Professur Nachhaltiges Bauen / Sustainable Construction

Transformation of the Matthäuskirche in Karlsruhe

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

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

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

Supervised by: Fanny Amelie Hirt

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

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

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

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

Excursion one week in the period 28.09.25 to 12.10.2025

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

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

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

Smaller excursions will take place in the Karlsruhe area.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The integration of 100 % biological insulation materials in circular construction systems is one example for forward-looking solutions for resource-efficient architectures. Currently, the most commonly used insulation materials consist of synthetic or mineral raw materials as well as biobased-synthetic mixtures that cannot be returned to the biological cycle. In contrast to this, the use of biological single-variety insulation materials in combination with reversible construction techniques enables a complete return of the insulations to the biological cycle or a further use in other construction systems. 

A part of the research at the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is concerned with resource-conserving use of materials and circular construction principles, which enable dismantling and reuse of the building materials. 100 % biological insulation materials in combination with a reversible construction can be part of climate protection, through the reuse of the insulation materials (saving of primary building materials), a corresponding reduction of primary resources and the reduction of CO₂ emissions through the mostly low-energy production of the biological products.At the BAU 2025 trade fair in Munich Daniela Schneider and Sandra Böhm gave a presentation regarding their current research results and practical applications of these concepts.

Micro-Multifunctional Room for a Kindergarten in Freiburg

The ‘Haus für Kinder am Hirzberg’ in Freiburg is characterised by its proximity to nature, built structures that have grown over time and space and an open room concept. In two existing buildings on a slope, which are connected by an intermediate building for access, the educational work of the team takes place in a homely atmosphere on different levels and always in close relation to the outdoors. The existing structure is complemented by a courtyard for the children to play in, which is protected by a small wooden tool shed facing the valley.

The kindergarten is now to be extended on its own site with a micro-multifunctional space, which is the focus of the semester assignment and which will subsequently be realised in cooperation with an architectural office based in Freiburg. The room will serve as a common and study room for staff as well as a room for curative education programmes and parent meetings. As the site is located within the “Roßkopf-Schloßberg” landscape conservation area, the preservation of the surrounding trees and copses as well as the protected wetland complex is an important design requirement. Particular importance is also attached to the spatial relationship between the existing buildings on the Hirzberg slope and the new spatial structure that is being created towards the valley, which should fit into the local landscape and provide a cosy atmosphere for the kindergarten staff.

The design is aiming for a detailed examination of the resulting environmental effects, building economics, structural engineering and building physics issues, as well as the use of resource-friendly, pure building materials such as renewable and secondary building materials, sustainable, circular construction methods and their design-related effects on function and aesthetics with planning up to a scale of 1:1.

Supervised by: Elena Boerman

First Meeting: 24.10.2024, 09.30 am (Bldg. 20.40, R 208)
Excursion: 15.11.2024, Freiburg
Pin-Up: 11.12.2024
Submission: 19.02.2025
Presentation: 21.02.2025
Form: Teamwork

Living on the food market in Kaiserslautern

How do people want to live together today and tomorrow? What are the prerequisites for good neighbourliness in an urban context? How can contemporary living models be reflected in residential buildings? How can a market promote cohesion and identity in a neighbourhood

While modernism proclaimed a separation of work and living, today innovative housing construction must develop offers for increasingly differentiated lifestyles. The focus of the task is therefore a forward-looking residential housing project that will be constructed in conjunction with commercial use on the ground floor on a plot in a heterogeneous neighbourhood in Kaiserslautern. The architectural designs should take into account the housing needs of people in the city as well as the respectful treatment of the surrounding context, resources and environment. The aim is to make design decisions for housing and the market comprehensible on the basis of successful reference projects, which will be analysed during the semester. For example, the design-integrated examination of housing requirements in the city of Kaiserslautern, different forms of human coexistence, contemporary housing developments, innovative concepts for food markets, circular construction methods and materials, resulting environmental impacts, building economics, structural engineering and building physics issues as well as the requirements of stakeholders and the needs of different users contribute to this.

The task is a mixed-use project consisting of residential and a food market in Kaiserslautern, which is currently being supervised by the Regensburg-based company RATISBONA Handelsimmobilien, a leading project developer in the German and international retail sector, and the architectural firm KURIARCHITEKTEN and will be further developed as a real project following the semester.

Supervision: Fanny Hirt, Han Jun Yi
When? Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Studio

First Meeting: 23.10.2024, 2.00 pm (Bldg. 11.40, R 027)

Pin-Up: 11.12.2024
Excursion: 04.11.2024, Kaiserslautern
Submission: 18.02.2025
Presentation: 20.02.2025

In the Winter Semester 2024/25, the KIT Department of Architecture will offer a lecture series on Sustainable Construction, organized by the Professorship of Sustainable Construction, Dirk E. Hebel. The lecture will address the history, state of the art, and alternative futures within the theme. Please refer to the poster for speakers and actual dates. The lecture is held every Wednesday, 9.45 am in the lecture hall Fritz-Haller in the building 20.40 at KIT Campus South.

