OCT
2024 29

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) was the lead architect of the Material Library. The design concept was developed in collaboration with the Material Library team, particularly the selection of materials for the interior was made with Professor Dirk E. Hebel, Sandra Böhm, Elena Boerman, and Thomas Kinsch. With an extensive100

OCT
2024 02

MATERIAL LIBRARY, Mycelium, PUBLICATIONS, STRAW

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

Building with renewables – our nature as material stockDirk 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 particular100

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MAY
2023 24

ROOFKIT

RoofKIT – the full documentation

We are pleased to finally publish the entire documentation of the RoofKIT project. Many thanks to all project participants, sponsors, to the RoofKIT team and the film team around Pia Berchtold (piapiapia). RoofKIT was one of 18 entries to the Solar Decathlon Europe 21-22, in which student teams from international colleges and universities each constructed a fully functional building prototype in Wuppertal in the summer of 2022, with which they competed in ten different architectural and structural engineering disciplines. With the RoofKIT project, the team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology won the Solar Decathlon Europe 21-22. In two and a100

MAY
2023 12

Exhibitions, ROOFKIT

KIT Campustag and Reinschauen 2023

On Saturday, May 13, the KIT Campustag will take place again. All KIT faculties will present their study programs and offer great hands-on activities, experiments, guided tours and much more. In addition, there will be a stage on the forum, where a colorful live program will be offered. Various bands, science slam, theater groups, university groups, and many more will show what KIT has to offer besides studies. The Faculty of Architecture at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology also cordially invites you to its annual exhibition “Reinschauen”. From May 11 to 17, 2023, all professorships, workshops and studios will present100

JAN
2023 13

ROOFKIT

RoofKIT awarded with a recognition of the “Architekturpreis Gebäudeintegrierte Solartechnik 2022”

The “Architekturpreis Gebäudeintegrierte Solartechnik 2022” awards projects that provide outstanding impetus for the planning and design of building-integrated solar systems and draw attention to exemplary solutions in sophisticated architecture. According to the jury, the award-winning projects show that the integration of photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors can succeed with equally high design and technical ambition. In the RoofKIT project, six high-format standard modules were expanded into photovoltaic-technical hybrid modules. As part of a coherent overall concept, the handling of the PV roof also demonstrates integration into the building design and urban context. More information here.

DEC
2022 13

MEDIA COVERAGE, ROOFKIT

Helmholtz: How we build in the future

In the article “How we build in the future”, the Helmholtz Association presents sustainable, climate-friendly solutions from architecture and construction research. In this context, Prof. Dirk E. Hebel presents the RoofKIT project of the KIT Faculty of Architecture as an innovative lighthouse project for circular justice, purity of types, recycling and reuse, and the resource-friendly handling of materials. Concrete as a building material is then critically examined. Prof. Frank Dehn, Institute Director at the KIT Civil Engineering Faculty, is researching climate-friendly alternatives and the use of old concrete. In addition, other forward-looking topics such as the “sponge city” and the100

NOV
2022 09

ROOFKIT

RoofKIT: Welcome to Karlsruhe!

RoofKIT, the Karlsruhe winning project of the Solar Decathlon 2021/22 was re-located and re-errected in Karlsruhe on Wednesday 09 November 2022. Under the supervision of the project management, the wooden modules were dismantled in Wuppertal within two days, transported to Karlsruhe and now reassembled by the experienced carpenters of Kaufmann Zimmerei und Tischlerei in cooperation with the KIT Solar Decathlon team. About the project:The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology participated in the 2021/22 Solar Decathlon Competition in Wuppertal, Germany with its project RoofKIT. Designed as a top-up to an existing structure, it demonstrates a vision for the building industry: social adequate,100

OCT
2022 17

ROOFKIT

Team RoofKIT presents their project at IGB

Two members of the RoofKIT team, Katharina Knoop and Johannes Hasselmann, had the opportunity to present the RoofKIT project and the Solar Decathlon at the Ingenieurgruppe Bauen (IGB) in Karlsruhe last Thursday. All the listeners were very interested in the topics the two presented and were particularly impressed by the team spirit and the continuing enthusiasm and motivation. The event was able to show the company new perspectives for everyday work and planning.

SEP
2022 21

ROOFKIT

Süddeutsche Zeitung reports about RoofKIT

How can we build in an environmentally friendly way and redensify city districts in a sensible way? Süddeutsche Zeitung reports about the winning design of the Solar Decathlon 21/22. The project was supervised by Prof. Dirk E. Hebel and Prof. Andreas Wagner at KIT.

