In an interview in the current issue of ARCH+ 262 African Spatial Thinking, Zegeye Cherenet Mamo from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, currently visiting scientist at KIT, discusses with Marc Angélil current tendencies, risks, opportunities and hopes for urbanization on the African continent.

„The architects Zegeye Cherenet Mamo and Marc Angélil have been collaborating over the past decades on a series of projects across Ethiopia in education, research, and practice. Building on initiatives such as the establishment of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development and the rural model town Bura-NEST, they discuss questions of spatial planning that is socially and ecologically equitable in addition to future forms of urbanization in the Horn of Africa. In their conversation, they make a case for contributory practices as a countermodel to capitalist spatial production—practices grounded in participation, contextual responsiveness, and collaborative design.“

Angélil, Marc and Mamo, Zegeye Cherenet. “Contributory Practices – Grassroots Urbanization in Ethiopia.” ARCH+ Journal for Architecture and Urbanism African Spatial Thinking, no. 262 (2025): 170–81.

How can historic churches be transformed sustainably? In the master design studio “Matthäus-Vision” last summer semester, our students developed concepts for repurposing the listed Matthäuskirche in Karlsruhe – focusing on circular construction methods, social impact, and cultural responsibility.

We’re excited that BauNetz Campus reported on our work!

BauNetz (2025). Heilige Hülle, neue Nutzung: Das Studio „Matthäus Vision“. [online] BauNetz. https://www.baunetz-campus.de/news/heilige-huelle-neue-nutzung-das-studio-matthaeus-vision-10164333 [abgerufen am 05.12.2025].

„The KIT Material Library is part of a larger research project on sustainable and circular construction. It investigates how materials can be designed, used, and returned to closed cycles in the future. The focus is on building materials that are locally available or produced and can either be composted biologically or recycled technically without any loss of quality. The library sees itself as a repository of knowledge and a tool for training a generation of architects who design responsibly and with an eye to the future.“

BauNetz (2025). Materialwissen zum Anfassen: Die KIT Materialbibliothek. [online] BauNetz. https://www.baunetz-campus.de/news/materialwissen-zum-anfassen-die-kit-materialbibliothek-10099461 [abgerufen am 19.11.2025].

More about the Post on here on Baunetz Campus

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.

In the interview of Regina Link for „lookKIT“ with Sandra Böhm and Elena Boerman from the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at KIT they share insights into circular building practices. Their work centers on circular buildings that allow materials to be reused at the same quality level, reducing waste and conserving resources.

A key example is RoofKIT, a full-scale prototype of a rooftop extension developed by students. It demonstrates how modular design and natural materials like sea grass, hemp, and mushroom mycelium can be used effectively in construction. RoofKIT also serves as a communication tool with industry stakeholders, making circularity tangible.

Despite high energy-efficiency standards, buildings account for around 40% of the CO2 emissions in Germany. This is why a number of scientists have published a manifesto with the aim of initiating a change of policy in the building and refurbishment sectors. “We have been relying on the same policy for decades – without achieving significant CO2 savings,” says Dirk E. Hebel, Professor of Sustainable Construction at KIT’s Department of Architecture and co-author of the manifesto. Since the oil crisis in the 1970s, the focus lies on the efficient use of energy. “To meet the housing subsidy standards, buildings must be insulated effectively. While the HVAC technology is becoming increasingly com-plex, energy consumption stagnates and emissions remain on a high level. We need to give up focusing on efficiency and tackle the emissions side directly,” says Hebel. 

The initiative proposes that the amount of CO2 emissions over a building’s entire life cycle be considered. This includes the production of the materials, the construction of the building, and its operation. “Only if a clear CO2 target value – which must be at net zero by 2045 – is met, a building permit should be granted,” says Hebel. Take Denmark as a model: The Danish authorities specify target values in kilograms of CO2 equivalent per square meter of floor space and lower those targets regularly. The current value is 7.1 kilograms. Those who undershoot the target value are entitled to construct, reconstruct, refurbish, or extend a building. No matter whether this is achieved through preservation of building stock, use of recycled materials or by operating with renewable energy – it is the result that counts. – Extract of Interview by Christoph Karcher. LooKIT 0225, 2025.

Two stories high and made from sustainable materials, the mobile research pavilion ‘Residence’ now stands in a prominent location on the Sommerberg in Ebringen. The pavilion – declared a shelter for hikers for planning reasons – was originally designed by the KIT Professorships Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF), Design of Structures (dos) and Sustainable Construction (NB) for the 2024 State Garden Show in Wangen im Allgäu to showcase the current state of sustainable construction. After the end of the show, it found its permanent home in Ebringen.

Text: Badische Zeitung, Thursday 10 July 2025

Find out more about the research project here.

