MA Studio SoSe 2025
Prof. Dr. Anke Hagemann, David Bauer, Lukas Pappert

Pits Pools Powerfarms
Researching Energy Transition in Oberspreewald-Lausitz

Replacing fossil fuels by renewable energy sources is one of the most important steps towards climate neutrality. All forms of energy generation and supply are spatially structured and inscribed in landscapes and the built environment. Energy transition therefore means spatial transformation. This is particularly evident in Lusatia (Lausitz), an ‚operational landscape‘ that has served as an energy factory and ‚sacrifice zone‘ for the metropolises and industries of eastern Germany for more than 150 years. The wasted mining territories, the existing energy infrastructure, and the large structural funding programs targeted at the region have become the starting point for large-scale renewable energy projects – including wind, solar, bioenergy, and emerging hydrogen technologies. This energy transition reshapes Lusatia’s physical, social and economic fabric in unprecedented ways and poses significant challenges in negotiating conflicting land use demands, increasing local acceptance and value capture, and reimagining a new kind of landscape and regional identity.

The research-oriented studio will explore the interplay of energy transitions, physical landscapes and regional imaginaries in the past, present and future, focusing on two rural core areas in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district. Student groups will use different research methods: A new materialism approach and GIS tools will be used to investigate and map the spatial logics of different energy sources; value chains, actor networks and regulatory frameworks of renew-able energy production will be analysed; and planning governance, imaginaries and visions will be assessed. After an extended analysis phase, students can (a) elaborate individual research proposals (e.g. for a master‘s thesis) or (b) develop a future scenario or development strategy for the focus area. The studio will include guest lectures, collaborations with BTU Cottbus and local stakeholders, and collective and individual field trips. Studio languages will be English and German.

Photo: © David Bauer

Download poster here.