Professur Nachhaltiges Bauen / Sustainable Construction

Steiff, Peter. “Zirkuläres Bauen. Regeneratives Baustoff-Management.” BUND Jahrbuch 2026, January 2026.

Dietzold, Lutz, ed. Iconic Awards 2025 – Spaces Objects Visions. Frankfurt: Rat für Formgebung GmbH, 2025.

In an interview with RKW, Sandra Böhm and Elena Boerman from KIT emphasised the importance of using recyclable materials in sustainable construction. To avoid waste and conserve resources, these materials should be reusable without any loss of quality. In particular, they argue that the recycling of building materials from existing buildings — the ‘urban mine’ — could be improved. Currently, many materials are not separated during demolition, composites make recycling difficult, and only a small proportion is recycled.

Historic wooden and half-timbered buildings demonstrate that high-quality, functionally designed biological materials can last for centuries. This optimises the utilisation of material potential and enables later reuse.

‘What we need is a new openness to a variety of materials – especially those that are recyclable, i.e. that can circulate permanently in biological or technical cycles.’ says Sandra Böhm. The experts also emphasise the need for material diversity: there is no such thing as a ‘panacea material’. Durable, efficient structures can only be created through the targeted combination of different recyclable building materials. This diversity should be taught in practical training and studies to equip architects and craftsmen to design buildings that are environmentally friendly, resource-efficient and built to last for generations.

As part of the ‘Kupfer Symposium’, Daniela Schneider will present her latest research on how copper can be reused more effectively across the construction and mechanical engineering sectors.

Although copper is highly recyclable, it is often only reused within a single industry. This project explores how smarter design, clear labelling and easier dismantling could help to recover pure copper and reintegrate it into new applications.

On 13 November at 11:50 am, she will present alongside Phillip Wallat as part of the session ‘Cross-sectoral reuse of copper-containing products and components in construction and mechanical engineering through a circular strategy’.

© Zooey Braun

The KIT Material Library has been honored in two categories of the Iconic Awards in August 2025: the Best of Best Interior category and the Circular Design category. The jury’s statement says: „The revitalised material library at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) serves as an analogue and digital knowledge repository for imparting knowledge on the subject of innovative building materials of the past, present and future. The project was realised by the Faculty of Architecture and the Professor of Sustainable Building at KIT, Dirk E-Hebel, in cooperation with STUDIO-MRA from Stuttgart. The newly arranged collection is accessible to students, interested members of the public and experts, who can also draw inspiration from the successful quality of a circular construction method. The interior is characterised not least by its exceptional clarity – it is minimalist, yet impressive and powerful.“

Hebel, Dirk E. “Vom Linearen Zum Kreislaufsystem.” In Architektur Und Klimawandel. München: Edition DETAIL, 2025.

This year, Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH (WRS) is once again organising the 6th Symposium ‚Zukunft Bauen‘ in collaboration with the International Building Exhibition 2027 Stuttgart Region (IBA’27 GmbH and IBA’27 Friends e.V.).

Under the theme ‘People – Materials – Machines’, the symposium will focus on the profound changes taking place in the construction sector – in terms of technology, design and society. The central question is how we want to build – and with whom: What role do materials play? What about people? And how are machines changing what we do?

The symposium will take place on 8 October 2025 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Landeskasse Stuttgart. Elena Boerman will be speaking alongside Marietta Schwarz (Deutschlandfunk), Jun.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anja Lauer (University of Stuttgart) and Prof. Felix Dölker (Mainz University of Applied Sciences).

David Ertl, 2025 © Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

In 2025, the Bundeskunsthalle is focusing on ecological transformation. The exhibition  “WEtransFORM. On the Future of Building“ invites visitors to engage in a lively debate about the future of our built environment. The focus is on fundamental design principles for a climate-friendly renewal of our building culture. Around 80 projects are on display, all of which deal with the challenges of climate change in an exemplary manner. (Text: Bundeskunsthalle)

The KIT Professorship of Sustainable Construction is contributing to the exhibition with selected exhibits, photographs and video material on the projects ‘Urban Mining and Recycling Unit’ in the Nest and ‘RoofKIT’. The exhibition can be visited from 6 June 2025 to 25 January 2026 at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn.