In the podcast episode “Zeitfragen” broadcast on June 17, 2025, on Deutschlandfunk Kultur, hemp lime was discussed as a sustainable building material and alternative to concrete. Hemp as a building material offers advantages throughout its entire life cycle in terms of its environmental compatibility, for example with regard to the uncomplicated and pesticide-free cultivation of the raw material, or in terms of its excellent physical properties, such as its diffusion openness.

Sandra Böhm, along with other protagonists in the podcast, talks about the advantages of hemp as a building material. She particularly emphasizes the need for targeted use of materials and a new diversity of materials necessary for a sustainable construction industry.

The editors of the nbau magazine write about the book: „Vom Bauen mit erneuerbaren Materialien is a whirlwind tour through the increasingly important world of the most important biological and geological building materials. Much is already possible today. At the same time, renewable materials seem to hold the promise of a climate-positive future for the construction industry based on a bio-based circular economy. In this sense, the book is both an overview and an appetiser.“

In the context of the Green Deal in Construction event, hosted by SIHGA in Gmunden, Austria, on 20 March 2025, Sandra Böhm and Elena Boerman gave a presentation on renewable materials and were interviewed by Thomas Hutzinger as part of the SIHGA TimberTalk series.

The interview focuses on necessary measures for resource-efficient and sustainable construction on the production and application side, areas of application for bio-based and innovative materials, and political and economic incentives to accelerate change in the construction industry.

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.

In this interview, Dirk E. Hebel, discusses the urgent need to shift the construction industry from linear to circular processes. Hebel explains how the construction sector can reduce resource waste and CO₂ emissions by adopting a circular economy. He highlights the importance of “design for disassembly,” using pure materials, and reusing entire buildings and components. Through his vision, Hebel introduces an innovative approach to the future of architecture and construction, focusing on sustainability, resource efficiency, and circular value creation.

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!

Nazanin Saeidi in an interview with Maike Rubel and Patricia Leuchtenberger about the innovative manufacturing process and the advantages of NEWood as a recyclable alternative to wooden composite materials.

The children’s quiz „1, 2 or 3“ teaches knowledge in an entertaining and playful way. Bright minds and nimble legs are required. The guessing teams give their answers by jumping on one of the answer fields.

There are over two million species of mushroom worldwide. And you can not only eat mushrooms, you can even use some of them to build houses. Prof. Dirk Hebel explains how this works. The roots of fungi form a very strong tissue. Reporter Leonore uses this so-called mycelium to produce a kind of leather at the Fraunhofer Institute in Potsdam. She finds out from expert Hannes Hinneburg why wood chips are needed for this. Mushrooms are a truly miraculous material. They can not only be used to make leather, but also a meat substitute for plant-based steaks. And even ants grow mushrooms in their anthills as food. But why some mushrooms glow in the dark, spread black liquid, or how they even manage to take on cleaning tasks in nature, Elton wants to know from the guessing teams.

„Primary materials are becoming increasingly rare, especially in our resource-poor region of Central Europe. The circular building method can therefore be an answer to the question of how we can still allow future generations to build according to their needs, ideas and values and thus also be able to realize a dignified life.“

Prof. Dirk E. Hebel explains the principle of the „anthropocene depot“ using the example of the „RoofKIT“ in a video interview: the city, the built environment, becomes an urban mine from which raw materials are recovered.

The stacking module designed and constructed for the „Solar Decathlon 2022“ student competition, which Prof. Hebel supervised as a faculty advisor, has caused a sensation since winning the largest building competition for universities because it has implemented a large number of central architectural themes: Circular economy, adding storeys, biological building materials, timber construction, the use of renewable energies to supply electricity… None of this as a „promise for the future“, as Prof. Hebel emphasizes, but as a module that can already be implemented at this point in time.

Prof. Hebel is one of numerous high-profile guests who will be speaking at the anniversary event of the „Auf Holz bauen“ education initiative at the Haus der Architektinnen und Architekten in Stuttgart on December 4:
akbw.de/angebot/kammerveranstaltungen/drei-jahre-bildungsoffensive-aufholzbauen

Due to the complexity of the topics, RoofKIT will be presented in two films. The next part will highlight the student team members‘ view of the project.

Without biodiversity, human existence on planet Earth would not be possible. However, this biodiversity has been declining for far too long, and at an alarming rate. This realisation unites the curatorial team of the Frankfurter Kunstverein, which has invited the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Frankfurt Zoo to collaborate in the form of an interdisciplinary partnership. The result is the new exhibition titled Bending the Curve – Knowing, Acting, Caring for Biodiversity, which alludes to the concept of ‘Bending the Curve of Biodiversity Loss’. The exhibition explores how the negative trend can be halted – or even reversed. This issue is also the focus of the artistic and scientific perspectives presented in the exhibition, which illustrate paths and ideas for ecosystemic recovery and aim to catalyse a turnaround in the biodiversity crisis.

