KIT Materials Library
The KIT Materials Library underwent a complete redesign from 2020 to 2023. The renovation and architectural redesign were carried out according to the principles of circular construction, using recycled and reused materials. In addition to technical repairs, the historic ceiling was uncovered and the parquet floor refinished. Discarded magazine racks now serve as exhibition and storage areas for the material samples. The library’s content was also reoriented; for example, building materials are no longer presented as semi-finished products but as pure building materials that can circulate in the biological or technical cycle without loss of quality or that consist of secondary raw materials. The physical facilities are complemented by a materials database maintained by the network Materialbibliothek Deutscher Hochschulen (MDH).
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BauNetz Campus „Hands-on material knowledge: The KIT Material Library“
„The KIT Material Library is part of a larger research project on sustainable and circular construction. It investigates how materials can be designed, used, and returned to closed cycles in the future. The focus is on building materials that are locally available or produced and can either be composted biologically or recycled technically without any…
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LooKIT-Interview: „More Modular Design – less Model Making“
In the interview of Regina Link for „lookKIT“ with Sandra Böhm and Elena Boerman from the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at KIT they share insights into circular building practices. Their work centers on circular buildings that allow materials to be reused at the same quality level, reducing waste and conserving resources. A key example is RoofKIT, a full-scale…
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KIT Material Library honoured with two awards
© Zooey Braun The KIT Material Library has been honored in two categories of the Iconic Awards in August 2025: the Best of Best Interior category and the Circular Design category. The jury’s statement says: „The revitalised material library at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) serves as an analogue and digital knowledge repository for…
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Podcast „Sustainable construction – Back to the future with hemp?“ DLF Kultur
In the podcast episode “Zeitfragen” broadcast on June 17, 2025, on Deutschlandfunk Kultur, hemp lime was discussed as a sustainable building material and alternative to concrete. Hemp as a building material offers advantages throughout its entire life cycle in terms of its environmental compatibility, for example with regard to the uncomplicated and pesticide-free cultivation of…
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Exhibition „Architecture and Energy“ at the DAM Frankfurt
The construction industry accounts for about 40 percent of the emissions responsible for climate change, and thus more than any other sector. It is therefore critically important to reduce as quickly as possible both the CO2 emissions and the energy inputs involved in the manufacture and operation of buildings. It is crucial to create an…
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KIT Material Library wins BDAP Award for Interior Design
The KIT Material Library has been awarded the „Badischer Architektur Preis“ (BDAP) in the Interior Design category for its innovative, circular concept. The renovation features materials that have already completed a life cycle, sourced from the so-called „urban mine“. All materials are sorted and installed without adhesives or silicones to maximize recyclability. Manuel Rausch (STUDIO-MRA)…
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Exhibition „Pilzpaläste und Tütentürme“ in Junge Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
What could sustainable construction look like in the future? The exhibition is an invitation to try out new things with existing resources and lots of creativity. Beaches are disappearing, entire islands are drowning because their sand is needed to produce building materials such as concrete and glass. Other raw materials are also becoming increasingly rare,…
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Research Seminar Master: Future-oriented Building Materials
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…
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The KIT Materials Library is reopened
The KIT Materials Library houses an extensive collection of material samples, whose haptic experience and critical assessment are of particular importance for the education of architects in our view. It offers the opportunity to learn about both established, well-known and new, innovative materials and technologies. The extensive physical collection of material samples – and in…
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Seminar „Future-Oriented Materials“ – final presentation
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…
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MaterialLab at IBA’27: RoofKIT and Material Samples
A large hands-on exhibition on new (and old) building materials is located in a warehouse in the future Backnang-West neighborhood: programmed wood, insulation made from old clothes, concrete foam. Selected exhibits from research and industry are on display. The focus is on various materials and their further development. There is also an exhibition contribution from…
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KIT Material Library goes BAU2023
