As part of her sociology studies at RWTH Aachen University, our colleague Nadine Antony took part in the city of Aachen's interdisciplinary student competition "Handel im Wandel" (Retail in Transition). The competition was initiated as part of the "Innenstadtmorgen" (City Centre Tomorrow) future process of the City of Aachen's "Business, Science, Digitalisation and Europe" department in order to counteract the increasing number of vacant shops in the city centre. The cooperation partner was GALERIA Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH, which facilitated access on site and provided the necessary floor plans and planning documents. The aim was to develop innovative overall concepts for a sustainable, versatile use of the department stores' building in Aachen's city centre.

In the form of a group project, a utilisation needs analysis was carried out and the overall concept called "Grünschnabel – ein Ort der Begegnung".The concept places a clear focus on social integration and sustainability, with measures such as façade greening, the creation of car parks and community gardens. These measures are intended to improve the microclimate and create a space for recreation and socialising in connection with nature.

The result is a vision of a lively and integrative space that not only promotes social cohesion, but is also in harmony with nature. The overall concept, to which our colleague Nadine Antony contributed, won over the expert jury and was awarded first prize in the vision competition "Handel im Wandel" for the Department of Sociology. Congratulations!