The exhibits and their creation demonstrate where a shift in thinking and action, as well as a new prioritisation of values, may lead to. Built upon the foundation of knowledge, action and care for biodiversity, as formulated in the sub-title, the creators and their works advocate a departure from anthropocentrism towards the concept of transformative ‘naturecultures’, as coined by Donna Haraway. The forward-looking stance of the artists showcased in Frankfurt also stems from their presentation of not just sustainable but regenerative art. Unlike sustainability, which aims to preserve resources and minimise negative impacts, regenerative art focuses on co-existence with ecosystems. This necessitates aligning the coordinates of daily life in a way that creates a liveable social environment while simultaneously contributing to the recovery, renewal, and perhaps even complete health of the environment.

Bending the Curve – Knowing, Acting, Caring for Biodiversity
13.10.2023 — 03.03.2024

Further information: https://www.fkv.de/ausstellung/bending-the-curve/

In collaboration with the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Frankfurt Zoo

Co-Creation Art: Prof. Franziska Nori
Co-Creation Science: Prof. Dr. Katrin Böhning-Gaese

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg / Fernando Laposse / Julia Lohmann / Maurizio Montalti / MYRIAD. Where we connect. / Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP / Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Faculty of Architecture / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior / Walter R. Tschinkel / Frankfurt Zoo

Which new materials can be used to construct buildings in an environmentally friendly and natural way? Julia Nestlen gets to the bottom of this question in SWR „Science Talk“ with Professor Dirk Hebel.

„I am glad that the circular economy is becoming increasingly important alongside the climate issue. It’s necessary that we develop new technologies, that we plan better and smarter for deconstruction (of buildings) and not only for the operation phase.“
Prof. Dirk Hebel

Giving science a stage: In the SWR series „Science Talk“, experts from various fields give exciting insights into their new research. Every week, a researcher explains in 30 minutes what science can say about a current topic – and what that means for people’s lives.

Will AI soon be building our houses? Artificial intelligence is also taking the architecture industry by storm. The internet is full of AI-generated fantasy architecture. Software generates images of houses and interiors from text commands that are real eye-catchers. And they do it in a matter of seconds. So will we soon no longer need architects? Or will AI become a useful tool?

Under the editorship of Anette Plomin, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and other players in the construction industry are confronted with the issues of AI. Prof. Hebel sees the alternative in construction not primarily in AI, but in the recycling of building materials. In Zurich, he uses the Urban Mining and Recycling Unit to show what a flat could look like that is completely recyclable and compostable. He can also well imagine using AI to better manage building materials and resources in the future, but for him it is clear that only humans can initiate the great processes of change in terms of sustainable and future-oriented building.

Due to the worldwide concrete boom, the granular raw material is becoming scarce. In an interview with Clemens Dörrenberg of the Frankfurter Rundschau, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel talks about the overexploitation of an embattled resource and how it could be replaced in construction. The article appeared in the FR7 magazine of the Frankfurter Rundschau on 23/24 September 2023.

The Environmental Foundation of Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw honors four projects with the Umweltpreis 2023. The presentation of the prizes, worth a total of 15,000 euros, took place on March 15, 2023 at the Sparkasse in Calw. The main prize of 7,500 euros was awarded to the team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for the „NEWood“ project.

The NEWood project is about developing new bio-based, sustainable and renewable materials that can replace conventional wood products, such as particleboard. Most of the currently available wood-based products do not meet the principles of the circular economy. KIT researchers now aim to develop materials that can replace unsustainable wood products in the construction industry. Time is pressing, as forests are threatened by deforestation due to strong demand. In addition, the production of synthetic binders, which require wood products, results in CO2 emissions that accelerate climate change. From an ecological point of view, the pressure on forests should be reduced and industrial greenhouse gas emissions reduced.

The „NEWood“ material developed by the KIT team belongs to a new class of biobased, resource-efficient and CO2-negative materials. It is produced exclusively from regionally available organic waste, including agricultural residues. As a sustainable and renewable material, NEWood thus offers an excellent alternative to freshly cut wood. It also has comparable properties to materials made primarily from wood fiber and glue. These include particleboard, medium-density fiberboard or multilayer board. Synthetic binders are not required for NEWood, as the new KIT material is manufactured using fungal mycelium as a natural binder. Mycelium, which is responsible for vegetative growth in fungi, provides a novel, ecologically valuable binding method for wood products. The Karlsruhe researchers are already in contact with industry. They are aiming to found a start-up that will enable the scientific findings on NEWood to be translated into industrial products.

Other award winners were:
Lukas Dufner, research associate at the University of Stuttgart, for the project „Photocatalytic drinking water treatment with sunlight“, which can be used to purify contaminated drinking water in developing countries and regions with poor infrastructure.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klemens Gintner of the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) for the first measurement of breeding parameters, which are important for the breeding of endangered birds.
The municipality of Neuhausen (Enzkreis) for setting up a „WaldKlimaPfad“ (ForestClimatePath), which provides information about the consequences of global warming at play and information sites.