Poster Design: Uta Bogenrieder

In the Winter Semester 2024/25, the KIT Department of Architecture will offer a lecture series on Materials, organized by the chair of Sustainable Construction, Dirk E. Hebel. The lectures will address conventional and alternative building materials and their use in construction. Please refer to the poster for speakers and actual dates. The lecture is held every Friday, 9.45 am at the lecture hall Fritz-Haller in the building 20.40 at KIT Campus South.

Poster Design: Uta Bogenrieder

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

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

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

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

Please check on further information here or on Instagram.

On 24 April 2024 at 6 pm, the UMSA shortlist was announced at the Haspel campus in lecture theatre 00.01. All participants of the competition, the supervising university teachers and relatives were invited to this event.

The event was broadcast online and KIT organised a public viewing for and with the students. Three out of six people on the shortlist have developed a design for the old lace factory in Wuppertal at KIT in the winter semester 2023/24: We warmly congratulate Nils Benkeser, Frederik Busch and Maximilian Weiß.

The official award ceremony with the announcement of the winners will take place on 3 May 2024 at 5 pm at the Schwebodrom Wuppertal (Werth 96, 42275 Wuppertal). Guests at the award ceremony will be greeted with welcome drinks and canapés. Afterwards, all visitors will be offered a VR tour of the Schwebodrom. The official award ceremony will begin at around 6 p.m. with the announcement of the winners, after which the winners will be invited to a dinner together at the Cafe Schimmerlos event location (Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 85, 42103 Wuppertal).

Redensification concepts for Würzburg-Gartenstadt

*to add, to fill, to refill, to recharge

Due to the structural and sociological changes in society and the associated increase in awareness of ecological, economic and socio-cultural sustainability, existing buildings are becoming increasingly important. In addition to avoiding construction waste, conserving primary resources and limiting emissions, the use of existing architectural buildings can also promote the sustainable and future-oriented development of cities, which in turn helps to preserve existing functioning structures and thus the urban appearance. Overall, dealing with existing buildings helps to achieve a balance between economic, technical and architectural development, environmental protection and cultural heritage. 

The semester design, which deals with the refurbishment and revitalization of four row buildings in Würzburg-Frauenland, is fed by the results of the seminar “Understanding existing buildings”, in which a contemporary documentation of the existing buildings was created in WS 23/24 on the basis of sketches, photographs, surveys and models. The aim of this semester is to develop a sustainable vision for the new and further development of living, working and living in this area, connected to the entire residential neighbourhood.

Supervised by: Hanna Hoss, Manuel Rausch

Supervision: Wednesday afternoons, Thursdays
Location: Studio (20.40, room 208)
1st meeting: 18.04.2024 in our studio
Excursion: 26. – 27.04.2024
Submission: 26.07.2024, 12.00
Presentation: 30.07.2024 and 31.07.2024

A Research Seminar of the KIT Material Library

The KIT Materials Library of the Faculty of Architecture offers an extensive collection of materials that, in addition to conventional building materials, focuses on building materials made from secondary raw materials, alternative biotic raw materials and recyclable building materials. 

Addressing such material focal points of sustainable construction makes future generations of architects understand the value of varietal purity, the necessity of using secondary materials and the preservation of value when reused or recycled.

In the research seminar Future-oriented Building Materials, Master’s students gain a detailed insight into this class of innovative, endlessly recyclable building materials. The independent scientific research work of the students is at the heart of the seminar work. The students are involved in the selection of the materials to be described and are explicitly called upon to adopt a critical stance. The final aim of the seminar is to present innovative, sustainable materials for the construction industry using detailed data sheets and prepared physical material samples as part of an exhibition in the materials library. Students are thus actively involved in the further development of the materials database and the collection of the materials library. The seminar is accompanied by individual supervision, work in the study workshops and joint discussion rounds in the materials library.

Supervised by: Sandra Böhm, Elena Boerman

Date: Tuesdays 11.30-13.00
Location: KIT Material Library, 20.40, Room 141
1st meeting: 16.04.2024
Exam: 16.07.2024

A journey across the Alpine region

During Whitsun week, we want to travel to the Alpine foreland to experience Peter Zumthor’s buildings and his work with space, light and material. The region, rich in diverse architecture, has numerous other projects to offer. Our aim during the four days of our trip is to develop an understanding of regional materials, the places associated with them and processing technologies.

We will get to know multifaceted industrial and residential architecture, but also visit museums and, last but not least, religious buildings. In addition, we will take the opportunity to meet the people behind the architecture by visiting architectural offices and a carpentry workshop in the region.

The cost for travel, accommodation with breakfast and programme is estimated at around €375 per person.

Supervised by: Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Elena Boerman, Hanna Hoss, Manuel Rausch

First Meeting: 17.04.24, 11.30 am, building 11.40, Raum 26
Excursion: 21.05.2024 – 24.05.2024

Dealing with existing structures will be one of the most important tasks in Germany and Europe in the coming years and decades. Recently, we offered a reality-based deconstruction-workshop which consists of two parts. Based on this small project, we trained important techniques and basic principles with the aim of realizing the students design ideas.

