For the Department Civil Engineering at Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences, the project at the corner of Lonystraße and Bismarckstraße is nothing unusual. Twenty students are renovating the principal's residence of the former Landgraf-Ludwig-Gymnasium during their semester break. The prospective architects and civil engineers are working for free, so the university only needs to spend about €10,000 on materials to make the stately Wilhelminian-era building, built more than 100 years ago, ready for occupancy.

Sometimes demolition work was necessary, says Wolfgang Döring. In addition to his everyday tasks, the research assistant took over the construction management of the project. An old wooden staircase is exposed. At the moment it is filled and painted. A student design for the wall design in the stairwell still has to be implemented. A total of 250 square meters will be available for the Sdeanat Department and Professor room at the beginning of the semester.

The three -week work assignment not only brings urgently needed space to the Department . The members of the renovation column also acquire experiences in construction practice, which can be useful to them at work.

This strenuous, self-motivated approach has a long tradition at the Giessen Department of Civil Engineering. Back in 2002, professors, staff, and students renovated the neoclassical old high school, now the Hugo von Ritgen House at Südanlage 6. In 2006, a team effort transformed an unsightly barracks between the school and the director's residence into a light-filled student studio.

The FH Vice President Prof. Dr. Axel Schumann-Luck praised the most recent initiative. The commitment can quickly create the space capacity tailored to the needs of the Department of Building.