Text: Stiftung Umweltpreis

This question is explored in an episode of „42-Die Antwort auf fast alles“ produced by Hessischer Rundfunk.

The director writes: Fungi have hardly been researched. Yet they are among the oldest and most diverse forms of life on our planet. Only through fungi could plants develop ages ago. They are at home everywhere: in the earth, in the air, in our bodies. And they form huge networks. They are intelligent, although they do not have a brain of their own. They make decisions and trade with the plants they live with. They take possession of insect bodies and turn them into zombies. Are fungi the secret rulers of the planet? (text: HR)

In this context, not only Dr. Nazanin Saeidi from the Sustainable Construction professorship is interviewed, but also the biologist Merlin Sheldrake, Francois Buscot from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig and the political scientist Astrid Séville are invited to talk on the program.

165 projects from 54 universities took part in this year’s competitionline CAMPUS Award. The spectrum of topics ranged from utopias for urban development and material studies to adaptive architecture and after-use strategies. The proportion of projects dealing with sustainable design tasks such as the conversion of existing buildings, climate adaptation in cities or research into alternative materials was particularly high.

In addition to two student award-winning projects, which went to the TU Munich and Leibniz Universität Hannover, and two award-winning final theses from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and the University of Stuttgart, one faculty project also received an award.

From nine projects submitted, the jury selected the work „NEWood, a 100% bio-based, sustainable and recyclable material alternative to wood-based products“ as the winner. The research by the Institute of Design and Construction Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology resulted in the „development of a new class of bio-based, resource-efficient and CO2-negative materials.“ As an alternative to particleboard, MDF and OSB, the boards are made exclusively from wood and agricultural waste. Mushroom mycelium is used as a natural binder, so no synthetic binders are required.

The research project shows that NEWood has comparable properties to wood-based materials such as MDF, OSB and particleboard. The use of mycelium, the structural part of fungi, is a novel bonding method that enables the production of a 100% bio-based and fully recyclable alternative to wood-based materials. The project team, consisting of Dr. Alireza Javadian, Dr. Nazanin Saeidi and Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, is convinced that „NEWood“ will be a sustainable alternative to conventional MDF and particleboard and has the potential to initiate a paradigm shift in the way we produce our future building materials in terms of the circular economy without leaving any waste behind.

More information here.

The „Architekturpreis Gebäudeintegrierte Solartechnik 2022“ awards projects that provide outstanding impetus for the planning and design of building-integrated solar systems and draw attention to exemplary solutions in sophisticated architecture. According to the jury, the award-winning projects show that the integration of photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors can succeed with equally high design and technical ambition.

In the RoofKIT project, six high-format standard modules were expanded into photovoltaic-technical hybrid modules. As part of a coherent overall concept, the handling of the PV roof also demonstrates integration into the building design and urban context.

More information here.

Sand is one of the most sought-after raw materials in the world. The global demand for sand is gigantic and has tripled in the past 20 years. Sand is in the concrete of booming megacities around the world and is important in coastal protection. How do we have to build so that cities can continue to grow in the future?

This and many other questions are addressed in the current edition of Planet Wissen, „The battle for sand – new ways of dealing with the coveted raw material. In the second half of the episode, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel from KIT is a guest in the studio with the moderator Jo Hiller and reports on recycling-friendly construction, single-variety, degradable construction, and alternative building materials such as bamboo or mycelium.

In the article „How we build in the future“, the Helmholtz Association presents sustainable, climate-friendly solutions from architecture and construction research. In this context, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel presents the RoofKIT project of the KIT Faculty of Architecture as an innovative lighthouse project for circular justice, purity of types, recycling and reuse, and the resource-friendly handling of materials.

Concrete as a building material is then critically examined. Prof. Frank Dehn, Institute Director at the KIT Civil Engineering Faculty, is researching climate-friendly alternatives and the use of old concrete. In addition, other forward-looking topics such as the „sponge city“ and the energy supply of future buildings are highlighted.

Read the full article here.

The new book by Gernot Minke entitled „Building with Bamboo – Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture“ was recently published by Birkhäuser Verlag. In addition to material information and properties, it also contains application examples from research and practice. In the chapter „Reinforcing with Bamboo“, among other things, research projects of the Sustainable Construction Professorship at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are presented.

In this report, arte investigates the power of mushrooms and visits various actors. A Swiss mushroom expert, for example, wants to restore polluted soils. Researchers are also working together with students on a biological packaging material made from mushrooms. Mushroom leather or stable insulation and building materials are also examined in this episode of Re:.

The reporters also visit the Solar Decathlon in Wuppertal. Prof. Dirk E. Hebel explains why the mushroom, as a biologically renewable raw material, could become an important component of the future sustainable construction industry within planetary boundaries and in line with the European Green Deal.

How can we build in an environmentally friendly way and redensify city districts in a sensible way? Süddeutsche Zeitung reports about the winning design of the Solar Decathlon 21/22.