The first part was a deconstruction workshop of an existing wooden barn in Ehrenkirchen near Freiburg in December 2023. The structure has been dismantled and stored. Before that, the dismantled wooden parts have been measured by students who afterwards set up a digital material depot. This way, they’ve learned how to create simple material passes as a basis for new design.

In a second part, the students are asked to design a storage and service building for the sports club in Ebringen, using the parts obtained from the deconstruction. The original building burnt down a few years ago, but the remains are to be preserved and integrated into the design.

We are very excited about the design presentation next week!

Below please find some impressions from the first part:

Contemporary living in the historic Henkels lace factory in Wuppertal

As part of the Urban Mining Student Award 2023/24, visions for the sustainable use of existing buildings are being sought, both in the sense of redensification and in the sense of preserving important building culture in German cities. The KIT Faculty of Architecture has already won this competition three times in recent years and this year we want to take on the task again.

The focus of the task is the respectful conversion and cycle-compatible redevelopment of a historic factory site on the grounds of the former lace factory A.&E. Henkels in Wuppertal-Langerfeld. The task here is to develop an exemplary, viable and sustainable future concept for historic buildings. This is a task that will increasingly face us in the coming years.

Against the background of the significant increase in land consumption per capita and the increasing soil sealing of recent years, parallel to the urgent need for housing in the cities and the development of new living and working environment requirements, the task aims to develop innovative housing concepts with versatile qualities for a diverse population through spatial and organisational synergies.

The aim is to complement the residential use with a functional and constructively flexible range of spaces that can be used by third parties or adapted spatially, and to answer the design questions: What is “contemporary living and working”? How can a real social mix be generated within the former factory block? How can, for example, social housing and luxury apartments (necessary due to the financing model) co-exist or even create added value for all residents or for the entire district through their co-existence? The goal is to create a lively and flexibly usable residential area of appropriate density with high-quality, greened outdoor spaces and open spaces using as few resources as possible.

Supervised by: Katharina Blümke, Elena Boerman, Hanna Hoss, Manuel Rausch

Supervision: Wednesday afternoons, Thursdays
Location: Studio (20.40, room 103)
1st meeting: 26.10.2023 in our studio
Excursion to Wuppertal: 03.11 – 05.11.2023
Submission: 16.02.2024, 12.00
Presentation: 21.02.2024 and 22.02.2024

Research Seminar / Sustainable Construction

The building stock is becoming increasingly important. Through the preservation of buildings – compared to new construction – immense resources and emissions can be saved, which significantly reduces the ecological footprint and at the same time preserves and strengthens our building culture.

In our seminar we want to lay the basics for understanding the existing building stock. From learning professional measuring techniques and adapted photo documentation to sketching and understanding the most important architectural elements, we will look at an existing building in Würzburg. In the process, a basic knowledge is taught that will later become essential in professional practice.

Supervised by: Katharina Blümke, Elena Boerman, Hanna Hoss, Manuel Rausch

Date: Wednesdays 11.30-13.00
Location: 11.40, Room 26
1st meeting: 25.10.2023
Exam: 07.02.2024

In the Winter Semester 2023/24, the KIT Department of Architecture will offer a lecture series on Materials, organized by the chair of Sustainable Construction, Dirk E. Hebel. In total, 11 lectures will address conventional and alternative building materials and their use in construction. Speakers are: Sandra Böhm, Prof. Andrea Klinge, Peter Schöffel, Nazanin Saeidi, Alireza Javadian and Elena Boerman. Please refer to the poster for actual dates. The lecture is held every Friday, 9.45 am at the lecture hall Fritz-Haller in the building 20.40 at KIT Campus South.

Poster Design: Uta Bogenrieder

In the Winter Semester 2023/24, the KIT Department of Architecture will offer a lecture series on Sustainable Construction, organized by the Professorship of Sustainable Construction, Dirk E. Hebel. In total 12 lectures he will address the history, state of the art, and alternative futures within the theme. Please refer to the poster for actual dates. The lecture is held every Wednesday, 9.45 am in the lecture hall Fritz-Haller in the building 20.40 at KIT Campus South.

Poster Design: Uta Bogenrieder

On 18 July 2023, the day the KIT Materials Library reopened, the first event in the new premises already took place with the final presentation of the research seminar “Future-Oriented Materials”.

The students had worked intensively in groups on five materials each, so that they actively contributed to the material library through their research and also gained insights into the work in the backend of the material database. In addition, there were exciting input lectures and even a workshop in which the material hemp-lime was worked with. The result of the seminar was 30 material data sets, which will be fed into the future cooperatively operated database not only at KIT but also within the Germany-wide cooperation of the “Material Library of German Universities MDH”.

In addition, the students designed an exhibition that contains material samples and data sheets as well as the appropriate raw materials for the materials, a self-designed game and further material comparisons.

We are very happy about this very good work in the seminar and the high commitment of the students. The exhibition described can now be visited in the KIT Material Library.

24.09.023 – 01.10.2023
Workshop week as part of the 18th Architecture Biennale in Venice

Take advantage of this great opportunity not only to experience Venice and the Architecture Biennale, but also to expand your network, meet international students and architects and develop your creative skills.

