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Out now: Vom Bauen mit erneuerbaren Materialien – die Natur als Rohstofflager

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.


		 
 

Interview: Mycelium power for the construction industry

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.

 
 

“NEWood” awarded Umweltpreis 2023 from Sparkasse Pforzheim Calw

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.

Hans Neuweiler, Dr. Alireza Javadian and Dr. Nazanin Saeidi, Prof. Peter Cheret © Stiftung Umweltpreis

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

 
 

arte 42: Are we being ruled by mushrooms?

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)

Nazanin Saeidi in “42 – Die Antwort auf fast alles” © Hessischer Rundfunk

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.

 
 

NEWood awarded with competitionline CAMPUS Award 2023

© KIT Professorship Sustainable Construction

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.

 
 

MycoTree in the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe

As part of the 17th “Karlsruher Frischpilzausstellung” of the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe, the MycoTree was exhibited in the pavilion in the Nymphengarten on the 8th and 9th October. The exhibition displayed 250-300 species of mushrooms and presented various literature on mushrooms. The weekend exhibition was visited by almost 1300 people interested in mushrooms.

The MycoTree, a spatial structure made of the cultivated materials mushroom mycelium and bamboo, supplemented the exhibition with the topic area ‘Building materials from natural resources’. At 2 p.m. on both days, Sandra Böhm and Elena Boerman gave a short lecture on the exhibited project, which was created in 2017 as a cooperation project between the KIT Sustainable Building Professorship and the Block Research Group of ETH Zurich.

The assembled elements of the MycoTree can be disassembled again into their original materials and returned to the natural cycle as nutrients. In this way, it shows how digital design, technology and resource-saving materials could come together in the building industry in the future.

 
 

Welt am Sonntag reports about mycelium as a building material

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.

© Welt am Sonntag
 
 

Professorship of Sustainable Construction wins the DGNB Sustainability Challenge with the project “NEWood”

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.

The project NEWood wins category “Research” of DGNB Sustainability Challenge led by Nazanin Saeidi and Alireza Javadian © DGNB

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.”

NEWood exhibition table © Professorship of Sustainable Construction

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)

 
 

Finalist: DGNB Sustainability Challenge 2022

In order to drive the transformation of the construction and real estate industry towards more sustainability, researchers, young founders and companies are in demand: With the Sustainability Challenge, the DGNB seeks out pioneers who think boldly into the future, question existing systems and initiate new ideas.

In the “Research” category, the project “NEWood – a novel mycelium-based composite made from organic waste” from the KIT Professorship of Sustainable Construction was chosen as one of the three finalists.

The research project is based on three main strategies, which include resource efficiency, circular economy and renewable materials. A new class of bio-based, resource-efficient and CO2-negative materials called “NEWood” has emerged from the project. As NEWood shows comparable properties to MDF (Medium Density Fibre) 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 produced using fungal mycelium as a natural binder. In cooperation with an industrial partner, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology team is also exploring the use of digital and advanced manufacturing technologies in the development of mycelium-based composites.

The research project has also been published in Nature as well as in the Sendung mit der Maus and another children’s programme on KIKA.

The public votings for the finalists will be open from 31st May 2022.

 
 

Nature Scientific Report: Mycelium-bound Biocomposite – A Sustainable Replacement for Particleboards

Mycelium-bound materials would play a significant role in mitigation of adverse climate change effect imposed by material consumption and resource scarcity. This paper, published by KIT researchers in scientific reports as part Nature publishing group, proposes dense mycelium-based composites (DMCs) as a potential green alternative to traditional particleboards.

Mycelium, as the root of fungi, is composed of filamentous strands of fine hyphae that bind discrete substrate particles into a block material. With advanced processing, dense mycelium-bound composites (DMCs) resembling commercial particleboards can be formed.

Testing specimens: a, dimensions of testing samples and b, test specimens for flexural, tensile and compression testing (from top to bottom)

In this paper the research team including Dr. Nazanin Saeidi, Dr. Alireza Javadian, and Prof. Dirk E. Hebel from the chair of Sustainable Construction at KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany in collaboration with Urban Biocycle project at FCL global and Xin Ying Chan and Prof. Manoj Gupta from NUS, Singapore have investigated the possibility of using DMCs as a green alternative to particleboards. 