The project was supervised by Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and Prof. Andreas Wagner at KIT.

Mushrooms can be used to grow insulations or renewable „bricks“. This could lead to ecologically clean buildings in the future.

Welt am Sonntag reports about scientists like Prof. Dirk E. Hebel working in laboratories on the possibility of replacing metals or mineral materials with harvested materials like mycelium, the root network of mushrooms.

The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) announced the winners of this year’s Sustainability Challenge at the DGNB Sustainability Day in Fellbach on 8 July. In the category „Research“, the project „NEWood“ lead by Nazanin Saeidi and Alireza Javadian from the Professorship of Sustainable Construction Dirk E. Hebel at KIT in Karlsruhe, came out on top.

Among the start-ups, the jury chose mygreentop. The „Innovation“ category was won by Home Power Solutions with picea. The audience award went to the research project „Kalkspeicher“ from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). A total of more than 100 projects and companies entered the DGNB Sustainability Challenge this year.

The selection of the award winners in the DGNB Sustainability Challenge was different this year than in the past. In addition to the finalists, the eleven-member jury also directly determined the winners in the categories „Innovation“, „Start-up“ and „Research“.

„The decision was enormously difficult for us as a jury,“ says Dr. Christine Lemaitre, Executive Director of the DGNB and part of the selection committee. „All the finalists presented themselves excellently, which is why I can only congratulate them all. They are the best proof that there are smart, forward-thinking people in our industry who can combine sustainability with innovation.“

The „NEWood“ project is a novel class of bio-based, resource-efficient and CO2-negative materials based on mycelium. Since NEWood shows comparable properties to MDF and chipboard, it serves as a substitute for wood and wood-based materials. The wood alternative is developed exclusively from available organic waste, including wood and agricultural waste, and is manufactured using fungal mycelium as a natural binder.

This year, the jury was made up of Dr Anna Braune (DGNB), Gerhard Breitschaft (Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik), Dominik Campanella (Concular), Prof. Moritz Fleischmann (Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences), Prof. Andrea Klinge (ZRS Architekten), Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB), Martin Prösler (Proesler Kommunikation), Martin Rodeck (EDGE Technologies), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ing. Anja Rosen (Bergische Universität Wuppertal), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Patrick Teuffel (Eindhoven University of Technology), and Prof. Meike Weber (Hildesheim University of Applied Sciences and Arts).

More information on all award winners and finalists is available online in the DGNB press release or on the DGNB blog. (Text © DGNB)

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is participating in the 2021/22 Solar Decathlon Competition in Wuppertal, Germany with its project RoofKIT. Designed as a top-up to an existing structure of the 19^th century in the old city fabric, it demonstrates a vision for the building industry: social adequate, energy positive and circular sustainable.

It is the unique character of the Solar Decathlon competition, that next to an overall design approach of a larger project, a characteristic element is constructed as a full scale demonstrator. Since 2020, more than 100 students from KIT within different faculties and under the leadership of the professorships of Sustainable Construction (Prof. Dirk E. Hebel) and Building Technologies (Prof. Andreas Wagner) worked on the project which cumulated in the construction of the House Demonstration Unit in May and June 2022 in Wuppertal, Germany.

Designed as a prefabricated module system with a 100% circular construction method, the unit proofs already today, that with current technology and design capacities, we are able to fulfill the requirements of the European Green Deal. No glues, no paints, no foams or wet sealants were used, so that the circularity of the building and its materials is guaranteed. In addition, only mono-materials were used for construction, meaning no composites or mixtures of materials are to be seen.

But RoofKIT wants not only show what is possible in the future: many building components and materials are taken already out of the urban mine and are used in their second, third or even fourth circle: wood from old barns in the black forest, the entrance door from a building of the 19^th century , windows from a demolished building in Basel, bathroom and kitchen sinks as well as fixtures from turn backs of fair exhibitions.

This circular approach only makes sense when it is powered by renewable energy. As the RoofKIT top-up is a new construction with a high energy efficiency standard, the total energy demand (including appliances and e-mobility) will be covered by solar systems on the building envelope. For solar harvesting PVT collectors are used which simultaneously provide electricity and heat, the latter serving as the source for a heat pump which feeds a floor heating system and hot water tank. The surface of the PV modules is colored with a special coating technology in order to merge with the copper roofing with almost no losses in efficiency. This important step is necessary to fully integrate solar panels into the design approach of future buildings. The overall light concept follows the idea of avoiding unnecessary fixtures where possible and using flexible hand-carried cable-free elements to illuminate only those areas where wanted. In addition, an artificial lighting system around the core delivers light with a luminous color adapted to the time of the day.

The unit sits on a scaffolding structure to demonstrate its character as a top-up design strategy. RoofKIT already today is a demonstrator for our future building culture and industry.