In cooperation with KOEN Institute of TU Graz and Baukreisel e.V. (Collective for Transformation and Design) Supervised by: Barbara Gruber, Jonas Läufer

Participants: 10 persons (TU Graz) + 10 persons (KIT)
Costs: € 200 (including accommodation, entrance fees and documentation, individual travel)
Accommodation: Laboratori occupato Morion, Calle de Morino

Registration by mail: info@baukreisel.org
INFO MEETING FOR THE WORKSHOP: 20.07.2023 in the left inner courtyard of the faculty.

The German contribution to this year’s 18th Architecture Biennale 2023 is dedicated to the themes of care, maintenance and repair entitled “Open for Maintanance_Wegen Umbau geschlossen”. This year, the German Pavilion is transforming into a productive infrastructure that promotes the principles of circular construction as well as the social responsibility of architecture. It serves to collect, catalogue, provide and process used materials from the previous Art Biennale. A workshop set up in the German Pavilion forms the working environment for various Venetian and international initiatives and universities that work with interventions to preserve and maintain socio-spatial structures on site.

Together with the KOEN Institute, the Graz University of Technology and the Baukreisel Association (Collective for Transformation and Design), we are organising a workshop week as part of the 1:1 Maintenance Programme to plan and implement an intervention. Together with the Venetian cooperative Spazio Punch, whose alternative exhibition space and creative meeting place is located on the island of Giudecca, we will design and maintain the place with small repairs and additions. We will have a fully equipped workshop and materials store at our service in the German Pavilion at the Biennale site.

The material collected from contributions to the past Art Biennale as well as the material stocks of Spazio Punch serve as a basis. The intention is to work on the existing material with small interventions and to create new details.

One of the many networks initiated by the curatorial team of the German Pavilion is the cooperation with Laboratori occupato Morion. They are making their building, not far from the Giardini, available to all participants as group accommodation.

A new digital workshop for the KIT Faculty of Architecture

The Faculty of Architecture at KIT urgently needs a new digital workshop. Funds are being made available by KIT for this purpose in order to go into realisation following the semester.

The semester task is to further design, plan and realise a circular replacement building as a digital experimental workshop between the buildings 11.40 and 20.40. The aim is to build a new digital workshop. At the end of the semester, a first building block is to be presented as a real-built mockup with the help of digital tools.

The aim is to provide students with a creative and functional space for digital mockup construction, offering sufficient space for cutting plotters, laser cutters and 3D printers.

The design will be published by the Sustainable Building Professorship together with the Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF) Professorship and the Design of Structures (dos) Professorship. In addition, a professional planning team consisting of the building owner and specialist planners will support the design with their expertise.

Lecturers:
Prof. Dirk Hebel, Manuel Rausch, Katharina Blümke, Prof. Riccardo La Magna, David Largueche, Prof. Moritz Dörstelmann

First meeting: 20.04.23
Regular date: Thursday, 10:00 a.m., Building 11.40, R 26
Number of participants: 15 + 3 Erasmus (group work)

A Research Seminar of the KIT Material Library

The Materials Library of the Faculty of Architecture at KIT, which is currently being reorganised as part of the “Materialbibliothek Deutscher Hochschulen” cooperation, offers an extensive collection of materials that, in addition to conventional building materials, focuses on building materials made from secondary raw materials, alternative biotic raw materials and recyclable building materials.

As a pioneer of sustainable building, this special group of materials makes it possible for future generations of architects to understand the value of purity, the necessity of using secondary materials and the preservation of value in the case of reuse or recycling.

In the research seminar Future-oriented Building Materials, Master’s students gain a detailed insight into this class of novel, endlessly circulating building materials. The seminar is accompanied by individual supervision, joint discussion rounds on specific topics, input lectures and excursions. However, the focus is on the students’ independent scientific research work, which aims to provide detailed descriptions of the materials. In this context, the students can work on the new KIT material database and enter data directly. In this way, the students are actively involved in building up the database. The seminar will conclude with an exhibition in the materials library. On display will be the data sets created by the students with the corresponding material samples of innovative, sustainable materials for the construction industry.

First Meeting: 25.04.23
Regular date: Tuesday, 10:00 a.m., Building 11.40, R 26
Excursion: 16.05.23 (more planned)
Participants: 12 master students

A round trip among traditional and future building 

In the seminar week we want to take a round trip between traditional and future building methods and explore the connections of hand and material.

We want to look at new manufacturing techniques in craftsmanship and technology, their interdependencies and dare a look into the future of construction towards digital fabrication. The journey will take us from Karlsruhe, via Stuttgart to the alpine foothills and then via Zurich and Laufen back to Baden. 

Some of the costs will have to be covered by the students themselves. We are striving to keep this part as low as possible.

Site:
Karlsruhe, Kernen, Reutlingen, Bregenz, Reuthe, Andelsbuch, Schlins, Lustenau, Winterthur, Dübendorf, Zürich, Laufen, Karlsruhe.

Number of Participants:
20 students, Bachelor / Master

This pavilion at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) shows with sustainable construction how learning and lingering on campus can look like. The project emerged from the impromptu of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction “Learn where you want” in the winter semester 2020/21.

