Urban x Digital – A Window into the Future for Parkstadt Süd
7. September 2026
On September 8, 2026, the “Cologne Real Future” event will make its debut in Cologne’s Parkstadt Süd. On site, around the historic Großmarkthalle, concrete digital solutions for urban development will be on display: companies, planners, technology providers, academia, and city officials will use the Parkstadt Süd urban development project as a case study to demonstrate how the transformation of the construction and real estate industries can be achieved.
Our contribution to this effort is the showcase “Urban x Digital – A Window into the Future for Parkstadt Süd,” which was created entirely in the AI Lab. Through intensive interaction with an artificial intelligence system, we developed the concept, defined the process, created visualizations and drawings, and drafted the text. The showcase thus not only illustrates the journey from a digital idea to a real-world location, but also demonstrates how AI can be used today as a creative partner in design and communication.
How does a digital idea become a real place in Cologne? Our pavilion illustrates exactly this process: It begins virtually in the Markthalle, where it is collectively explored, modified, and further developed. These digital designs are then transformed into an analog, modular prototype that can be flexibly adapted to different conditions at the Großmarkthalle and, in the future, could also be used there. The first components of the eventual pavilion could already be produced here.
In the next step, the pavilion will move further into the park and, at the site of the historic Fort II, become an open gathering place for information, exchange, and interaction. Its “Cologne DNA” isn’t rooted in clichés, but in openness, diversity, and community. Digitally conceived, modular in design, rooted in the local community, and the result of an AI-supported process, it creates a transformable showcase for the future of Parkstadt Süd.
For more information, visit: Cologne Real Future
Credits: Images created using AI