Project Credits:
Core student team KIT Karlsruhe: Patrick Bundschuh, Stefanie Christl, Luca Diefenbacher, Florian D’Ornano, Jonas Ernst, Dominic Faltien, Nadine Georgi, Aaron Harter, Johannes Hasselmann, Louis Hertenstein, Michael Hosch, Martin Kautzsch, Jennifer Keßler, Nicolas Klemm, Katharina Knoop, Sebastian Kreiter, Anne Lienhard, Michelle Montnacher, Fabian Moser, Friederike Motzkus, Jana Naeve, Saskia Nehr, Julian Raupp, Alexander Resch, Nicolas Salbach, Julian Schmidgruber, Natascha Steiner, Niels Striby, Dennis Sugg, Moritz Tanner, Sven Teichmann, Benjamin Weber, Vincent Witt, Immanuel Zeh

Project Leader: Regina Gebauer (Architecture) and Nicolás Carbonare (Building Technology)

Architectural Design: Faculty of Architecture, KIT Karlsruhe, Professorship of Sustainable Construction, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Regina Gebauer, Sandra Böhm, Katharina Blümke, Elena Boerman, Hanna Hoss, Philipp Jager, Daniel Lenz, Manuel Rausch, Daniela Schneider, Alireza Javadian, Nazain Saeidi, Elke Siedentopp with Michael Hosch, Benjamin Weber, Martin Kautzsch, Julian Raupp

Building Technology: Faculty of Architecture, KIT Karlsruhe, Professorship of Building Technologies, Prof. Andreas Wagner, Nicolás Carbonare, Isabel Mino Rodriguez with Martin Kautzsch (cooperative partners: Klaus Rohlffs, ip5 Karlsruhe; Prof. Jens Pfafferott, University of Applied Sciences, Offenburg; Martin Wortmann-Vierthaler, Heinrich-Meidinger-Berufsschule, Karlsruhe, David Wölfle, FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik)

Structural Design demonstration unit: 2hs Architekten und Ingenieur, Prof. Karsten Schlesier HCU Hamburg with Johannes Hasselmann and Jonas Benjamin Ernst

Structural Design circulation, foundation and safety elements: Faculty of Architecture, KIT Karlsruhe, Professorship of Structural Design, Prof. Riccardo La Magna, David Andersson

Structural Design scaffolding system: DOKA, Alexandra Sell und Markus Wientzek

Light Design: Faculty of Architecture, KIT Karlsruhe, Professorship of Building Technologies, Prof. Andreas Wagner, Luciana Alanis with Erik Hofmann and Maikel Hollstein

Urban Mobility: Faculty of Architecture, KIT Karlsruhe, Professorship of Urban Design, Prof. Markus Neppl, Peter Zeile with Nicolas Salbach and Daniel Lenz

Feasibility & Affordability, Life cycle Assessment: Faculty of Economics and Management, KIT Karlsruhe, Professorship of Sustainable Management of Housing and Real Estate, Prof. Thomas Lützkendorf, Daniel Rochlitzer with Regina Gebauer and Julian Schmidgruber

Material Library: Elena Boermann und Sandra Böhm mit Anna-Lena Kneip

Corporate Design and Communication: Philip Brücher, Nadine Georgi, Dominic Faltien, Lukas Großmann, Jennifer Keßler, Katharina Knoop, Michelle Montnacher, Saskia Nehr, Sanda Sandic, Natascha Steiner, Katharina Blümke, Daniel Lenz, Manuel Rausch

Fabrication demonstration unit: Kaufmann Zimmerei und Tischlerei, Reuthe, Bregenzerwald, Österreich, Matthias Kaufmann, Mario Meusburger with KIT students

Supported by: KIT Karlsruhe, German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Holzbauoffensive Baden-Württemberg, Energy Endeavour Foundation

Sponsoring Partners:

 More information: www.roofkit.de and www.sde21.eu/de/

The magazine Haus und Grund Wuppertal published an article in its 10/2021 issue about two projects in the SolarDecathlon 2021, which will take place from 10 to 26 June 2022 on the Nordbahntrasse opposite Mirker Bahnhof. DETAIl also reports on the project of the Karlsruhe team RoofKIT in an online series entitled „A Future for Existing Buildings“.

The Solar Decathlon is probably the best-known international student competition on the topic of sustainable building and living. Among the projects published in this issue is Team RoofKIT’s vision for Café ADA in Wuppertal. RoofKIT is an interdisciplinary team of students from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. The student team consists mainly of architects and engineers from the faculties of architecture and civil engineering, geosciences and environmental sciences. The team works closely with professors from various KIT faculties as well as interdisciplinary and supporting companies. An interdisciplinary core team consisting of 12 students is responsible for project management and coordination.

Team RoofKIT is developing an urban blueprint on unused land resources in cities: the roof surfaces. The goal is to understand the city as a social factory, urban raw material store and sustainable energy producer. How can we create socio-economically fair housing without destroying our natural resources? How can we transform the building sector so that it does not exacerbate climate change? How can we run a circular construction industry?