A detailed investigation was carried out on the mechanical properties and performance of DMCs under the working conditions of particleboards. The DMC was made using Ganoderma lucidum mycelium grown on a substrate of sawdust and empty fruit bunch collected from the waste byproducts of Sawmills and Palm oil factories. The DMC was then subjected to weathering under tropical conditions over 35 days and tested under flexural, tensile, and compressive loading with reference to international standards. The results over the weathering period reveal that weathering reduces the strength and rigidity of the material.

However, by application of a commonly used natural oil-based coating DMC was able to withstand degradation under tropical weathering conditions. Furthermore, it was shown that some improvements to the material’s consistency could effectively increase the material strength and resistance to weathering with the help of a protective coating. Therefore, DMC could be a promising material as an environmentally friendly substitute for particleboards if such improvements in material production are made.

More information about the scientific report on nature.com.

 
 

“Urban Mining” – Die Sendung mit der Maus

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 four-part series Urban Mining from “Die Sendung mit der Maus”

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.

 
 

“Hello Future: Door opener day with the mouse 2021”

Hello Future: Door opener day with the mouse © WDR

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. 

Impressions of the MycoLab © Professorship Sustainable Construction

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.

 
 

Xenius by arte: Future building materials

In a new episode of Xenius by arte, the hosts Dörthe Eickelberg and Pierre Girard set out in search of alternative building materials.

Future building materials: Mycelium, paperboard and popcorn © arte

Up to now, the building industry has mainly used concrete and steel. In order to be able to build more ecologically and sustainably in the future, scientists are looking for alternative building materials. And there are some innovative ideas. Mycelium, paperboard or popcorn – nothing is impossible!

Interview with Prof. Dirk E. Hebel © arte

The hosts also interview Prof. Dirk E Hebel about his research with mycelium as an alternative, cultivated biological building material. The mycelium is simply fed with biological waste and can be shaped into stable, pressure-resistant forms. In the Urban Mining And Recycling Unit, which was created in collaboration with researchers from the ETH Zurich, many other innovative, forward-looking construction techniques are also used in exemplary applications, which allow the sorted disassembly and the later reuse of all used materials.

In this episode of Xenius, some other ideas for future building materials are presented. For example, scientists of the Technical University of Darmstadt are researching a way to build houses out of cardboard without any additional wood coatings or protective foils. In Munich, a visionary architect is growing trees into each other in such a controlled way that load-bearing structures are formed that will support bridges or even entire houses years later. Prof. Alireza Kharazipour in Göttingen aims to replace plastic materials as much as possible with the renewable raw material corn.

Watch the full episode on arte.tv here.

Further information:
http://nest-umar.net
https://www.wernersobek.de
https://changelab.exchange

 
 

UMAR and Mycelium Research in “Die Sendung mit der Maus”

In the current 50th anniversary episode of “Die Sendung mit der Maus”, Armin Maiwald, one of the hosts, is looking for how people will live in the future. Therefore he visits the Urban Mining and Recycling Unit (UMAR) created by Werner Sobek with Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel.

The UMAR Unit © WDR Die Maus

The building design demonstrates how a responsible approach to dealing with our natural resources can go hand in hand with appealing architectural form. The project is underpinned by the proposition that all the resources required to construct a building must be fully reusable, recyclable or compostable. This places life-cycle thinking at the forefront of the design: Instead of merely using and subsequently disposing of resources, they are borrowed from their technical and biological cycles for a certain amount of time before being put back into circulation once again. In that way UMAR functions simultaneously as a material laboratory and a temporary material storage.

Dr. Alireza Javadian shows the material’s strength © WDR Die Maus

After having visited UMAR, Armin Maiwald also takes a look at the mycelium laboratory in the Westhochschule in Karlsruhe. Here our researcher Dr. Alireza Javadian shows the TV host of the children’s program how the mycelium grows in the laboratory, how it is shaped and how resistant it is afterwards.

Watch the full episode of “Die Maus” on WDR here.

