The Faculty of Visual Design at FHWS accommodates 324 students on two degree programmes. After overcoming the hurdles of the application process, they can not only study, but also enjoy life high on the mountain. An overview of a very special faculty.
Concrete, glass, nature: the Faculty of Visual Design (FG) campus, a concrete building on columns, is located on Sanderheinrichsleitenweg at Hubland in Würzburg. The hillside location offers a view of vineyards, orchard meadows and a nature reserve. The Sanderheinrichsleitenweg campus, SHL for short, has been home to the Faculty of Visual Design, as well as the Faculties of Computer Science and Business Information Systems, since the 2011/12 winter semester. However, it was quite a long road to this point.
The Faculty of Visual Design had its first home not far from its present location. Prof. Uli Braun, Professor of Typography and Graphic Design and Dean of Studies for the faculty, remembers the site on Hans-Löffler-Straße which he visited during a field trip as a student: “It was a pavilion style building with a courtyard, the architecture was a typical bungalow style. It had a lovely atmosphere.” Horst Czenskowski, an independent commercial director, experienced the site as a student. He studied Communication Design at the Faculty of Visual Design from 1985 to 1989. “Hans-Löffler-Straße was very cool, we knew everyone and there were always familiar faces around, particularly at the coffee machine in the basement,” he recalls. “I was lucky enough to be in a single building for every semester.”
Spread across the city
Because that would change quickly: the building was torn down owing to asbestos exposure in the temporary low-rise building. The departments had to move to multiple rental properties in the city. “It wasn’t helpful; you had to change buildings constantly and there were no meeting places for the students, there were no exhibition spaces,” says Prof. Erich Schöls, Dean and Professor of Interactive Media.
The aula and studio were on Reuerergasse, the photo studio was in a former carpentry workshop on Badergasse and the video department was on Korngasse. The students could do illustration on Münzstraße. The seminar rooms were located in a rental property on Randersackerer Straße, and the existing pavilions opposite the main FHWS building on Münzstraße were also used.
Hurdles waiting to be overcome
“Street parties and visits to cafés ensured a lively university life, but they didn’t give the feeling of being a faculty,” says Prof. Schöls. Significant organisational effort, bleak sanitary facilities and a lack of opportunities for contact were the drawbacks of the scattered buildings. A solution was needed. But even the comprehensive search of other alternatives didn’t turn up any solutions. The City of Würzburg was cooperative and offered to exchange the property on Hans-Löffler-Straße for a site on Sanderheinrichsleitenweg. An architectural competition was advertised, and the development plan could be realised. But before construction work could start, a citizens’ initiative which wanted to prevent the new build came into the picture.
Great commitment to the faculty
In collaboration with Georg Rosenthal, former Lord Mayor of Würzburg, various campaigns were started: “The students held lectures in the pedestrian zone and painted paintings in the streets,” Schöls remembers. It took almost half a year before the majority spoke out in favour of the new build in a referendum, says Prof. Braun.
“We were able to move into the new building in 2012 – that was a turning point for us,” says Prof. Schöls. Today, the campus is a meeting place. The outdoor area with large steps invites students to watch the sunset, eat together or to discuss with one another. Former student Theresa Vogt also greatly appreciates this: “It’s an incredibly nice counterbalance, particularly because we, as designers, spend a lot of time on the computer. You can relax – which is also important for creative work.” Theresa Vogt studied Communication Design at the Faculty of Visual Design in Würzburg from October 2016 to summer 2020.
The interiors of the new building also have a lot to offer: photo and recording studios, printing, paper and 3D workshops, an interactive laboratory, a material library and much more. It’s a 360-degree turn in comparison with the first building: “There was only one computer with limited work times, and you had to pass a test for it,” Czenskowski recounts. Digitalisation has changed a lot in design work, but the conceptual approach always remains the same: “It’s about questioning content, developing concepts and thus coming to an innovative, creative solution,” says Prof. Braun.
Portfolios, assignments and discussions
From the beginning – with the founding of FHWS in 1971 and 111 students – there has been a Communication Design degree programme. The consecutive Information Design master’s degree programme has been offered since 2007. “We very deliberately didn’t want to offer more degree programmes,” says the Dean. Because ultimately, it is the core skill of conceptual and creative thinking which should be encouraged above all. This is already examined during the application. Both Czenskowski and Vogt had to apply with a portfolio which they designed themselves. This generally consists of 20 pieces of work from very different creative areas and is individually evaluated by the lecturers. “The course of study was also very popular back then and only a few students were accepted,” says the commercial director. According to Prof. Braun, more than 460 portfolios were submitted in 2021, of which 200 were selected. “That is the admission ticket for the aptitude test, which consists of two parts: a practical exam and an interview,” says the professor for typography.
60 to 80 students are thus accepted each semester. The relationship between the students and lecturers is therefore also familiar and close, says Vogt. Choosing your own projects and individual mentoring also make the discourse in seminars very personal. Schöls also confirms this: “We know everyone by name, we know their backgrounds and know what they do when they leave university – we are very close.”
“Bergwerk”: the highlight of the semester
Since the students primarily complete practical projects alongside the theoretical subjects, there is an exhibition at the end of each semester. This was started by Prof. Braun and Prof. Schöls in 2001 and bears the name “Bergwerk”. Students help to design the event, which attracts up to 2,000 visitors to the campus across two days. “The entire building is transformed, rooms are cleared, and projects from all classes are displayed: magazines, books, installations, illustrations, interactive media projects and much more,” says Vogt. In addition, there are still other live events such as lectures or live music. “We are all run ragged afterwards, but we’re happy,” says Braun. “Bergwerk is a great thing and we are delighted to do it every year.”
FG among the top 5 higher education institutions for design
Students in the Faculty of Visual Design have previously been honoured with various awards like the Red Dot Award, the Bavarian State Prize for Design or the Adobe World Award. The faculty has also won the Grand Prix for the best semester project. “The credit here goes not to the faculty, but rather to the students: they simply are great people,” says Prof. Erich Schöls. The students received a total of 14 honours, including four golds, during the Art Directors Club Talent Awards 2021. As a result, the faculty itself is also acclaimed – it numbers among the five best higher education institutions for design in Germany.
