News - Schindler Award prize money enables new "Access for all" course

Press Release

The winner of the Schindler Award 2008, the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz, has invested the prize money of Euro 25,000 in a new course focused on "Access for All", the main theme of the competition.

Koblenz won both the students' and schools' prize in the Schindler Award 2008. With the money from the schools' prize, Prof. Eva von Mackensen und Dipl. Ing. Sabine Hopp have initiated a new "Access for all" course for bachelor's and master's students.

The course runs for two semesters and consists of a series of lectures on how accessibility can be integrated into the design of our environment. The lectures will be delivered by national and international speakers, including the Schindler Award jury president, Prof. Françoise-Hélène Jourda, who will address students on concept principles and examples from architecture. Another Schindler Award jury member, Prof. Dieter Hassenpflug, will focus on the sociological dimension of "Access for All".

The Schindler Award encourages schools of architecture to incorporate "Access for All" into their curricula by awarding schools' prizes. The prize money is given directly to the research unit of the winning faculty, with the aim of encouraging new approaches in architecture.

Schindler is delighted the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz has initiated an "Access for All" course and hopes it will challenge students to think beyond form, light and materials and to focus on the needs of the people who will eventually inhabit the structures and spaces that they design.

"Access for All" is a design philosophy focused on improving access and overall mobility for city dwellers, irrespective of their age, status or physical capabilities.

For more information about the course at the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz, please click here:PDF (German)

Schools' Prize 2008