Mycelium Wall in the UMAR Unit © WDR Die Maus

 
 

The power of mushrooms

Mushrooms are given little attention – but are they the secret rulers of the world? “PUR +” presenter Eric Mayer discovers new possibilities and also visits the KIT-MycoLab of Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and his research team around Dr. Nazanin Saeidi and Dr. Alireza Javadian to understand how a new class of building materials could be cultivated.

 
 

ZDF films at KIT MycoLab

The public German TV station ZDF films at the KIT MycoLab for their format PUR+. PUR + is the discovery magazine in the children’s and youth program ZDFtivi. Each episode deals with one topic. Reports, explanations, and experiments shed light on the topic from different angles. The program focuses on the experiences and assessments of children. At KIT, Eric, the protganist of the format, explores together with the team of Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and Nazanin Saeidi the idea of using mycelium as an innovative building material of the future.

 
 

Exhibition: MycoTree in `Critical Zones` at ZKM

Against the backdrop of the climate crisis, the exhibition Critical Zones at ZKM questions the way we deal with our living space on earth. The exhibition explores new and possible forms of coexistence between all forms of life and shows ways of dealing with the current critical situation.

With the presentation of the MycoTree, the Chair of Sustainable Construction of the KIT Faculty of Architecture wants to contribute to this important discourse.

After all, future economic and ecological development worldwide is strongly linked to the question where our resources for future prosperity will come from. As our mines dry up and CO2 levels reach alarming levels, we have to radically rethink in all economic sectors. Until now, the earth’s natural resources have been extracted and disposed of in a linear process. This approach has profound consequences for our planet, which will become even worse unless a circular process is installed. Fungal research aims to establish new biological cycles in the construction industry.

Images: Arno Kohlem and the Bio Design Lab HfG Karlsruhe

View the exhibition: https://zkm.de/en/exhibition/2020/05/critical-zones

 
 

Radio interview: Architecture of mushroom and bamboo – Dirk E. Hebel talks about constructing sustainability

Marie-Dominique Wetzel, cultural correspondent from SWR2, talks with KIT professor Dirk E. Hebel about his vision of sustainable architecture as a part of the movement against climate change and the destruction of the environment. He emphasizes the importance of research on new building technologies in consideration of the fact that the earth’s resources are more and more declining. Therefore a change in awareness to the cycle-oriented and gradual use of building materials is inevitable for present and future architects.

Video on: https://www.swr.de/swr2

 
 

Constructed from mycelium

Klaaßen, Lars (2020). Aus Pilz gebaut, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 18.07.2020, München, Germany

 
 

Dr. Nazanin Saeidi MIT Technology Review’s emerging innovator

Dr Nazanin Saedi, as of April 2020 part of the KIT research team at the Professorship of Sustainable Construction, was named one of the 20 emerging innovators in Asia Pacific by MIT Technology Review for her work on sustainable construction materials.

Dr Nazanin Saeidi is among MIT Technology Review’s ‘20 Innovators Under 35’ for the Asia Pacific region. In association with EmTech Asia 2020, the list celebrates 20 researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs who are changing the world. As postdoctoral researcher in the Alternative Construction Materials project headed by Prof. Dirk E. Hebel at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, Dr Saedi works on transforming organic waste, specifically mycellium, to create a mycelium-​bound composite material for the construction industry. She is among awardees selected from a pool of 200 exceptional candidates, including researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs whose work include applications in agriculture, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, construction, energy, new materials, robotics, and water.

“The 20 ‘Innovators Under 35’ are a group of exceptional young scientists pursuing research that — in many cases — relates to substantial challenges facing humanity. The potential impact of their research is further increased when it becomes the foundation of one or more products that form the core of a Deep Tech startup,” said Steve Leonard, Founding CEO, SGInnovate.