Hebel, Dirk E. Interview: “Wir müssen endlich anfangen, den CO2-Ausstoß zu messen – nicht nur, wie dick die Dämmung ist.” Interview by Christoph Karcher. LooKIT 0225, 2025.

© Professorship Sustainable Construction

At the end of the summer semester, the KIT Department of Architecture cordially invited guests to its annual exhibition “Reinschauen” on 16 July 2025. The professors, departments and studios opened their doors and presented work and projects from the past academic year, providing an insight into the diversity of teaching and research at the faculty.

In addition to current publications and design models from the winter semester, the Professorship of Sustainable Construction provided insights into ongoing research and construction projects involving mycelium, rammed earth and reclaimed wood, as well as the work of three doctoral students who are investigating the potential of biological insulation materials, circular construction and CO2 reduction in the building industry as part of their research.

BUNDESKUNSTHALLE, ed. WEtransFORM – Zur Zukunft Des Bauens. Berlin: jovis Verlag, 2025.

The construction industry accounts for about 40 percent of the emissions responsible for climate change, and thus more than any other sector. It is therefore critically important to reduce as quickly as possible both the CO2 emissions and the energy inputs involved in the manufacture and operation of buildings. It is crucial to create an awareness of the urgent need for change. To this end we must understand its causes, impacts, and background. 

The exhibition Architecture and Energy – Building in the Age of Climate Change provides the necessary information, and it supplements this with built examples that combine attractive architecture with a climate-conscious approach to emissions and energy. A total of 23 international projects are visualized and described in detail; all of them show what can be achieved in the field of climate-appropriate architectural culture today. (Text: DAM)

The material library of the Department of Architecture at KIT, which is under the scientific direction of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction, is contributing to the exhibition with an excerpt from its material collection and the associated data on the environmental impact of building materials. The exhibition Architecture and Energy – Building in the Age of Climate Change, which was created in collaboration with Prof. Werner Sobek, can be visited from 14 June to 5 October at the Deutsches Architektur Museum in Frankfurt am Main.

Renaissance AG, ed. Henkels Wuppertal – DenkWerkStadt. Wuppertal: renaissance Immobilien und Beteiligungen Aktiengesellschaft, 2025.

On May 13, over 80 participants from business, science, administration, politics, and civil society gathered at Steamwork Karlsruhe — joined by 20+ remote experts — for a full-day vision workshop on the Circular Economy. Their shared goal: to develop the foundation for a city-wide vision of a circular Karlsruhe.

Four key vision areas emerged: Circular Construction, Circular Value Creation, Lifestyle and Consumption and Local Food Systems. Elena Boerman was invited to participate in the workshop group of Circular Construction on behalf of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction.

The workshop results will feed into a feasibility study to inform political decision-making in fall 2025. Further engagement formats and a #CircularKarlsruhe network are in the works by the Wirtschaftsförderung of Karlsruhe.

Monkenbusch, Helmut. „Bauen für die Welt von morgen.“ Hörzu, 24.1.2025

Hebel, Dirk E., Tanja Hildbrandt. „ Pilze – Netzwerker im Untergrund“. alverde, dm-Magazin, April 2025.

Transformation of the Matthäuskirche in Karlsruhe

The architectural heritage of Christian churches still shapes the cultural landscape of Europe today and plays a central role in the collective memory of many cities. However, as a result of alienation from urban society, a decline in church membership and the associated shortage of capital, vacant churches are becoming increasingly common. In order to address this issue, this semester’s design task is to develop concepts for the future use and conversion of German churches, using the Matthäuskirche in Karlsruhe as an example.

The Matthäuskirche by the architect Hermann Alker is an important example of architectural history in Karlsruhe. Built as an emergency church in the 1920s after the First World War, it is characterized by its constructive solutions. A symposium at the beginning of the semester will provide an introduction to Karlsruhe church buildings, strategic issues in the course of church conversions and conservation challenges. A site visit is also planned as part of this event.

The design studio will focus on analyzing the existing building, understanding its structural and functional potential and developing concepts for further use. Short-term and long-term subsequent use scenarios are to be examined in order to develop a conversion or reuse solution that preserves the historical substance. The design should take particular account of the use of resource-saving building materials and sustainable construction methods. The work will be carried out in groups of two.