With this interdisciplinary pilot project, students have ventured a step into the future of university life together with the Professorships of Sustainable Construction (IEB) and Construction Technology (IEB), the Sustainability Office (SEK), the Technology House (TEC), and the Real Estate Management (IM) of the KIT. The sustainable development of the university campus is focused on increasing the quality of staying and creating informal learning places. The overall motto is the creation of a “marketplace of knowledge”.

Local products, reversible joining methods and elements from the urban mine contribute to circular construction with a mono-material design.

Open to appropriation, the pavilion offers several levels at different heights for sitting, lingering and learning. The structural framework develops windmill-like from a multifunctional core element to the outside and gives the learning place its distinctive identity. The open structure encourages exchange and allows interaction with the surrounding green spaces.

Text and Photography: Dominic Faltien

Resource-efficient housing concepts for a growing city

Cities play a crucial role in the struggle for a sustainable and climate-friendly future. This is where housing, production, trade, transport and energy consumption all come together. In addition, our cities are gigantic stores of raw materials. In some areas, the resources tied up in the current building stock have long since exceeded the raw material deposits that can be reached with reasonable effort in the earth’s crust. This urban mine needs to be tapped.

The city of Heidelberg has set itself ambitious sustainability goals and wants to lead the way as a pioneer of the circular economy in urban development and urban planning. To this end, among other things, the project “Circular City – Building Material Cadastre for the City of Heidelberg” was launched, with which the city is relying on the urban mining principle. The building stock is being successively recorded and analyzed so that the data obtained can be made available to planners.

This semester, we will investigate how the application of circular building production and the use of materials from urban mining can succeed architecturally, using different design locations in Heidelberg. 

The design will take place in collaboration with the integrated disciplines of structural engineering (Prof. Riccardo La Magna), FBTA (Prof. Andreas Wagner), and building economics (Hon. Prof. Kai Fischer).

1st meeting: 26.10.22 in the studio
Interim critique: 14./15.12.2022
Table critique: 25./26.01.2023
Submission/Presentation: 23.02.2023

A laboratory for future building

The Faculty of Architecture and the Department IV Natural and Built Environment of KIT have set themselves the goal to become a pioneer of circular and sustainable building in Germany and Europe. This requires a new research, teaching and experimental laboratory for future building, in which research, teaching and practical applications can be interlinked and practiced. 

Topics of sustainable building should not only be researched, but the building should already show and demonstrate them. The laboratory is to become a showcase for research into future building for the entire society and an attractor for the city of Karlsruhe.

The semester task is to develop a construction laboratory located in area 10 on the south campus. An urban planning study is part of the task. A large ground-level hall is required, in which new possibilities for future construction will be researched with the help of digital manufacturing processes and robotics, and experimental buildings will be erected. Above the hall, teaching and learning spaces for students and researchers are to be created with common zones for exchange and networking.  On the roof area, individual research and innovation modules are to be installed according to the “plug-in” principle and can be dismantled again simply and easily. People will live and work in these changing units, so that they serve as busy experimental laboratories and at the same time shape and constantly change the appearance of the building.

Day and time: Thursdays, 9:00
1st meeting: 27.10.2022
Excursion to Zurich on 04.11.2022

The deconstruction friendliness of a construction and the reusability of materials are decisive parameters for circular planning and building. For high-quality recycling and reuse of materials, material layers as well as components must be planned and installed in a detachable way. The aim of the seminar is to determine the qualitative material value of a separated component and to present it graphically, as well as to find new joining techniques. From the analysis, conclusions are to be drawn for the planning of new circular component constructions as well as to show ways for the design of alternative joining techniques. The analysis of the components is planned in a group work of two persons each.

Day and Time: Wednesdays, 13.30 – 15.00
First meeting: 26.10.22

In the Winter Semester 2022/23, the KIT Department of Architecture will offer a lecture series on Materials, organized by the chair of Sustainable Construction, Dirk E. Hebel. In total 11 lectures will address conventional and alternative building materials and their use in construction. Speakers are: Andrea Klinge, Kay Sanvito, Peter Schöffel, Nazanin Saeidi, Alireza Javadian, Elena Boerman and Sandra Böhm. Please refer to the poster for actual dates. The lecture is held every Friday, 9.45 am at the Egon Eiermann HS in the building 20.40 at KIT Campus South.

Poster Design: Uta Bogenrieder

In the Winter Semester 2022/23, the KIT Department of Architecture will offer a lecture series on Sustainable Construction, organized by the Professorship of Sustainable Construction, Dirk E. Hebel. In total 12 lectures he will address the history, state of the art, and alternative futures within the theme. Please refer to the poster for actual dates. The lecture is held every Wednesday, 9.45 am in the HS37 in the building 20.40 at KIT Campus South.

