The BauGrünKit

RWTH’s building stock contributes significantly to the heat island effect in the various campus areas and the city of Aachen. Buildings and surrounding open spaces also offer little habitat for animals and plants. This often results in an unappealing image, and there are hardly any opportunities for students and employees to identify with their places of learning or work.

Twelve students from the Faculty of Architecture are proposing an approach to change this through their prototype for the so-called BauGrünKit, which provides RWTH staff and students with a way of placing greenery onto buildings on their own initiative.

The kit can be assembled independently from commercially available metal construction profiles and fitted with textile plant pockets for a wide variety of planting options. It can be installed both on ground surfaces and on facades and can be watered manually with a watering can or with an automatic drip irrigation system. Rainwater from roof runoff can be used for the water supply if the building situation permits this.

The prototype was implemented on the roof terrace of the Language Center at RWTH Aachen University. It serves to make the employees’ break room nicer, and it is maintained and watered by them. A monitoring program for the microclimatic effects is currently being prepared. Assembly and operating instructions written by the students are available so that the kit can be used at other locations.

Due to its small size and DIY approach, the BauGrünKit primarily supports urban biodiversity as a co-productive nature conservation measure. It provides habitat and food for various animal and plant species. The kit can be adapted to specific species and locations through plant selection. The DIY idea can also be used as a team-building measure through joint installation and maintenance of the greenery by employees.

The development and testing of the BauGrünKit was funded in 2022 as part of the first funding round of the RWTH Aachen University Sustainability Fund. The students of the Faculty of Architecture also awarded the BauGrünKit elective module first prize in the ArchiCup 2023, the Architecture Student Council’s teaching award.

Further information (YouTube):

The BauGrünKit in “To the Point – Know More in 240 Seconds, Episode 2: Sustainability” (from 13:19)
Elective & Impromptu BauGrünKit I – RWTH as a Living Lab for Jointly Placing Greenery Onto Buildings
Elective & Impromptu BauGrünKit II – From Design to Implemented Prototype
Elective & Impromptu BauGrünKit III – Students Report on Their Experiences With Self-Construction

Focused SDGs:

SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being
SDG 4 – Quality Education
SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 13 – Climate Action
SDG 15 – Life on Land

Organization unit:

Institute and Chair of Landscape Architecture, Institut für Textiltechnik, Language Center