The Cubity Atelier HOUSE of the Findeisen Foundation
Temporary research and living
The CUBITY Atelier House is an extraordinary space for education, teaching, and research, inviting practical work on future-oriented topics for structural change in the Rhenish mining district.
Located in Merzenich (Düren district, North Rhine-Westphalia), directly on the outskirts of the Hambach open pit mine, it offers particularly young students optimal conditions for their project and study work in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and landscape planning.
»“Here, students are provided a space for the academic development of their ideas. The CUBITY is architecture for architecture; a space for spaces. An idea for ideas.”«
THE CUBITY ATELIER House
A futuristic building as inspiration for future projects: The CUBITY Atelier House with its new utilization concept is used as a pioneering place for education, teaching and research. People from all over the world can temporarily research and live in the newly built studio house on the topics of architecture, urban planning, nature and landscape development as part of the structural change at the Hambach open-cast mine.
The square floor plan of 16 x 16 meters is enclosed with 8-meter-high translucent polycarbonate panels, taking the shape of a halved cube. This “Cube” features rows of windows at the corners and a central roof hatch that allows for automatic air circulation, ensuring pleasant indoor temperatures.
JOINT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MUNICIPALITY OF MERZENICH, THE STATE OF NRW AND RWE POWER AG
Press conference
CUBITY PROJECT AS PART OF THE TDA 2023 OF THE CHAMBER OF ARCHITECTS OF NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA
Architecture Day 2023
INFORMATION EVENING ON URBAN DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CITIZENS OF MERZENICH
Lecture event
TU DARMSTADT, “BRIDGING THE GAP - UNIFYING PEOPLE AND PLANET”, BRIDGEHEAD IN NEUSS
Master theses
NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION OF THE HEART SERVICES FOUNDATION AND THE FINDEISEN FOUNDATION
New Year's reception
COMPACT WEEK FOR MASTER STUDENTS OF TH COLOGNE, FACULTY 05 ARCHITECTURE
Lecture
Are you interested in using the CUBITY Atelier House?
Are you involved in teaching or project development and would like to use the CUBITY temporarily as a residence and study location? Or would you like to use the CUBITY for events related to the topics of the Hambach open pit mine, Hambach Forest, or the transformation of Alt-Morschenich into the “Place of the Future”?
Submit your application now for the use of the CUBITY Atelier House to the Foundation for Art and Building Culture. Our scientific staff member Sharon Nathan will be pleased to advise you on your concerns.
A look into the CUBITY ATELIER HOUSE
Milestones of the CUBITY.
From the idea to the Atelier House in Merzenich.
Student living of the future
In August 2013, the Department of Architecture at TU Darmstadt was invited by the organizers of the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 in Versailles to develop and build a pioneering residential cluster for students.
The Solar Decathlon is an international university competition initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2002. It took place every two years in Washington D.C. from 2005 to 2011. Since 2013, the location of the event has changed, increasing its influence across the entire country. Additionally, since 2010, there has been a European competition, the Solar Decathlon Europe, which also occurs biennially across Europe. Previous locations for this competition were Madrid in 2010 and 2012, and Paris in 2014.
Stage 1 - the CUBITY Prototype
The design task required the development of an innovative, sustainable, and architecturally high-quality residential cluster for at least ten student residents in the palace park of Versailles on the occasion of the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014. The cluster was to be created on a classic, ideal city-like grid with plots of 16 x 16 meters.
Source: TU Darmstadt
Design Phase - Spontaneous Design
Short Design: Individual work for concept development with 36 results
Processing Time: 4 weeks
Jury Result: Selection of 12 concepts for further development in groups of 2-4 students
Source: TU Darmstadt
Design Phase - Preliminary Design
Preliminary Design: Revision of the 12 selected concepts in groups of 2-4 students
Processing Time: 4 weeks
Jury Result: Selection of 5 revised concepts for further development in groups of 6-7 students
Source: TU Darmstadt
Design Phase - Draft
Draft: Further development of the 5 selected preliminary designs in groups of 6-7 students
Processing time: 6 weeks
Jury result: Selection of the winning design
Required deliverables for the final presentation:
- Explanatory texts, diagrams, and pictograms
- Site plans for Darmstadt and Versailles, scale 1:200
- Floor plans, sections, and elevations, scale 1:50
- Concepts for interior space, facade, construction, materials, energy supply, natural and artificial lighting, and outdoor space
- Urban planning model
Winning Design: Village in the House
The project „Village in the House“ presents a strong and symbolic guiding idea, poetically, individually, and experimentally formulating student living in Versailles and on the Lichtwiese in a technically simple manner. The concept of a low-budgetoriented aesthetic is convincing for its use and the spatial diversity derived from the concept.