JUN
2022 25

Events, ROOFKIT

Team RoofKIT wins the Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

On Friday 24 June at about 6 pm, the time had finally come – the Competition Director of the Solar Decathlon Europe 2021/22, Karsten Voss, in Wuppertal announced the winning team of the student competition: Team RoofKIT from Karlsruhe! The team was very surprised about this development and expressed their relief, happiness and pride. The moment of the announcement was captured on video by SDE 2021/22: Second place in the overall competition was taken by Team Virtue from Eindhoven, and third place was shared by Team SUM from Delft and Team Aura from Grenoble. On the website of the SDE100

JUN
2022 25

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 1st in out-of-competition category “Sustainable Architectural Lighting Award” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 25

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 2nd in category “Innovation” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 24

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 2nd in out-of-competition category “German Sustainability Housing Award” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 23

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 3rd in out-of-competition category “Green BIM Award” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 21

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 1st in out-of-competition category “Timber Construction” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

Our thanks go to the Kaufmann Zimmerei and Tischlerei in Reuthe, Austria and to the Timber Construction Award Jury.

JUN
2022 19

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 1st in category “Sustainability” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 19

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 3rd in category “Engineering and Construction” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 19

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 3rd in out-of-competition category “Indoor Air Quality” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

JUN
2022 13

Events, ROOFKIT

RoofKIT wins 2nd in out-of-competition “Mirke Choice” at Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 in Wuppertal

On Sunday 12th the Award Ceremony of the first “Out Of Competition Award” has taken place at the Solar Campus. Team RoofKIT ist very happy that the fist day of Award Ceremonies also brought the first trophy – The inhabitants of the Wuppertal neighborhood of Mirke, where the proposed plots of the SDE 21/22 are located, voted RoofKIT second place of the “Mirke Choice Award”. The team is especially proud that the proposal for topping up the Café ADA in the heart of the neighborhood is appreciated by the people it was designed for.

NOV
2021 19

MEHRWERTPAVILLON

Green Solutions Awards 2020-21: The Mehr.WERT.Pavillon was awarded the Sustainable Infrastructure Grand Prize

The Green Solutions Awards ceremony took place in Glasgow on Wednesday 10 November 2021. The competition, organised by the international Construction21 platform, rewards outstanding architectural projects that address the challenges of climate protection and sustainability in an innovative way. Winners were selected from 192 entries from 25 countries in eight categories. 16 other projects received recognition from the jury, which is made up of experts in sustainable construction from around the world. The jury was particularly impressed by these projects because they address the key issues of sustainable construction: economy of materials, energy efficiency, health and user comfort, off-site prefabrication,100

DEC
2020 17

MATERIAL LIBRARY, RESEARCH

KIT Material Library: impressions of the construction site

[slideshow_deploy id=’7692′] 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 already been completed and will be implemented soon. After many areas have been uncovered, a contemporary repair of the ceiling and walls is now taking place as well as the preparations for the new glazing. The new material library will thus become a100

NOV
2020 10

MATERIAL LIBRARY, MEDIA COVERAGE, PUBLICATIONS, RESEARCH

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 and in dependency on structural design, building construction, building physics, social studies and material science. The students deal critically and actively with the pressing questions of our times and are looking for ways to align their own actions with these findings. [slideshow_deploy id=’7608′] The focus100

AUG
2020 26

MEDIA COVERAGE, MEHRWERTPAVILLON

Tremendous possibilities – the city as a raw materials warehouse

KIT professor Dirk E. Hebel writes about Germany as a country with an incredibly large anthropogenic material store but with a lack of ideas how to use it. Our cities have the potential to be transformed into urban mines, to consumers and suppliers of resources. The challenge of an infinite cycle of resources lies in new construction methods and technologies to reach a new generation of building materials and methods that are qualitatively sustainable, ecologically harmless, technically pure, economically attractive and endlessly recyclable. The Mehr.WERT.Pavillon serves as a clear example for this. All materials used in the project have already100

AUG
2020 06

MATERIAL LIBRARY, SEMINAR WEEKS

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 can be brought into a new form. In a joint seminar of the KIT Professorships of Sustainable Construction and Building Technology, a small rammed earth garden house is currently being built near Freiburg. After the material has been tested and suitable formwork has been built,100

JUL
2020 19

MATERIAL LIBRARY

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 information about historical, most used, unusual and new materials. The materials can be physically experienced and personal advice can be obtained. The materials library becomes a place of encounter, exchange, research and investigation. The renovation of the premises is supported by Wacker Chemie AG. Images:100

JUL
2020 16

MATERIAL LIBRARY

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

JUL
2020 15

MATERIAL LIBRARY

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, engineers and construction experts seeking new approaches in the field of materials development and construction methods for a circular economy. Public lectures, symposia and ideas competitions are planned. All activities of the platform will be posted publicly on the website changelab.exchange, which goes live today.100

MAR
2020 30

MATERIAL LIBRARY

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 as alternative building materials coming from either the urban mine or biological renewable ressources will establish a unique feature in Karlsruhe. The setup and the management of the material library itself is the subject of research. The description and presentation of the materials is developed100

OCT
2019 14

MEDIA COVERAGE, MEHRWERTPAVILLON, PUBLICATIONS, RESEARCH, WASTE

archello: Added.VALUE.Pavilion

Students, researchers and professors of KIT Karlsruhe, together with the architects’ office 2hs, realized this circular pavilion from recycling materials at the Federal Garden Show 2019 in Heilbronn. The ‘Mehr.WERT.Pavillon’ is part of the so-called ‘Mehr.WERT.Garten’, a partner project of the Ministry of the Environment of Baden-Württemberg with the Entsorgungsbetriebe of the city of Heilbronn. It explores the question how we and future generations can live well and how we can develop our economy positively without consuming any of the scarce resources of our planet. More information here.

