Master Thesis Cologne – Monument and Infrastructure

The master thesis program set out to explore how writing and narrating histories shapes the way we perceive and transform our built environment. Taking infrastructure as its central lens, the studio questioned how large-scale structures – often defined by a single function – carry stories, meanings, and potentials that far exceed their original purpose. By confronting infrastructure with the notion of the monument, students investigated what happens when both are read, edited, and reinterpreted through the same narrative tools.

The site of inquiry was the Rhine as it flows through Cologne, focusing on the Cologne Cathedral and its immediate neighbour Cologne Central Station. This dense intersection of river, railway, and landmark architecture became a testing ground to rethink the European city through its layered histories and infrastructures. Each student paired this focal point with a second site along the Rhine, constructing comparative readings across scales.

Rather than proposing solutions, the program emphasized question-making as a design method. By combining storytelling with digital architectural tools, the studio reframed students as both historians and designers – positioned to uncover latent futures within the existing city.

[Date] Autumn 2021

[Place] Cologne

[Supervision] Prof. Freek Persyn, Prof. Dr. Maarten Delbeke, Dr. Falma Fshazi, Dr. Cara Rachele

[Students] Clara Richard, Thorben Muller