 
 

KIT Professorship of Sustainable Construction wins two innovation awards at “beyond bauhaus – prototyping the future” organized by “Deutschland – Land der Ideen” – an initiative of the Federal Government and German industry

The international competition “beyond bauhaus – prototyping the future”, sought ground-breaking design ideas and concepts that address a socially relevant topic and provide creative answers to the pressing questions of our time. Almost 1500 projects coming from 50 countries applied for an award. The 20 award winners convinced the international jury with their ideas and concepts. The spectrum of entries reflects the challenges of our time: it ranges from food cultivation on the water to individually dosed medicine and new technologies for urban development to sustainable building materials. The Professorship of Sustainable Construction Dirk E. Hebel together with Philippe Block and Juney Lee from ETH Zürich (Mycotree) and Werner Sobek and Bernd Köhler from the Werner Sobek Group Stuttgart (UMAR) won two of the awards.

Renewable building material for the city of tomorrow

Steel and concrete—these are the first materials that come to mind when one thinks about building. But our resources are finite, which is why construction must break new ground. Scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) with its research outpost FCL in Singapore are leading the way by researching alternatives to conventional building materials. A result of years of research is “MycoTree”, a self-supporting structure made of fungal mycelium and bamboo. Design Team: KIT: Dirk E. Hebel, Felix Heisel, Karsten Schlesier, ETHZ: Philippe Block, Juney Lee, Matthias Rippmann, Tomas Mendez Echenagucia, Andrew Liew, Noelle Paulson, Tom van Mele, SEC/FCL: Nazanin Saeidi, Alireza Javadian, Adi Reza Nugroho, Robbi Zidna Ilman, Erlambang Adjidarma, Ronaldiaz Hartantyo, Hokie Christian, Orion Tan, Sheng Yu, Kelly Cooper

Closed material cycles in civil engineering

The world’s natural resources are limited, which is why we need to rethink how we use and reuse everything — away from linear material-consumption and towards an economy of recycling. The Urban Mining and Recycling (UMAR) housing and research unit of the Swiss research institute Empa at “NEST” is demonstrating what this paradigm shift in the construction industry might look like. Architects Werner Sobek, Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel have come up with a building concept that uses entirely separable resources, either reusable or compostable: mortar-free, folding walls made of recycled demolition debris, bathroom cladding made of recycled plastic chopping-boards, or mushroom mycelium as compostable wall-insulation. UMAR is thus not only a material laboratory but also a material depot. It is also proof that responsible use of natural resources and modern architecture can go hand in hand. Design Team: Werner Sobek mit Dirk E. Hebel und Felix Heisel, Bernd Köhler, Frank Heinlein

More information here.

 
 

MycoTree nominated for Beazley Design of the Year Award 2018

Our 2017 MycoTree for the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism is nominated for the Beazley Design of the Year 2018 Award. #BeazleyDesignsoftheYear

MycoTree is a spatial branching structure made out of load-bearing mycelium components. Its geometry was designed using 3D graphic statics, keeping the weak material in compression only. Its complex nodes were grown in digitally fabricated moulds.

Utilising only mycelium and bamboo, the structure represents a provocative vision of how we may move beyond the mining of our construction materials from the earth’s crust to their cultivation and urban growth; how achieving stability through geometry rather than through material strength opens up the possibility of using weaker materials structurally and safely; and, ultimately, how regenerative resources in combination with informed structural design have the potential to propose an alternative to established, structural materials for a more sustainable building industry.

MycoTree is the result of a collaboration between Sustainable Construction at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Block Research Group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich and the Alternative Construction Materials Unit of the Future Cities Laboratory Singapore. It was the centrepiece of the “Beyond Mining – Urban Growth” exhibition at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017 in Seoul, Korea curated by Hyungmin Pai and Alejandro Zaera-Polo, and was on display in Pavilion i7 at the Donuimun Museum Village from September 1st 2017 to March 31st 2018.

 
 

       
 
 
 
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
Fakultät für Architektur
Institut Entwerfen und Bautechnik

Professur Nachhaltiges Bauen
Englerstr. 11, Geb. 11.40, Raum 25
D-76131 Karlsruhe
 
Tel: +49 (0)721/608-42167
 
 
 
Recent Publications:  
 

    Guest contribution: ‘Thinking, designing and operating in circular ways.’

    June 27, 2024

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

     
     

    Interview: ‘Mycelium power for the construction industry’

    June 10, 2024

    Rubel, Maike, and Patricia Leuchtenberger. Interview: “Pilzpower für die Bauindustrie.” competitionline, 7 June 2024, https://www.competitionline.com/de/news/schwerpunkt/pilzpower-fuer-die-bauindustrie-7283.html.