Supervised by: Fanny Amelie Hirt

First Meeting: 24.04.2025
Symposium and Excursion: 08.05.2025
Submission: 06.08.2025
Presentation: 06.08.2025

We travel to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. While modern architecture dominates the cities, the rural areas are traditionally characterized by “tukuls” – round, simple loam houses. A contemporary reinterpretation of this construction method is being developed as part of the Building Week: The “Tukul 2.0” combines the traditional architecture of Ethiopia with rammed earth technologies known in Europe.

In collaboration with students from the School of Built Environment (formerly EiABC) at Addis Ababa University, prototypes will be created that enable a more robust, durable and yet simple construction method. The focus is on the intercultural exchange of knowledge between Ethiopian and German students.

First orientation meeting: 7 May 2025, 3:00 PM, Bldg. 11.40 Room 26

Excursion one week in the period 28.09.25 to 12.10.2025

The materials library houses conventional building materials as well as recyclable building materials made from secondary and renewable raw materials. The seminar focuses on biological insulation materials, which serve both – thermal insulation and summer heat protection. Against the backdrop of climate change and the resulting high relevance of an optimized building envelope, the opportunities and limitations of these insulation materials are examined.

Students will conduct independent and critical research on selected insulation materials, aiming to present sustainable alternatives based on detailed data sheets and physical material samples. The seminar will be accompanied by supervision, workshops, lectures, and excursions.

First Meeting: April 22, 2025
Submission/Exam: July 22, 2025
Focus of study: Building Technology

Smaller excursions will take place in the Karlsruhe area.

Cities are spaces of complex co-existence. Be it among ourselves or with the multiplicities of elements of nature, the question of co-existence is increasingly challenged by our collective actions. In our experiment to find a hopeful and sustainable way of coexistence, the continent of Africa offers a vast space of enquiry. In just 25 years, close to a billion additional people are expected to claim the hope that urban living offers in Africa. Such a mass of need creates a vast opportunity to reimagine new forms of urbanism. 

Recognizing the vastness and multidimensionality of Africa, the seminar will be a space of optimistic speculations on urban futures – a thought experiment based on discussions and projective exercises. By interrogating the practices of Architecture and Urban Design – through selected projects in Africa, the seminar also aims to sketch a Framework-of-Engagement that can help to ensure the relevance of architecture in the production of Hopeful-Urban-Futures.

First Meeting: 22.04.2025, Bld. 11.40 Room 26
Submission/Exam: 22.07.2025
Focus of study: Urban Design

We are travelling to Copenhagen by train to explore how Denmark has managed to become the most successful protagonist of sustainable construction in Europe, using the example of the northern European metropolis. We want to learn from it.

By visiting innovative pioneering projects – by Lendager, EFFEKT, C.F. Moeller and others – we are made aware of a climate-resilient citie´s potential, concepts of circular construction and intelligent approaches to CO2 balancing.

Academic guest lectures will provide us with state oft he art insights and Exploring the concept of Hygge will complete the program of our academic journey.

Supervised by: Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Elena Boerman, Fanny Hirt, Han Jun Yi

First Meeting: 15.05.2025, 14:00 Uhr, Geb. 11.40 Raum 26
Excursion: 09.06. – 14.06.2025

On Monday, April 07, 2025, in the second event of the talk series Zegeye Cherenet delivered a conversation with Lesley Lokko at Lucerne theatre. 

The “African Voices Lucerne” series brings together prominent figures from Africa to discuss the future of the continent and its place in the world. The guests cover a broad spectrum of expertise: they include scientists, artists, intellectuals, educators, architects, civil society leaders, and religious leaders. Each event brings together a guest from Africa with a person of African descent living in Switzerland.

“African Voices Lucerne” is a joint initiative of the Arthur Waser Foundation and the Lucerne Theater. The series of discussions presents diverse African perspectives and offers nuanced insights that enrich our understanding of Africa and its place in the world.

The second event brings Lesley Lokko into conversation with Zegeye Cherenet.

Lesley Lokko is a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, and bestselling author. She is the founder and chair of the African Futures Institute in Ghana and was the curator of the 18th Venice International Architecture Exhibition in 2023. In addition to her work in architecture, she has published 13 bestselling novels that have been translated into 15 languages.