Poster Design: Uta Bogenrieder

08.07. / 09.07. / 11.07. / 23.07.
Termine jeweils von 8 – 19 Uhr

Rückfragen und Anmeldung an jonas.laeufer@kit.edu

Im Juli 2022 steht der Abriss des Hauptschulgebäudes der Konrad Kocher Schule in Ditzingen an. Ein ganz normaler Prozess im heutigen Baugeschehen. Die Stadt hat entschieden, die Schule entspricht nicht mehr den heutigen Ansprüchen, ein Wettbewerb für den Neubau einer Schule wurde ausgelobt, der Gewinner hat den Auftrag für das Projekt bekommen.

Viele Tonnen Baustoffe werden durch diese Entscheidung freigesetzt und nach dem üblichen Vorgang auf die Deponie befördert, recycelt oder thermisch verwertet. Vor zwei Wochen kam die Zusage der Stadt und des beauftragten Abbruchunternehmens, dass Material ausgebaut werden darf – der Abriss steht in vier Wochen an.

Ganz nach dem Motto „viele Hände, schnelles Ende“ wollen wir zusammen so viele Materialien wie möglich direkt oder indirekt „retten“ und so einen eigenen kleinen Beitrag zur Zirkulariserung leisten.

Als freies Kollektiv für zirkuläres Bauen ruft der Baukreisel gemeinsam mit dem Lehrstuhl für Nachhaltiges Bauen am KIT einen Ausbau Stegreif aus, um zusammen mit Studierenden die Linearität zu brechen und im Sinn der Kreislaufwirtschaft zu handeln. Hierbei geht es um das Katalogisieren und den Abbau der Materialien vor Ort, aber auch um die Planung, Logistik und Wiederverwendung der Materialien. Konkret sollen Materialien sowohl zur Wiederverwendung im Bau vorbereitet werden (Beispiel: Böden, Waschbecken, Armaturen) als auch für einen neue Nutzungsart aufbereitet werden (Beispiel: aus Türen entstehen Möbel). So wird neben der handwerklichen Abbauerfahrung auch die wirtschaftliche und gestalterische Komponente der Zirkularität beleuchtet.

Der Ausbau Stegreif wird an zwei Wochenenden in der ehemaligen Hauptschule in Ditzingen stattfinden. Ziel des Stegreifs ist es das Ausbauen und Katalogisieren von obsoleten Baumaterialen zu erproben. Das geborgene Material wird anschließend gelagert und soll im Herbst für eine Möbelserie und weitere Objekte verwendet werden.

Die Entwürfe können voraussichtlich in einem weiteren Stegreif erarbeitet werden.

08.07. / 09.07. / 11.07. / 23.07.
Termine jeweils von 8 – 19 Uhr

Rückfragen und Anmeldung an jonas.laeufer@kit.edu

Stühlinger Kirchplatz is a small park in the center of Freiburg. A well-known meeting point for the whole community and a venue for diverse events, it is also a place of conflict due to drug dealing and excessive alcohol consumption.

An initiative by local social and cultural associations aims to establish a small multifunctional building or object as a starting point for a positive and integrated development of the whole park.

Developing a concept for this “Kulturkiosk”, addressing the social cultural context with sustainable construction and digital design, will be the focus of the Stegreif.

The Stegreif is a collaboration between the Professur Nachaltiges Bauen, Professur Digital Design and Fabrication and “Schwere(s)Los! e.V.”.

(de)

Der Stühlinger Kirchplatz im Zentrum Freiburgs ist ein beliebter Treffpunkt für das gesamte Quartier, andererseits ist er aufgrund von Drogenhandel und übermäßigem Alkoholkonsum ein Ort des Konflikts.

Eine Initiative lokaler sozialer und kultureller Vereine zielt darauf ab, ein kleines multifunktionales Gebäude oder Objekt als Ausgangspunkt für eine positive Entwicklung des gesamten Parks zu schaffen.

Die Entwicklung eines Konzepts für diesen “Kulturkiosk”, das den soziokulturellen Kontext mit nachhaltigem Bauen und digitalem Design verbindet, wird im Mittelpunkt des Stegreif stehen.

Der Stegreif ist eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Professur Nachaltiges Bauen, der Professur Digital Design and Fabrication und “Schwere(s)Los! e.V.“.

Ausgabe Stegreif: 11.05.2022, 10:00 Uhr – Geb. 20.40, Raum 136 (Fakultätszimmer)
Betreuungen: 11./18.05.2022
Abgabe: 25.05.2022

The Schelling Studienpreis is the student counterpart of the renowned Schelling Architekturpreis, which is awarded every two years by the Schelling Architecture Foundation in Karlsruhe to international architects. The study prize was awarded for the first time in 2015.

This year, nine former students who completed their Master’s degree in the past two years have been nominated. The main award is endowed with 2,000 euros.

Three of the nine nominated master’s theses were submitted to the Professorship of Sustainable Construction. These included the thesis by Hanna Wollny entitled “Gebäude als Materialressource – Am Beispiel eines temporären Hörsaalgebäudes” (Hebel/Wagner) from the winter semester 2019/20, the thesis by Caterina Goerner from the summer semester 2020, who entitled her thesis “Nordschwarzwald Regional – Von der Ruine zur Mine” (Hebel/Wagner), as well as the thesis by Fanny Hirt, who dealt with “Kaufhaustransformation – Neudefinition der Heidelberger Innenstadt” in the winter semester 2020/21.

