How can design and planning facilitate encounters, exchange, and participation? The intensive week »Planning, Designing, Debating« addressed this question with students from the fields of industrial design, interior architecture, information design, and conceptual fashion design at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle.

Drawing on theoretical insights and examples of best practices, the participants explored the urban space in Halle. In the process, they examined various social hubs in public spaces. Through observations, conversations, and mapping exercises, social dynamics were made visible and critically reflected upon. Initial impressions, perceptions, and connections were thus identified and used as a starting point for design-oriented questions. The analyses were deliberately kept sketchy and exploratory to allow room for testing different methods.

Based on this investigation, the students developed their own designs and interventions along various design paths: They delved deeper into observations related to specific questions, tested site-specific interventions in public spaces, or developed mobile dialogue formats that facilitate encounters and exchanges with diverse people. Some concepts were prototyped and tested in the urban environment.

The intensive week approached design as a social practice – as a means of shaping relationships, encounters, and dialogue.