Zegeye Cherenet is President of the Alliance for Building Communities (ABC) and Assistant Professor at the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building & City Development (EiABC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He holds a doctorate from HafenCity University Hamburg and is co-author of the book “Grassroots Urbanization: Architecture in Community and Town-Building in Ethiopia” (2026).

Henri-Michel Yéré, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Basel, will moderate the discussion. Born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, he has worked in both the private sector and academia. He has also published several volumes of poetry.

By combining wood and agricultural waste with mycelium as a natural binder, a sustainable material is created without the need for fresh wood or synthetic adhesives. This material offers density and stability comparable to OSB, MDF, and particle boards. It is suitable for furniture construction, drywall systems, and as a substitute for synthetic insulation materials.

A 1:1 demonstrator at KIT showcases NEWood as an interior wall system and furniture component. The circular room system serves as a quiet meeting space where students and staff can test the material. The goal is to achieve market readiness within two to four years.

Find out more about the project here or in the blog post below.

Boerman, Elena, and Dirk E. Hebel. “RoofKIT – Kohlenstoffspeicher Und Materiallager.” Architektur.Aktuell, vol. 12.2024, no. Tradition und Innovation, Dezember 2024, pp. 98–109

Research Project NEWood – Sustainable material innovation for the construction and furniture industry

Project representatives of all projects funded under the ‘Circular Construction – Climate Protection through Recycling Management’ programme © Baden-Württemberg Stiftung gGmbH

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), under the direction of Prof. Rebekka Volk (IIP), is working in close collaboration with the project leader Dr. Nazanin Saeidi from the research department of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction (IEB) to develop the innovative material ‘NEWood’, a 100% bio-based and circular material alternative with great potential for the construction and furniture industries. This material is produced exclusively from wood processing residues, agricultural waste and mushroom mycelium – completely without fossil raw materials. In the process, biogenic carbon is permanently bound, making an important contribution to climate protection.

The construction and operation of buildings and the creation of infrastructure are responsible for around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, cities consume over 75% of the world’s resources and generate about half of the global waste. In this context, alternative and sustainable materials such as NEWood are becoming increasingly important in order to significantly reduce the emissions of material-intensive industries and promote the circular economy.

The project aims to develop 1:1 demonstrators that illustrate the versatility of NEWood for interior wall systems and furniture components. These demonstrators will be designed to meet the legal standards of the construction and furniture industries in order to enable the material to be launched on the market. In addition, the project includes a life cycle analysis, a cost analysis and a feasibility study for industrialisation. The results will be presented at trade fairs, at the KIT Department of Architecture and in the central library of the KIT in order to make the application possibilities and the potential of NEWood visible to the public.

The project is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung gGmbH and will run from July 2024 to June 2026. In addition to the KIT, partners such as König + Neurath AG and Fiber Engineering are involved in the development.

NEWood combines innovation and sustainability. With its ability to permanently bind biogenic carbon and replace fossil materials, this material can revolutionise the circular economy in the construction and furniture industries. At the same time, it makes a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the climate.

Hebel, Dirk E., Sandra Böhm, Elena Boerman, Hrsg. Vom Bauen mit erneuerbaren Materialien – Die Natur als Rohstofflager. Stuttgart: Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, 2024.

Building with renewables – our nature as material stock
Dirk E. Hebel, Sandra Böhm und Elena Boerman (Editors), Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, Stuttgart, 2024

With contributions from Hanaa Dahy, Moritz Dörstelmann, Alireza Javadian, Mitchell Joachim, Henk Jonkers, Andrea Klinge, Clemens Quirin, Eike Roswag-Klinge, Martin Rauch, Nazanin Saeidi, Michael Sailer und Werner Schmidt.

Designing our built environment in a socially, economically and ecologically fair way is a major social responsibility for all planners. How can we address the scarcity of resources in construction and achieve a completely circular economy? International experts from research and practice are addressing these important questions, with a particular focus on renewable and bio-based building materials. In addition to traditional building materials such as wood and clay, they also describe a variety of innovative bio-based materials and building products and consider their performance and availability. Their visions and ideas outline how biomaterials can be used in buildings and constructions. Project examples offer inspiration for your own planning and building. A collection of selected material examples illustrates the special aesthetics and value of components made from sown, grown and harvested resources. In order to preserve our livelihoods, much more focus must be placed on circular biological materials. The positive incentives and food for thought in this book show possible ways to build in consistence with our natural processes and systems.