Source: TU Darmstadt
Evaluation Criteria
The jury's evaluation was based on the following criteria:
- Urban planning flexibility
- Design quality
- Interior spatial quality
- Energy and technology concept
- Degree of innovation – guiding idea, energy, spatial concept, and construction
- Economic efficiency
- Modularity and transportability
- Structural logic
- Quality of detailed development
Source: TU Darmstadt
Planning Implementation
Following the competition decision, starting from early February 2014, the design and construction of the winning project "Village in the House" were intensively revised in parallel with the design, approval, and execution planning phases, taking into account the jury's feedback.
Source: TU Darmstadt
Planning Implementation
Key spatial elements, such as the position and dimensions of the cubes and the staircase systems, were comprehensively detailed. Functional areas that were schematically represented or partially missing in the competition design, such as the kitchen, entrance area, terraces, and gallery level, were precisely defined in the planning process.
Source: TU Darmstadt
THE SOLAR DECATHLON in Versailles 2014
Students from 23 universities around the world competed in the European Solar Decathlon in Versailles, France, from June 27 to July 14, 2014, presenting their ideas for energy-autonomous buildings.
Since student housing is limited, especially in large cities, this issue remains a serious problem of political relevance. In the "Cubity" project, the students focused on two main features: affordable student housing and a plus-energy standard.
Source: TU Darmstadt
Design Award: Iconic Award 2015
The student dormitory "CUBITY," jointly conceived by TU Darmstadt and DFH Deutsche Fertighaus Holding AG, received the prestigious Iconic Award from the German Design Council in 2015 as a visionary construction project. "CUBITY" offers modular, transportable, and sustainably built living space for twelve students on a relatively small footprint. The residential pavilion made its debut in 2014 at the "Solar Decathlon" in Versailles.
Source: TU Darmstadt
Athene Prize for Good Teaching
The student dormitory "CUBITY," conceived by TU Darmstadt, Department of Architecture, Division of Design and Building Technology, under Prof. Anett-Maud Joppien, and DFH Deutsche Fertighaus Holding AG, has been awarded the Athene Prize for Good Teaching, Special Award for Student Projects.
Source: TU Darmstadt
Latest Blog Articles
Merzenich Receives Funding Approval for the Redesign of Poolplatz
Visit of the Chief Minister of the State of Tamil Nadu to the University of Cologne
Founders of a Joint Project for Bürgewald Met at CUBITY
Final Presentation Summer Semester 2025: “Re:SET – Bürgewald – Place of the Future”
Sharon Nathan as a Speaker at the “Humanity in Action Fellowship” 2025 in Berlin
TU Hambach 2025: Designs for the Future – Julia Knapp Presents Re:SET and Pioneer House 62
EVENTS AT CUBITY
Here you will find the events at the CUBITY Atelier House of the Findeisen Foundation. Meet us in person and discover our work along with that of our partners!
For all public events, registration is required unless otherwise stated. Closed events are exclusively for invited guests.
Partners and Supporters
»“With the creation of this extraordinary building dedicated to education, teaching, and research on future-oriented topics in urban and landscape planning and regional development, we achieve significant advantages in Merzenich. This initiative is part of the structural transformation in the Rhenish mining district, benefiting young people and project participants alike.”«
Photo credit
Cubity Atelier House Side View: TU Darmstadt, CUBITY – Plus Energy + Modular Future Student Living;
Cubity Atelier House Corner View: TU Darmstadt, CUBITY – Plus Energy + Modular Future Student Living, Location Frankfurt am Main
CO2 calculator: AI Dall-E
Carbon Neutral Website
This website is climate-neutral through CO2-offsetting.
The Britta and Ulrich Findeisen Foundation for Art and Architecture supports natural forest reforestation in Togo, Africa, as well as forest ecology projects in Germany with the climate protection combined certificate Germany Plus (Klimaschutzkombi-Zertifikat Deutschland Plus).
