extensive implications, potentially necessitating the creation of new spaces within hospitals. Research indicates that the AI revolution in medicine introduces new dynamics to spatial relations in the diagnostic process, with AI likely to play a key role. The architectural design of hospitals needs reevaluation, presenting an opportunity to promote the health, physical activity, and mental well-being of society.

The project holds significant relevance in the current context, drawing inspiration from near-future predictions of technological advancements in healthcare. It envisions a transformation from generalized to personalized and precision medicine, facilitated by data science and technology. By doing so, the project aims to spark discussions around the imperative nature of collaborating with technologies like AI, which will drive changes in hospital functions, processes, and design. This discourse will also highlight the ethical challenges and considerations inherent in such advancements. Broadly, the project aspires to establish guidelines for designing hospitals of the digital future.

The architecture of transportation is recognized by the contemporary lifestyle of society. For the built environment and the future of aerospace infrastructure architecture this legacy needs to be properly examined, respected and continued. This new form of urban infrastructure will introduce a mixed-use building where passengers can check in and travel between distinct urban drone stations. The network in which these vertiports will exist is expected to grow considerably in the coming century to accommodate a decline in car use. The expected increase in demand requires the design to include a modular approach, allowing terminals to easily expand or downsize as needed in the future. Additionally, the design will feature a warehouse dedicated to postal services, where packages and post can be sent through the city via drones. The location of this drone hub is strategically located next to the Hauptbahnhof-station on the unused plot of land adjacent to the tunnel trench where the tracks go underground. This area around and over the train tracks is ideal for apron platforms. Due to the extensive tracks, the project’s site offers a significant potential for future expansion. Developing a cornerstone of tomorrow’s urban landscape.

For the typology 'Opera', data storage offers the opportunity to make the production of performance art data-driven through collecting and processing the data of the users. This is a major tool for artistic co-creation, which could greatly update and broaden the art of opera in Berlin. The opera typology therefore raised the question: How can Berlin offer an innovative space for performing art production and display which stimulates data-driven co-creation ? Opera is a very traditional art form and opera houses have the focus on spatial experience. Combining data center and opera into one building is thus a critical aspect where the two functions ought to be used as mutual reinforcement instead of being conflictual.

The Rush Hour project is initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport to accelerate the transformation of the German railway infrastructure, including modernizing its train stations. For many decades, the rail infrastructure has been neglected, leading to failing rush hours at stations with overcrowded platforms and unprecedented delays. Digitalization is regarded as the future backbone of the train station by optimizing transport efficiency and user experience. Berlin Westhaven has been chosen as the most suitable site, responding to the client’s ambition of creating a digital and transport node as the urban anchor. Westhaven is situated between the city center and a large urban tech development. The station aims to become a highly efficient transport node during peak travel times, simultaneously acting as a destination and gateway of an innovative ecosystem. The main users are local commuters, tech workers, and TU Berlin students. A benchmarking study of existing train stations, in combination with client and site requirements, resulted in a design brief for a train station with an integrated data center.