MSU Hosts German Students/Faculty, Collaborate on East Lansing 2030: Collegeville Re-Envisioned

This year marked the 30th year of the partnership between Michigan State University’s School of Planning, Design and Construction and the Technische Universität Dortmund focused on unique study abroad opportunities.

Students from MSU and Germany's Technische Universitat Dortmund present their East Lansing 2030 projects

This year marked the 30th year of the partnership between Michigan State University’s (MSU) School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) and the Technische Universität (TU) Dortmund focused on unique study abroad opportunities. Every other year, students from Germany visit East Lansing to work on a collaborative week-long design charrette.

This past Labor Day a total of 13 students and seven faculty arrived to begin their Spartan experience. Their week started with free time to explore East Lansing and partake in American past times, such as watching baseball and eating hotdogs at a Lansing Lugnuts game, shopping at the Meridian Mall and dining on Grand River Ave.

The work began the next day when they joined SPDC students from the MSU Urban & Regional Planning Program (UP 823 Urban Land Management and the Environment) and the MSU Landscape Architecture Program (LA 817 Environmental Design Studio). The students were divided into mixed groups and introduced to the project: East Lansing 2030: The Collegeville Re-Envisioned Student Charrette.

Since the 2030: Collegeville Re-Envisioned exhibition is opening at The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in November 2014, the SPDC and TU students had a unique opportunity to participate. During the past year, the museum has hosted several architects, landscape architects and urban designers from across the U.S. to help envision a future downtown for the City of East Lansing. Their speculative projects for various sites along the Grand River Ave. corridor will be featured in the exhibition designed to encourage conversation about what the city is and what it could become.

Students from MSU and Germany's TU Dortmund hang their projects at the MSU Broad MuseumFor the slightly modified three-day charrette, students were tasked with creating a conceptual project on a specific site in East Lansing. Although the project was speculative, they were asked to respond to the societal and urban context of today’s East Lansing and reflect ideas that could be implemented in the future, while bridging the gap between MSU and East Lansing. It was the perfect task for the urban design, urban planning and landscape architecture students.

After tours of the site and campus, students went right to work on the block between Grand River Ave. and Albert Ave., bordered by Bailey St. and Division St. in East Lansing. Near the end of the charrette, the groups had boards filled with drawings of their visions for the future. They presented their ideas to MSU and TU faculty, and the exhibition curator at the Broad Art Museum.

"This collaborative project is a valuable experience for students from both universities. Students gain practical experience working in diverse groups and learn how planning and design is influenced by cultural perspectives," said Zenia Kotval, PhD, Urban & Regional Planning professor and program leader.

Most groups re-designed the entire block, doing away with existing structures and adding buildings for art galleries and start-up companies, additional parking, a grocery store, and shopping and restaurants.

Common themes included open space, outdoor seating and dining, mixed-use buildings and walkways to connect MSU’s campus, including the Board Art Museum with the East Lansing residents on the other side of Grand River Ave.

Overall, the week was a tremendous success. The diverse group of students worked together on a common project; sharing experiences from their home countries and contributing skills specific to their future career, while embracing the “town and gown” challenge in East Lansing. For the MSU and German students, the university partnership provided unique opportunities for practical experience that contributes to their future success.

The MSU Urban & Regional Planning students look forward to visiting the TU Dortmund in Summer 2015 on a European study abroad to participate in a similar project in Germany; this time as the visitors.

Did you find this article useful?