The team provides answers to these questions using the example of Café ADA, the famous Latin American dance and event venue in the Mirke Quarter. A construction kit is developed that can find an almost universal application in the urban context and is based on new (single-variety) construction principles and materials. The direct inward redensification of urban space not only has the potential to create new living spaces in the midst of existing structures, but also the chance to optimise a neighbourhood economically, socially and energetically in the long term. The integrated energy concept is also part of the architectural and urban design. In order to be climate-neutral over the course of the year, the RoofKIT system is based on various measures, such as the use of solar energy and daylight, natural ventilation or an improvement of the urban microclimate around the building through green areas.

RoofKIT sees the city as a depot and future supplier of materials. The challenge is to develop new technologies to transform these materials into a new generation of qualitatively sustainable (i.e. ecologically harmless, technically pure and economically attractive) building materials. For precisely this reuse of building materials, single-variety construction principles are being developed that aim at a circular construction method and enable problem-free deconstruction. This allows the state of „urban mining“ (urban man-made raw material storage) to be understood as a transitional phase into a true circular economy in the construction sector.

The existing café use will be expanded to include a hotel area. The dance hall will be moved from the first floor to the second. In the resulting „urban gap“, an event space for music, theatre, dance and culture will be created. It radiates into the urban environment and offers residents and users a new attractiveness. The building is completed with two residential floors; the different-sized living spaces in combination with communal areas offer a high-quality living space.

More information about RoofKIT on their Website or their podcast Fighting 40%.

The Scientists for Future podcast features monthly conversations with scientists about climate change, sustainability and a livable future.

The building sector is responsible for around 40% of CO2 and greenhouse gases in Europe. The Scientists for Future took this initial situation as an opportunity to join forces with the Architects for Future and dedicate an episode of their podcast to the topic of architecture. To do so, they invited Prof. Dirk Hebel from Professorship of Sustainable Construction at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

„We have to understand our buildings as material stores,“ he describes. In addition to the question of raw material consumption and the circular economy, the current podcast episode also talks about urban planning and the new European Bauhaus. Svenja from S4F and Leonie from A4F Kassel also discuss with their guest how architecture and our coexistence must change for a sustainable future. Because it turns out: How we build is not only a technical question but also a cultural one.

The current episode of the Scientists-for-Future-Podcast „Sustainable Architecture“ is available here.

In this year’s third edition „BAUEN“ of the KIT magazine for research, teaching and innovation „lookKIT“, three different articles report on research and other topics taking place at the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Under the title „Realizing recycling-oriented Construction“, Dr. Stefan Fuchs conducted an interview with Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Sandra Böhm and Daniela Schneider from the Professorship of Sustainable Construction. The topics of the conversation range from the protection of resources to the problem of land consumption and the need for new forms of living. According to the researchers, in order to anchor the circular economy in construction, it is also necessary to use biological materials in order to close the resource gap.

The spread of such materials can be promoted by including environmental costs in materials of fossil origin. In addition, architects have to start planning again with traditional and other simple joining techniques in order to ensure the correct use and quality-preserving dismantling of materials. Hebel, Böhm and Schneider place great hopes in the introduction of a material pass to anchor digitization and documentation in the construction industry. Finally, the author also points out a video with Prof. Dirk E. Hebel on the question „Why build sustainably?“.

In „The Future City as Resource Supply“ by Sandra Wiebe, the RoofKIT team demonstrates that it is possible to integrate the building sector in a functioning circular economy. Taking part in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2021/22 the team is developing a concept for heightening the roof of Café ADA in Wuppertal. In a reduced on-scale version, they will realize their project on the Solar Campus in Wuppertal in June 2022.

The project is composed of three important topics of the implementation of circular economy in the construction sector: to use the built environment as a new mine, to enable buildings to be fully disassembled after use and to harvest energy sustainably in order to reach climate neutrality. According to the head of project Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, RoofKIT’s design is of relevance to novel, socially centered living spaces supporting future-oriented urban society.

An online version of the article is available here. Find out more about the RoofKIT team here.

Two architecture students campaign for a sustainable future of the construction sector as a whole with their newly founded local group of the „Architects for Future“ in Karlsruhe. Alisa Schneider and Elena Boerman both did their master thesis on adaptive reuse projects at the Professorship of Sustainable Construction in summer 2021.

The author of the article, Regina Link, points out their central focus of a radical turnaround in the construction sector. In the name of their Germany-wide association, the two graduates call on people to consider the entire life cycle of buildings and thus break through the linear system of construction. Society must become aware of the value of buildings and the resources they contain: The goal must be to make building and rebuilding a circular system in which waste no longer exists and materials are used in and removed from buildings for reuse and recycling.

An online version of the article is available here. Find out more about the association Architects for Future here.