     
     

    ‘Future building materials: mushroom, hemp and algae’ in neubau kompass

    May 27, 2024

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

     
     

    Interview: ‘We have disposed of valuable materials’

    May 7, 2024

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

     
     

    Built on mushroom

    April 24, 2024

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

     
     

    Organic Architecture – Fungus mycelium and flax as materials for the ecological building transition

    February 13, 2024

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

     
     

    Circular construction – Circulation instead of demolition in “BUND-Jahrbuch 2024”

    January 18, 2024

    Streiff, Peter. “Zirkuläres Bauen – Kreislauf statt Abriss.” BUND-Jahrbuch – Ökologisch Bauen & Renovieren 2024, January 2024.

     
     

    Redesigned Material Library at KIT in ‘Mitteilungsblatt des VDB-Regionalverbands Südwest’

    January 8, 2024

    Mönnich, Michael, and Sandra Böhm. “Neu gestaltete Materialbibliothek am KIT.” Südwest-Info: Mitteilungsblatt des VDB-Regionalverbands Südwest Nr. 36 (2023), 2023.

     
     

    RoofKIT Wuppertal, Germany; Interview with Prof. Dirk Hebel

    November 20, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E. “RoofKIT Wuppertal, Germany; Interview with Prof. Dirk Hebel: The aim is clear, we must forge the path ourselves.” In Sustainable Architecture & Design 2023/ 2024, edited by Andrea Herold, Tina Kammerer, and InteriorPark., 46–55. Stuttgart, Germany: av edition GmbH, 2023.

     
     

    The existing building stock is the future resource

    November 16, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E. “Der Bestand ist die künftige Ressource – Den linearen Umgang mit Baumaterialien schnellstmöglich stoppen.” Planerin – Mitgliederfachzeitschrift für Stadt-, Regional- und Landesplanung, Oktober 2023.

     
     

    Article: Investigation of mechanical, physical and thermoacoustic properties of a novel light-weight dense wall panels made of bamboo Phyllostachys Bambusides

    October 30, 2023

    Gholizadeh, Parham, Hamid Zarea Hosseinabadi, Dirk E. Hebel, and Alireza Javadian. “Investigation of Mechanical, Physical and Thermoacoustic Properties of a Novel Light-Weight Dense Wall Panels Made of Bamboo Phyllostachys Bambusides.” Nature Sientific Reports 13 (October 26, 2023). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45515-3

     
     

    Building Better – Less – Different: Clean Energy Transition and Digital Transformation

    October 16, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E., Felix Heisel, Andreas Wagner, und Moritz Dörstelmann, Hrsg. Besser Weniger Anders Bauen – Energiewende und digitale Transformation. Besser Weniger Anders Bauen 2. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH, 2023.

     
     

    From hunting, breeding and harvesting future building materials

    September 27, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E. “Vom Jagen, Züchten Und Ernten Zukünftiger Baumaterialien.” Baukultur Nordrhein Westfalen, September 2023.

     
     

    Building Circular

    September 21, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E., Ludwig Wappner, Katharina Blümke, Valerio Calavetta, Steffen Bytomski, Lisa Häberle, Peter Hoffmann, Paula Holtmann, Hanna Hoss, Daniel Lenz and Falk Schneemann, eds. Sortenrein Bauen – Methode Material Konstruktion. Edition DETAIL. München: DETAIL Business Information GmbH, 2023.

     
     

    Fungi

    September 18, 2023

    Schweikle, Johannes. “Fungi.” In Earthlike, 1:70–75, 2023.

     
     

    Recent Contributions in “wohnen”

    September 18, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E. “Die Stadt als Rohstofflager.” wohnen – Zeitschrift der Wohnungswirtschaft Bayern, August 2023.

    Hebel, Dirk E. “Das RoofKIT-Gebäude der KIT Fakultät für Architektur – Gewinner des Solar Decathlon 2021/22 in Wuppertal.” wohnen – Zeitschrift der Wohnungswirtschaft Bayern, August 2023.

