Campus West

In line with RWTH’s Thinking the Future guiding principle, a continuous RWTH campus is being created, with Campus West connected to Campus Mitte and Campus Melaten. This campus will be integrated into public life and will form a research quarter and flagship project for an innovative and sustainable urban quarter.

The area development focuses on reducing CO2 emissions, as well as sustainable water management and the creation of many attractive green spaces. Campus West will be supplied with heat and cold using locally generated, renewable energy from a cold district heating network, enabling sustainable and resource-efficient operations. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions via this system and develop a carbon-neutral campus area in the long term.
All the buildings will be connected to each other via this area network. The primary objective will be to use structural and technical measures to minimize the total energy required for the building while taking into account the requirements regarding health and comfort as well as the basic principles of efficiency and economic efficiency. Sustainability criteria must also be met. Complementary to the green-space planning, the buildings also help to improve the microclimate of the area and the city. The sustainable management of water as a resource is a key component in reducing the negative impacts of climate change on humans and the environment in urban areas. Reducing consumption of drinking water by using gray water, using the cooling effects from evaporation and protecting against flooding with rainwater retention are effective measures in counteracting hot spells with extremely dry phases and heavy rain.