The offices of the vacant public health department building in Wilhelmsburg were still furnished when students at HafenCityUniversität turned it into a project called “University of the Neighbourhoods” in 2009. “How can the building, which is slated to be razed, be used in the meantime?” was their task. The students redesigned the rooms, organise concerts and cooking events in the building on a regular basis, and even operate a restaurant and temporary hotel there. Together with neighbours and local companies, the students are exploring possibilities of how the building can be used sustainably for living, working, and learning in harmony with its environment. It has become a creative place where students build tree houses with children, shoot films, and have neighbourhood parties.