As the engineers of the future, we have a responsibility to tackle global sustainability problems. These problems are not just environmental but also social and economic. 

With SDE21 set in Wuppertal and having a strong urban orientation, we are aiming to create a holistic solution that addresses not only environmental sustainability, but also socio-economic issues such as lifestyle, affordability, and overconsumption of space. 

Our concept is centred around three main concepts: sustainable lifestyle, demographic diversity and urban intensification. We believe the built environment can be transformed to promote a sustainable lifestyle through collaboration between active users and passive systems. We aim to make sustainable living affordable, by creating a design that is useful to a wide range of people; a building that provides diverse functions for diverse demographics. Our proposal focuses on intensifying and efficiently using spaces by combining functions, on both building and urban scale  

Our building will be a microcosm of our vision on an urban scale– a lively, interactive space which has a use 24/7. 

With our concept, RIPPLE, we want to propose a solution for the disconnection between people and the changes they want to see in cities.

We aim to transform the static built environment, prompt social interaction in cities, and activate people to embrace an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

With RIPPLE, we throw a stone that has the power to both engage individuals on a personal level and to create a framework that encourages social interaction. The action on both the apartment and building scale as well as on the urban scale allows us to spark small combined actions that create a strong influence and have a larger and longer lasting impact, rather than doing one large act of sustainability and hoping others will follow.