When it comes to health, not only functionality, ergonomics and sustainability play an important role, but also perception and aesthetics. So do artificial environments such as cities, houses or interiors have to be considered not only from the point of view of their usefulness? Does their aesthetic appearance also have a stabilising effect psychologically and physically? Do the aesthetic qualities of buildings measurably reduce stress levels in the long term and promote agility and resilience? In order to better understand such complex interrelationships, to make the corresponding knowledge fruitful for architecture, the building world and design, and thus to be able to make a contribution to health promotion and prevention, the “Coburg University of Applied Sciences” and the “Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg” have founded the “Institute Man & Aesthetics”. The focus of the new institution is on researching the interactions between health and aesthetic design.
“Research at the University of Bamberg is characterised by a strong interdisciplinary focus. The activities of the Institut Mensch & Ästhetik in the field of design, humanities and human sciences illustrate this orientation in a special way and show how diverse science can contribute to solving social problems,” said Prof. Dr. Kai Fischbach, President of Bamberg University. According to the Coburg University of Applied Sciences, it combines background knowledge from psychology, neurobiology and design with application-oriented research and teaching in architecture and design, which makes it unique in Europe. Its president, Prof. Dr. Stefan Gast, is therefore pleased to see how these Coburg competences complement the Bamberg competences in the field of philosophy. The cooperation also has another dimension: “It is the first time that Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Bamberg University have worked together in a cross-university institute.” The joint scientific institution embodies the spirit of the “TechnologieAllianzOberfranken” (TAO), a joint project of the universities of Bamberg and Bayreuth and the universities of Coburg and Hof.
Even before the decision to cooperate was made, Michael Heinrich (Coburg) and Christian Illies (Bamberg) were already researching aesthetics and its influence on human well-being and quality of life with their respective teams. In the newly founded “Institut Mensch & Ästhetik”, which the two professors jointly head, they now want to intensify and expand their activities. One project is “Shrines of Wisdom”, a conference and book project of the Universities of Bamberg and Cambridge and the Coburg University of Applied Sciences. It deals “with the future of libraries in times of digitalisation and knowledge explosion” and explores, among other things, how holistic, health-conscious learning can be promoted by designing places.
The knowledge gained in these and other projects is to flow directly into the teaching of the institutions involved in the institute. Students are to be enabled to produce their own work at the interface between architecture, design, aesthetics, philosophical anthropology and psychology. In addition, joint courses are planned in Bamberg and Coburg and a master’s college at the Coburg design faculty. From 2024 onwards, the institute will also supervise the first doctorates based between design and the humanities.
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