At this year’s BAU World’s Leading Trade Fair for Architecture, Materials, Systems in Munich from April 17 to 22, 2023, the KIT Material Library of the Department of Architecture is presented. An excerpt from the physical sample stock of the material library is shown. On a small exhibition area, some material samples of different material…
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Seminar Master: Future-oriented Building Materials
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…
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KIT Material Library: impressions of the construction site
Work in the materials library is progressing. More and more parts of the old raw building fabric are becoming visible. The renovation of the premises of the material library began some months ago and a lot has already happened. For example, current new electrical installations are being installed and a new modern lighting design has…
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Design through and with material knowledge
An interview with the Dean of the KIT Faculty of Architecture Dirk E. Hebel and seminar leader Sandra Böhm of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction about their design strategies and the compatibility with materials science in architectural education. The KIT Faculty of Architecture has a long tradition in understanding architectural design in close interaction with…
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Rammed earth garden house near Freiburg
Loam is produced by the natural weathering of rocks. It can be found almost everywhere and is considered a local building material – even on the Upper Rhine. It consists of different rock or particle sizes, from sand to silt to clay. If dried loam is combined with sufficient water, it becomes plastic again and…
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KIT Material Library under construction
The Professorship of Sustainable Construction was entrusted with the reorganisation of the Material Library of the KIT Faculty of Architecture. In addition to setting up a digital material library, the premises will also be restructured and brought up to a contemporary standard. After the renovation, the materials library will offer the opportunity to obtain comprehensive…
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changelab.exchange goes online!
The ChangeLab! website is online. The WACKER / KIT Innovation Platform for Pioneering Sustainable Construction is aiming to bring together KIT students, architects, engineers and construction experts seeking new approaches in the field of materials development and construction methods for a circular economy.More information at: changelab.exchange
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ChangeLab!
WACKER / KIT Innovation Platform for Pioneering Sustainable Construction We are pleased to announce that WACKER Chemie AG is supporting the KIT Faculty of Architecture by setting up a new innovation platform for sustainable construction. The project “ChangeLab! WACKER / KIT Innovation Platform for Pioneering Sustainable Construction” is aiming to bring together KIT students, architects,…
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The reorganisation of the KIT Faculty of Architecture Material Library
The Professorship of Sustainable Construction was entrusted with the reorganisation of the Materials Library of the KIT Faculty of Architecture. The conceptual and content-related reorganization is based on establishing a broad collection of the most used building materials in Europe. On top, new research and materials adressing questions of a circular construction economy as well…
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KIT Material Library: Exhibition „Local Stone“
The exhibition „Local Stone“ gives an insight into the new focus „Building Materials from Local Resources of our Region“ of the KIT Material Library. Stone as a natural resource seems to be endlessly available. At the same time it is the result of a process that has been going on for millions of years and…
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Local Wood – Exhibition in the KIT Material Library
One of the new focal points of the KIT Material Library is „Building Materials from Local Resources of our Region“. This topic stands in addition to the reuse, recycling and cultivation of building materials, for a responsible use of resources. Through the worldwide ruthless extraction of the most diverse raw materials and their transport across…
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Build up! Innovative building materials through ceramic 3D printing
For a long time, ceramics were mostly used for pragmatic construction solutions. Today, a number of innovative technologies have given it a new significance within architecture. These innovations can be found in the material development, in manufacturing processes or in individual application scenarios. Generative technologies offer high potential in terms of resource-efficient production. This is…
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Exhibition Opening MaterialArchitektur at KIT Library
We are pleased to invite you to the opening of the exhibition MaterialArchitektur in the foyer of the KIT Library at Campus Süd on 12th April 2018 at 3:30pm. The KIT Library, the Library of Architecture, the Materials Library of Architecture and the Department of Sustainable Construction have jointly conceived an exhibition that is intended to…
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Material exhibition at KIT faculty of architecture open day
The Professorship of Sustainable Construction, as part of the yearly open day of the faculty of architecture at KIT Karlsruhe, is displaying material samples of its current research projects at the material library, Room 141.1. The event takes place on July 19th 2017 in the main building 20.40, from 4pm onwards. For details on the…
