"An App Remembers the History of the Mensa at Saar University," Saarländischer Rundfunk, 11/16/2022 ∙ We in Saarland - Culture

The web app of the student canteen 'Mensa' is central to the multimedia exhibition project '50 years of architectural art' / 'Denk_mal anders | 50 Jahre BauKunst Mensa' which is supported by its owner, the University of Saarland. On behalf of the University it is curated by Dr. Mona Schrempf and was developed in cooperation with communication designer Marcus Feld / f:kom and the htw saar / School for Architecture Saar. It is also supported by the Office for Monument Protection Saarland.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the student canteen building, the university is celebrating its most important meeting and student service center as an internationally renowned architectural building under monument protection. The web app documents the award-winning 'Gesamtkunstwerk' of architectural art from previously unseen, interdisciplinary perspectives. It makes the building known to an international public using virtual reality and multimedia and allows the visitor to personally experience the monument in interactive new ways.

Highlight of the campus architecture of the 1960s

The student canteen is an 'architectural highlight' among the campus buildings of the first construction phase at the University of Saarland (1950s-1960s). Its brutalist architecture and art was closely constructed by the architect Walter Schrempf together with the artist Otto Herbert Hajek and is highlighted as such in guides of German post-war architecture. The cultural heritage building has also been exhibited as a 'European treasure' at the World Cultural Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte in 2020-2021. The extraordinary architecture as art is listed as protected monument since 1997. This exhibition project strongly supports the urgent need for its renovation and restoration in the making.

Linked to the web app via QR codes will be a permanent exhibition in the foyer and dining hall of the Mensa (opening in the end of January 2023). It will draw attention to the history and present significance of this architectural 'Gesamtkunstwerk'. Informative texts in three languages alongside historical fotos and building plans invite the many daily visitors to discover the history, construction and architectural art of the student canteen.

A few more notes on using the web app ...

If you follow the "Read More"-links, you will roam through our content in a predefined sequence that will first take you to the dining art  hall itself by means of a virtual matterport model in which you can freely move around. You can also leave the model of the dining hall again at any time returning to the home page of the web app.

The virtual model of the dining art hall lies at the centre of the web app. It also provides some tagged audiovisual information about the Mensa including an audiowalk by Saskia Riedel and short films on the building by the TV Station of the Saarland (SR). The extensive, previously unpublished visual material, the original plans and drawings as well as detailed information on the architect, artist and building allow a better understanding of this extraordinary work of architectural art.The Mensa's cultural-historical significance displayed by the web app underscores and contributes to our obligation to ensure the urgently needed preservation of the monument at present.

We wish you happy explorations of the Mensa!