The association “KIT Freundeskreis und Fördergesellschaft e.V.” (KFG) awards annual prizes to KIT employees from administration, infrastructure or infrastructure-related scientific institutions as well as to non-academic young talent for particularly outstanding support services for science. The KFG determines the prize winners and the amount of prize money based on a proposal from a KIT internal selection committee.

Ms. Siedentopp, secretary at the Professorship of Sustainable Building at the KIT Faculty of Architecture, was awarded one of these prizes with prize money of €1,500.00 for her achievements at the KFG’s summer reception on July 15, 2024 in the NTI lecture hall awarded in 2023.

Ms. Siedentopp has worked as a secretary at the Faculty of Architecture since 1998. She was extremely committed to the Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 university competition, the world’s largest architecture competition for universities, from which the RoofKIT project submitted by KIT emerged as the winner. In over three years of intensive interdisciplinary teamwork, Ms. Siedentopp has exceeded the enormous range of special tasks within this competition. It managed a budget of EUR 1.6 million. The building prototype of this project was inaugurated on the South Campus in April 2023. Since then, it has served as a research and real-world laboratory at this location and can be viewed by the interested public, a task that Ms. Siedentopp is also responsible for. Ms. Siedentop will retire at the end of 2024.
We congratulate Ms. Siedentopp on this special award and wish her all the best for her professional and private future!

CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION METHODS

Full landfills, ambitious climate targets: By 2050, the European Union wants to introduce a comprehensive circular economy. For the turnaround in construction to succeed, material resources must be fully reused and recycled. Pure and low-polluting building materials that are used in reversible component connections and are simply joined are the basic prerequisite for the circular construction of buildings. This handbook explains how to design and build according to the closed-loop principle. It shows the history and present of cycle-oriented architecture and analyses the basics of single-variety construction with regard to methodology, materials and construction. Joining and connecting techniques are discussed as well as the choice of materials in general and the life cycles of individual layers and their functions. The extensive detailed catalogue with drawings on a scale of 1:20 documents exemplary applications and connections, which are differentiated according to materials.

available at www.detail.de

Hebel, Dirk E. “In Kreisläufen denken, entwerfen und wirtschaften.” MÄG – Mein Häfele Magazin, 2024.

An exciting Whitsun week lies behind us: We traveled to the foothills of the Alps to experience Peter Zumthor’s buildings and his approach to space, light and material. Yet the region, rich in diverse architecture, also offered us a variety of additional projects. The aim of our four-day field trip was to develop an understanding of the regional materials, the sites and the associated construction techniques. We got to know a broad spectrum of industrial and residential architecture, but also visited museums and, last but not least, sacred buildings. We also took the opportunity to get to know the people behind the projects by visiting architectural offices and a carpentry workshop in the region.
Our special thanks go to all those involved who gave us in-depth insights into the projects, but also to the group of interested students, without whose thirst for knowledge a week like this would be far less valuable.

The aim of our seminar week is to give students an understanding of the attitude and the associated responsibility for the design and construction of a project. Design decisions should raise questions about the availability of talents and materials, responsibility for the sustainable use of resources, functionality and respect for social and cultural particularities and climatic conditions, as well as the traditional understanding of craftsmanship, joining methods and processing techniques. Furthermore, longevity, resilience and ecological viability need to be discussed.
With this journey, we would like to encourage students to discover design approaches in their specific manifestations and to further develop them innovatively, enriching and supplementing them with their own knowledge.

Müller, Janek. “Baumaterialien der Zukunft: Pilze, Hanf und Algen.” neubau kompass – Neubauprojekte in Deutschland, May 3, 2024. https://www.neubaukompass.de/premium-magazin/.

We are delighted to announce the KIT winners of the UMSA (Urban Mining Student Award)!
With three places within the prize-winning group, the students of our last design semester at the Professorship for Sustainable Construction at KIT were extremely successful within the submitted 29 projects. Nils Henrik Benkeser took first place, Frederik Busch took third place and Maximilian Weiß received a recognition. Congratulations!

