Federal Garden Show 2031 in Wuppertal: Students are involved in planning the cable car project.

What will the valley station of the planned BUGA cable car at the zoo look like – and what structural loads will it have to withstand? Students from the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Wuppertal have been intensively studying these questions. Under the guidance of Prof. Bernd Naujoks and Prof. Arndt Goldack, they have designed a multifunctional valley station that combines the cable car, exhibition, and parking garage in a single building.

The package included everything that's important in a "real" project: a design with floor plans, sections, and details, as well as a structural design analysis. The students developed structural and foundation concepts, calculated loads from use, wind, snow, and cable car operation, and dimensioned the most important structural components – from columns and beams to the foundations. Interim submissions with presentations were made along the way, culminating in a small, comprehensive project including plans, an explanatory report, and structural documentation.

Particularly exciting: Many designs demonstrate how sustainability and engineering can be combined. Green facades, resource-efficient supporting structures, and well-thought-out material concepts provide concrete ideas for what the combined structure of parking garage and cable car valley station could look like – functional, robust, and at the same time a real eye-catcher.

“It is very motivating for the students to work on a real project related to their own city,” says Prof. Bernd Naujoks. “They experience firsthand how architectural design, structural engineering, and the framework conditions of a major project like the BUGA 2031 influence each other.”

BUGA Wuppertal 2031 gGmbH is also delighted about the collaboration: The projects provide us with many suggestions for the further planning of the valley station – from the combination of uses and the supporting structure to sustainably conceived material and energy concepts. Such collaborations demonstrate how universities, urban development agencies, and the BUGA project are working together on the city of tomorrow.