SEMINAR | Can It Work? Feasibility Study for Department Stores

Master | 5 LP

To build or not to build? In most cases, this question is far from easy to answer. After all, whether a building can be constructed or converted depends on many location-specific factors: What conditions does the location offer? What types of use are in demand there? What is permitted under building regulations, and what is structurally feasible?

Against this backdrop, the feasibility study has become a key tool in planning practice for establishing a basis for decision-making. All relevant factors are systematically examined, evaluated and interpreted in a feasibility study. Thus, a feasibility study serves to clarify not only whether a project is feasible under the given conditions, but also to identify development potential and formulate viable implementation scenarios. It provides a well-reasoned framework for action, enabling different options to be weighed against one another and further developed.

The seminar will focus on the theoretical and practical development of feasibility studies. We will examine vacant and operational department stores in various cities in Lower Saxony and beyond as case studies. With the support of experts, we will examine the buildings, the urban environment and the key stakeholders in closer detail. We will then use this knowledge to develop reuse concepts for the department stores. 

The seminar forms part of the research project, 'Department Stores as Catalysts for Sustainable Inner-City Development' which is being conducted by the Department of Urban Studies and Transformation in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich and Bauhaus University Weimar.
 

Teachers
Prof. Tim Rieniets
Natascha Maier 
 

Dates
15.04.26, 5pm, Orientation Session (Room C150/153)