The UMSA jury states: “Two first prizes of €1,000 each and a subscription to Detail Magazine and Detail Inspiration were awarded to the team of Sarah Henn and Malte Grobenstieg from the University of Wuppertal and Nils Henrik Benkeser from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Bennet Tielker and Emma Lou Fiedler from the münster school of architecture received the second prize of €800 and an Atlas Recycling each, and Frederik Busch from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology was delighted with the third prize of €500.
Two commendations were also awarded with €300 each. These were awarded to the team of Pia Steffen and Christiane Öhmann and Maximilian Weiß.
A total of 29 entries from 8 universities were submitted.”

Please check on further information here or on Instagram.

Sören, S. Sgries. “Interview: ‘Wir haben wertvolle Materialien weggeworfen.’” Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, April 27, 2024, SÜDWEST I 28 edition, sec. Sinsheimer Nachrichten.

After a successful start in 2023 with 450 participants, Forum Holzbau has decided to hold the Süddeutscher Holzbau Kongress (SHK) annually. The second event has now been scheduled for July 10 and 11, 2024 in Fellbach near Stuttgart. The congress, organized by Forum Holzbau, is intended to provide a platform for a comprehensive scientific and economic exchange on all aspects of modern, future-oriented timber construction.

On July 11 at 1:50 pm, Daniela Schneider will hold a lecture on “Building Circular: Materials – Joining – Documentation”. You will find her in block B4 with the main topic “Circular Construction”.

Please check the full programm here.

Schweikle, Johannes. “Auf Pilz gebaut.” Stuttgarter Zeitung, April 23, 2024, sec. Die Reportage.

What could sustainable construction look like in the future? The exhibition is an invitation to try out new things with existing resources and lots of creativity.

Beaches are disappearing, entire islands are drowning because their sand is needed to produce building materials such as concrete and glass. Other raw materials are also becoming increasingly rare, so creativity is required – clever minds and playful hands are needed to grow new building materials or harvest old ones and try them out.

From April 27 to November 3, young visitors are invited to the exhibition “Mushroom Palaces and Bag Towers – Building for Tomorrow” at the Junge Kunsthalle to explore how resource-saving, sustainable construction could work in the future by touching, constructing, puzzling and painting.

Warmth from old jeans, walls made from cutting boards, building blocks made from mushrooms and much more awaits the visitors not only on their own exploration of the exhibition, but also in the diverse creative educational program.

Further information here.

On February 24, Daniela Schneider, gave a lecture on the topic “Circular planning and building: Paths towards a circular economy” in the Mensa Uhlandstaße in Tübingen. Her speech tackled the big questions of the construction industry: What does responsible use of resources look like? How can we deal with the existing building stock? And how to build reversibly? Daniela Schneider deals intensively with these issues. Among other things, she recommends taking the cycles in nature as a guideline. She explains the principle of closed loops using the Cradle to Cradle® design principle, also using examples of the built environment.
Her lecture was followed by a question and answer session.

The event was recognized by the Architektenkammer Baden-Württemberg with a total of 2.5 hours for members and architects/urban planners in practical training for the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning.

Further information here.

Last week, the final reviews of Design Studio Hebel “Thought to the point – Contemporary living in the historic Henkels lace factory in Wuppertal” took place. Congratulations to all students!

A selection of designs will be nominated for the Urban Mining Student Award 2023/24, which is seeking visions for the sustainable conversion of the existing building stock. The KIT Faculty of Architecture has already won this competition three times in recent years and we want to tackle the assignment again this year, focusing on the respectful conversion and circular redevelopment of the historic factory site of the former lace factory A.&E. Henkels in Wuppertal-Langerfeld. What is “contemporary living and working”? How can a genuine social mix be generated within the former factory block? How can social housing and luxury apartments co-exist or even create added value for all residents and for the entire district through their co-existence?

Over the course of the winter semester, 35 Bachelor’s and Master’s students approached these complex questions in a variety of ways. Since everyone has worked tirelessly on the project, we are very happy to give you an insight into the results. You can take a look at the diverse solutions until March 6 in a model exhibition at the KIT Faculty of Architecture in building 20.40 on the second floor.

Klaaßen, Lars. “Organische Architektur – Pilzmyzel und Flachs als Materialien für die ökologische Bauwende.” In Deutsches Architektur Jahrbuch 2024, edited by Peter Cachola Schmal, Yorck Förster, and Christina Gräwe, 198–209. Berlin, Germany: DOM publishers, 2024.