At the award ceremony on the evening of 25 November 2021, the Master’s theses of Hanna Wollny and Fanny Hirt were each awarded recognition of the Schelling Studienpreis. Clara Süßmann received the Schelling Studienpreis for her Master’s thesis entitled “Auf Schatzsuche im Schwarzwald – Mineralienspeicher Grube Clara”, which was supervised by Prof. Wappner and Prof. Rambow in the summer semester of 2020.

Congratulations to all the laureates! More information on arch.kit.edu.

Regina Gebauer and Anne-Catherine Greiner are two of a total of ten winners of the aed neuland 2021 young talent competition in the Architecture and Engineering category. They each received the silver award for their semester designs, which were both created at the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and were supervised by Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Manuel Rausch and Daniel Lenz.

In her project “Bis sich alles bewegt” (“Until Everything Moves”), Regina Gebauer deals with the inward densification of urban spaces in European city centres in an exemplary manner in terms of sustainability. The addition to an existing building in Wuppertal with the clear formulation of the joint between old and new convinced the jury. With the consistent implementation of the themes of circular economy in construction, single-variety construction and the Urban Mine, it demonstrates a self-confident architectural stance.

Find out more about the project here.

Anne-Catherine Greiner proposes a playful solution for the Mea Nork kindergarten of the NGO “Smiling Gecko” near Phnom Penh in Cambodia as an extension of the existing school. Taking into account climatic conditions and honouring local community and ecosystems, the organic structure offers children the opportunity to learn with and from each other. By using natural materials and applying local building traditions, it shows a way to address environmental and social issues through architecture.

Find out more about the project here.

More information about the competition and all winners here.

Urbanisation in Europe reached approximately 75%, and the tendency is growing; thus, European cities face several urgent problems, which should be solved to comply with the EU targets to fight climate change.

To name a few critical problems aligned with the scope of the project: 

• Available living space is getting rare within the existing boundaries due to the increasing rate of migration from people into cities and the constant growth of the consumption of square meter per person.

• Environmental quality in cities is strongly affected by pollution, mainly caused by combustion (traffic, heating), and increasing temperatures as well as heat waves during the summer due to urban heat island effects.

• Most buildings of the existing building stock in European cities were built with a low energy efficiency standard which results in high energy consumption (mostly for heating) and related CO2-emissions.

• Lastly, the building materials are not only slowly getting scarce and affect the quality of the living spaces, but the building sector is also responsible for a large amount of waste.

To tackle this, Team RoofKIT choses a holistic approach: The extension of buildings with an additional living unit requires combined urban design and architectural strategies, considering the specific requirements of the site but at the same time seeking a more general solution regarding adding living units on cities’ rooftops. RoofKIT‘s goal here is to take up the local potentials of the site and neighbourhood and improve it together with the building design by creating synergies. Together with the outdoor space, the extension will be an exemplary project that will fit into various other contexts in the neighbourhood, the city, and beyond, thanks to ist modularity. It is important that the outdoor space makes no distinction between residents, neighbours or visitors enabling flexibility, multiple uses, capacity, creativity and freedom of use.

Whole Building Design Approach
Although topping up allows creating living space with very low impact on neighbours and users of the existing building, RoofKIT decided to enhance the current situation and to upgrade the existing building by economic, social and energetic terms. Therefore, the interior layout is revised according to the needs of the different functions. Based on the analysis of the existing functions of Café Ada, strategies have been developed to strengthen them further: The ball room that attracts tango dancers from all parts of the world as well as theexisting sleeping facilities for them are not appropriate to the situation.  For this reason, an ‘urban gap’ is created, which forms a transition between the existing structure and the extension and presents the dance hall to the public. The load bearing structure from the early 20st century will be further used and partly reinforced.

House Demonstration Unit Design Approach
In order to transfer the concept from the overall building to the house demonstration unit, RoofKIT has chosen the southwest corner of the building as a cutout. It is perceived as a two-story structure that represents the two main components of our building: The residential units and the urban gap. Just as in the overall design, the HDU is built in modular timber construction and consists of a total of four modules. The module that is placed in front of the others in a transverse direction functions as a terrace and represents the shared spaces of our building design. Inside, the interior design is also characterized by modularity in the form of custom-made furniture, which allows flexibility and is especially space-saving at the same time. Furthermore, the open floor plan allows for high space efficiency since no pure traffic zone exists.

Structural Design
The challenge for the RoofKIT design is to base on an already existing building, whose bearing structure has almost reached its load limits. The structural design of the project keeps the established building almost free from additional loads. This works because the thick external brick walls bears the load of the addition. An examination of the walls and foundations will show whether they need to be strengthened. The internal supporting structure has to be reinforced, to bear the increased live loads of the ball room in the urban gap. To keep the additional loads for the top-up to a minimum, a lightweight wooden frame construction was chosen.