JUN
2019 05

Exhibitions, MATERIAL LIBRARY

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 it`s mining always means a drastic intervention in ecosystems. Because of that the sensitive renaturation of former mining areas and the observance of short transport routes are essential. Finally, a sustainable, efficient and recyclable use of the material in architecture or other fields of application100

MAY
2019 03

MEHRWERTPAVILLON

Mehr.WERT.Movie

Fülmbüro Stuttgart made a movie about the process and motivation leading up to the creation of Mehr.WERT.Pavillon. Please enjoy!

APR
2019 17

MEHRWERTPAVILLON, WASTE

Mehr.WERT.Pavillon officially opened!

In a grand opening ceremony today, the Federal Garden Show BUGA 2019 in Heilbronn opened its doors to the public in the presence of German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and state premier Winfried Kretschmann. Located at the center, the Mehr.WERT.Pavillon now houses and represents for the next 6 months an exhibition on resource use and re-use, focusing on Baden-Württemberg and the built environment. The pavilion was designed by KIT students and staff of the professorships Sustainable Construction, Structural Design and Building Technologies, and realised in cooperation with the office 2hs Architekten und Ingenieur PartGmbB. For more information on the pavilion, please100

APR
2019 16

Exhibitions, MATERIAL LIBRARY

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 the globe, we have severely damaged our natural environment. It has been and continues to be exploited that in many countries there are insufficient or no regulations to protect nature. In addition to research into alternative building materials, we therefore also focus on the environmentally100

MAR
2019 05

CAMBODIA SCHOOL

Grand Opening of Cambodia School Project

One year after the operational start, Smiling Gecko celebrated the official opening of the Smiling Gecko School together with guests from sponsors, business and administration, and of course the students and their parents. The Village School started operation in November 2017. In the first year, 136 children attended the school. Since November 2018, 252 pupils and students, aged 3 to 9, already benefit from the ideal learning environment and from a modern bilingual school system. Of these children, 124 attend nursery school (nursery, preschool, kindergarten) and 128 first and second grade in primary school. The SGC HISF Education Campus has100

FEB
2019 27

Exhibitions, MATERIAL LIBRARY

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 because the layer-by-layer additive manufacturing process only makes material necessary where it is required due to aesthetic criteria and mechanical stress. In the research seminar “Build up!” students dealt with the development of innovative building materials using ceramic 3D printing. The seminar was held by100

FEB
2019 07

CAMBODIA SCHOOL

Kindergarten Kambodscha

JAN
2019 07

CAMBODIA SCHOOL

Official opening of the Smiling Gecko School Cambodia

One year after the completion of the structures and the operational start, Smiling Gecko celebrated the official opening of the Smiling Gecko School together with guests from sponsors, business and administration, and of course the students and their parents in early December 2018. The celebrations stretched over two days. The first day started with a lunch in the kitchen of the new food processing center, open since November 2018, where students and the invited guests got to know each other better. The aim of the second day was to give the guests an insight into the school life of the100

JAN
2019 01

MEHRWERTPAVILLON

Mehr.WERT.Pavillon

The 2019 German Federal Garden Show (BUGA) in Heilbronn is both garden and city exhibition. The newly built city quarter Neckarbodenis intends to be a test bed for a new urban area that exemplifies how people live well together in a densely populated urban setting. In this context, the relevance of the question of resources that will still be available and sustainably used in the future cannot be overestimated. Situated on a central lot of the BUGA terrain, the Mehr.WERT.Garten (translation: Added.VALUE.Garden) and its pavilion address the question how we can perform a paradigm shift in the way we use our100

APR
2018 04

Exhibitions, MATERIAL LIBRARY

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 raise awareness of the topic of materials in architecture. A selection of relevant publications from the last 167 years is shown. Selected material samples represent the subject matter of the books. In addition to the treatment of established building materials, this exhibition also deals with100

NOV
2017 17

CAMBODIA SCHOOL

Cambodia School Update

The video shows the construction of the first 5 houses of the Cambodia School project within the months of July to October 17. The good progress allows for the first 140 children to start their kindergarden year this November within not only a completely new building, but also a holistic pedagogical concept. Read more here.