The climate podcast WELTWUNDERKUGEL from SWR deals with topics related to the function of our planet. The makers are interested in understanding what defines our earth and the climate and how we can hand over a healthy earth to future generations.

The current episode „A home for the future – climate-friendly building and living“ is about sponge cities, high-rise forests, eco-villages and biological building materials. In the search for the „Home of the future“, voices from science and society are heard and various projects on the topic are presented by the SWR1 editor Christiane von Wolff.

In this context, Dirk E. Hebel from the KIT Professorship of Sustainable Construction addresses the idea of sustainable development. He also reports on the many possible uses of mushroom-based materials in the construction industry and on dealing with today’s building stock. „Garbage as a design error“ is the keyword here: it is important to understand that the consistent recycling economy in the construction industry is the only way to seriously implement resource conservation in the construction industry.

Listen to the full episode here.

How do we want to live in the future? And how can we also be sure in the future that there will be enough raw materials to provide everything needed in daily life? Clari, Jana, Ralph and André from the „Sendung mit der Maus“ are looking into securing raw materials and urban mining.

For this purpose, they are opening a future flat-sharing community for four weeks in the Urban Mining and Recycling Unit in the NEST research building on the EMPA campus in Dübendorf, and from there they are exploring where and how the various components of the research unit were produced.

The first part is about the recycling of bricks into new masonry units. The focus is also on the MycoLab of the KIT in Karlsruhe and the production of insulating material from mycelium there. The second episode shows the viewers the production process of glass ceramics and plate material from melted plastic. The third episode deals with the production of table tops from used beverage cartons and with recyclable carpets. The fourth episode focuses on technical innovations and the deconstruction of materials from urban mining.

The four-part series „Urban Mining“ from the „Sendung mit der Maus“ conveys an understanding of the responsible use of our raw materials in a child-friendly way.

At the „Door opener day with the mouse“, the 3 October 2021, upcoming ideas, innovative plannings, exciting projects and much more will be presented to children under the motto „Hello Future“ all over Germany. One of the numerous participatory activities will take place at the KIT in Karlsruhe.

At the MycoLab at KIT, the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at the Faculty of Architecture, Prof. Dirk Hebel, is conducting research on alternative building materials. The team is working on the conversion of organic waste into alternative, cultivated and biological building materials. This involves the use of mycelium, the route of mushrooms, which is fed with biological waste so that stable, pressure-resistant forms can subsequently be realized. 

The MycoLab has already been featured by ZDF PUR+ last year, and in the program „Sendung mit der Maus“ on its 50th anniversary a few months ago.

On the „Door opener day“ the MycoLab team aims to show the participating children how alternative sustainable resources can be regrown faster than wood without any negative impacts on our forests and biodiversity as well as our climate by utilizing the wood and agricultural waste resources and turning them into sustainable, biobased and green building materials with the power of mushrooms.

To join the event, please registrate here.

On the occasion of the 50th birthday of “Die Maus”, numerous special episodes are being filmed this year. In this context, “Die Sendung mit der Maus” also visited the Urban Mining and Recycling (UMAR) housing and research unit of the Swiss research institute Empa at “NEST” in Dübendorf near Zurich in Switzerland.

In the middle of June, NEST Innovation Manager Enrico Marchesi invited Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and Sandra Böhm from the Professorship of Sustainable Construction to present the housing unit, the building materials used there, and the construction and material concept to the viewers of the “Sendung mit der Maus” after a brief welcome. The Urban Mining and Recycling Unit of the EMPA is still one of a few lighthouse projects of circular construction. Many innovative, forward-looking construction techniques are used in exemplary applications, which allow the sorted disassembly and the later reuse of all used materials. The unit was created in 2017 by Werner Sobek with Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel, Bernd Köhler and Frank Heinlein.

Ralph, Jana, Sihan, André from “Die Sendung mit der Maus”, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Sandra Böhm and Enrico Marchesi were present for the filming session in the Urban Mining and Recycling Unit at NEST at EMPA in Dübendorf, Switzerland. The programme will be broadcast as a special episode as part of the Mouse’s 50th birthday events in August 2021.

More information about the 50th birthday of “Die Maus” here.

The podcast „Fighting 40%“ was created as a part of the international competition Solar Decathlon Europe 21. The RoofKIT podcast team presents topics relating architecture and urban design, but above all sustainability and future-oriented thinking.

In the current second episode released on 10 Mai 2021, two podcast team members discuss about „Urban Mining“ with Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, the Faculty Advisor of team RoofKIT.

Since the post-war period, we have been surrounded by an anthropogenic warehouse of over 50 billion tons of material. This warehouse grows every year by another 10 tons per inhabitant. Much of it is located in buildings. Wouldn’t this warehouse be a potential resource for the construction industry of the future?

Listen to the podcast episode on Campusradio Karlsruhe or on Spotify.
To find out more about Team RoofKIT, visit their RoofKIT weblog for SDE21.