     
     

    The City as Materials Storage

    July 14, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E. “Die Stadt Als Rohstofflager.” Aktuell – Das Magazin Der Wohnung- Und Immobilienwirtschaft in Baden-Württemberg, 2023.

     
     

    Building-Circle instead of One-Way-Economy

    June 30, 2023

    Ellinghaus, Tanja. “Bau-Kreislauf Statt Einweg-Wirtschaft.” Transition – Das Energiewendemagazin Der Dena, 2023.

     
     

    Pure construction methods – circularity-based self-conception in architecture

    June 14, 2023

    Hebel, Dirk E. “Sortenreines Konstruieren – Kreislaufbasiertes Selbstverständnis in der Architektur.” Baumit, 2023. https://www.calameo.com/read/0011023184a57c4715124.

     
     

    Building as a Project of Circularity

    June 14, 2023

    Reddy, Anita. “Bauen Als Kreislaufprojekt.” Engagement Global GGmbH, October 20, 2020. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/frankfurt/frankfurt-setzt-auf-recycling-nach-abriss-stadt-wird-baustofflager-18707619.html.

     
     

    Vivid Cycles: Reopening of RoofKIT on the KIT Campus

    May 17, 2023

    Lux, Katharina. “Anschauliche Kreisläufe: Wiedereröffnung Des RoofKIT Auf Dem KIT Campus.” Baunetz CAMPUS(blog), May 16, 2023. https://www.baunetz-campus.de/news/anschauliche-kreislaeufe-wiedereroeffnung-des-roofkit-auf-dem-campus-8235818.

     
     

    Solar and Circular Construction

    May 15, 2023

    Wagner, Prof. Andreas, Nicolás Carbonare, Regina Gebauer, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Katharina Knoop, and Michelle Montnacher, eds. “RoofKIT.” In Solares und kreislaufgerechtes Bauen, 186–213. Wuppertal: PinguinDruck, 2023.

     
     

    The built environment as a Resource

    April 5, 2023

    Blümke, Katharina, Elena Boerman, Daniel Lenz, and Riklef Rambow. “Die gebaute Umwelt als Ressource – Mit RoofKIT vom linearen zum zirkulären Verständnis des Bauens.” ASF Journal, March 28, 2023.

     
     

    Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22

    March 29, 2023

    Voss, Karsten, and Katharina Simon, editors. Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22: Competition Source Book. 2023.

     
     

    Mushrooms as a promising building material of the future

    February 1, 2023

    Wenk, Holger. “Pilze Als Vielversprechender Baustoff Der Zukunft.” BG Bau Aktuell – Arbeitsschutz Für Unternehmen, vol. 04/22, no. Rohbau, Sept. 2022, pp. 12–13.

     
     

    Go into the mushrooms

    December 20, 2022

    Jeroch, Theresa. “In Die Pilze Gehen.” Die Architekt, November 2022.

     
     

    How we build in the future

    December 15, 2022

    Niederstadt, Jenny. “Wie Wir in Zukunft Bauen.” Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, December 12, 2022. https://www.helmholtz.de/newsroom/artikel/wie-wir-in-zukunft-bauen/.

     
     

    The RoofKIT project as a demonstrator of solutions for today and tomorrow

    December 15, 2022

    RoofKIT, Karlsruhe. “Le Projet RoofKIT Comme Démonstrateur de Solutions Pour Aujourd’hui et Demain.” Translated by Régis Bigot. NEOMAG, December 2022.

     
     

    Interview: Will we be building houses from mycelium in the future?

    December 14, 2022

    Niederstadt, Jenny, and Dirk E. Hebel. Bauen wir künftig Häuser aus Pilz? Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, December 12, 2022. https://www.helmholtz.de/newsroom/artikel/bauen-wir-kuenftig-haeuser-aus-pilz/.

     
     

    Where fungi become building materials

    December 14, 2022

    Blaue, Carsten. “Wo Pilze Zu Baustoffen Werden.” Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, December 6, 2022, Nr. 282 edition. https://www.rnz.de/region/metropolregion-mannheim_artikel,-karlsruher-kit-wo-pilze-zu-baustoffen-werden-_arid,1015503.html.