Solar System Integration
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. As part of the goal, the sizing of the RoofKIT’s PV and battery system will focus on a high self-coverage of the energy demand as well as on stabilising effects of the grid. In other words, the feed-in of surplus electric energy during solar peaks and heavycharging of grid energy during peak load times will be avoided by a smart building energy management including the building and mobility solutions. A balanced energy threshold over the year (consumption and generation) as a function of available solar radiation, actual energy demand and grid requirements will be achieved by load shifting or any other sort of demand-side management. RoofKIT does not regard the use of solar systems as a mere necessity but as a possibility to design the building on an architectural level. 

For better insight, RoofKIT’s second short film reveals more details and goals about the project. Stay Tuned!

RoofKIT links: https://linktr.ee/RoofKIT
Instagram: www.instagram.com/roofkit_
Solar Decathlon Europe 21: www.SDE21.eu
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sde21_wuppertal

Komm ins Team RoofKIT! Solar Decathlon Europe 2021
06.04.2021, 17 Uhr auf zoom

Sommersemester 2021: Mitarbeit am SDE21
(Seminar, Praktikum,…)

Thema: Introduction to RoofKIT
Uhrzeit: 6.Apr..2021 05:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rom, Stockholm, Wien

Zoom-Meeting beitreten
https://kit-lecture.zoom.us/j/63671528170?pwd=MFd6czlzQXNMWDBZdUhYWTJ4ZWJrUT09

Meeting-ID: 636 7152 8170
Kenncode: 567334

Mehr Informationen über RoofKIT und den SDE21: https://roofkit.de

In form of a “Stegreif”, the Professorship of Sustainable Construction jointly with the KIT Zukunftscampus, launched a competition for future outdoor learning spaces at KIT campus. A structure was to be designed that would enable learning and working in an outdoor environment. The design was to be independent of a specific location but should be considered as a flexible object for many possible spots and create a recognizable landmark for the KIT community.

Boerman_Elena_neu

Weber_Milena_neu

Resch_Alexander_neu

Faltien_Dominic_neu

1st prizes: “KONRAD” (D. Faltien), “Lerninsel+” (A. Resch), “Lern doch, wo du willst” (M. Weber)
Acknowledgement: “toolKIT” (E. Boerman)

All proposals developed have a high degree of practicality and are basically suitable for implementation. During their judging session, the jury decided in favor of three first prizes and one acknowledgement. The three first prizes were given to the projects of Dominic Faltien, Alexander Resch and Milena Weber, the acknowledgement was given to the work of Elena Boerman. The three first prize projects will be further elaborated in regards to the construction and consequently realization of a prototype.

More information soon on https://www.zukunftscampus.kit.edu

“The future city makes no distinction between waste and supply.”
Joachim Mitchell, New York

How can we create social-economic fair living space without destroying our natural resources? And how can we create ecologically sensitive building structures, acknowledging the finite state of natural material supplies, and avoid any state of “waste”, but understand the existing building stock as an urban material bank for the future? How can we create alternative solar harvesting systems as part of an urban mining ideology and propose paradigm-shifting innovations as first-of-their-kind worldwide? And how can we apply urban mobility systems as an integrative part of the immobile building sector?

The Solar Decathlon Europe 21 (SDE21) is a publicly held competition for sustainable building and urban living, which will take place in 2022 in Wuppertal, Germany, where it will be judged. The motto: „design-build-operate.“ This means that, unlike in other architectural competitions, the participating teams will actually build their designs. The aim of the competition is to find innovative and at the same time tangible solutions to the technical, architectural and social problems we face in our cities.

The first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002 by the Department of Energy of the United States on the National Mall in Washington D.C., followed in 2010 by the first European version in Madrid. With the SDE21 comes the world‘s 21st edition of the competition for the first time to Germany – with a new and urban profile and the question of how we should deal with limited ressource in future constructions and how to apply the necessery and politically demanded concept of a circular economy within the building industry.

18 university teams from 11 countries will construct fully usable demonstration units of approx. 80 sqm each on the Solar Campus in Wuppertal which is locatad on the Utopiastadt site in 2022. The teams will compete with their buildings in 10 different disciplines. 

The RoofKIT team of the KIT Faculty of Architecture will address those urgent questions in the competition by exploring a gigantic surface resource within our cities: rooftops. By applying the idea of the circular economy towards the identification of new possible building sites within our cities, and by applying the concept also towards the material as well as the energy question, the project will show that it is possible to integrate the building sector in a functioning sustainable system already today. The city of today will be the resource for the city of tomorrow. It needs a new generation contract for both – the society and young architects, engineers and planners at large.

exterior_quer

Bird View © roofKIT Team

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Exterior View © roofKIT Team

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Façade © roofKIT Team

Different Views © Team RoofKIT

The impact of such a radical paradigm shift is not debatable. In the light of a world-wide climate crisis, we need to shift our way of how we think, design and construct architecture. RoofKIT will be a demonstrator for a new generation of buildings, that take their responsibility seriously. It will show that social sustainability in form of affordable high quality living space interacting with their neighbourhoods is a question of good and informed design, that solar harvesting will not be an accessory but a mandatory part of any design process and mobility concept and that resources coming from the urban mine and designed as a material bank can and will be interwoven to a synergetic resilient design as they are enabled to move unrestrictedly in a future circular economy.

More information on www.roofKIT.de and the www.SDE21.eu