The Swiss Platform Circular Hub just published a report on the Journal of Cleaner Production paper «Calculation and evaluation of circularity indicators for the built environment using the case studies of UMAR and Madaster» by Felix Heisel and Sabine Rau-Oberhuber. Read the German summary here.
Bei der Premiere des Preises wurden insgesamt sechs Bauwerke ausgezeichnet. Mit dabei: die Passerelle de deux Rives über den Rhein, die Kellerwirtschaft in Vogtsburg, eine Kita in Lahr und der Nachwuchspreis für die KIT Studentin. Den mit 2000 Euro dotierten Nachwuchspreis, der direkt von der Jury vergeben wurde, erhielt Anne-Caterine Greiner für Unterkünfte für Saisonarbeitskräfte in Schallstadt-Mengen, ein Semesterentwurf am Fachgebiet Nachhaltiges Bauen. Bei dem Projekt seien primär lokale Handwerker und Produkte eingesetzt worden, sagte die Architekturstudentin bei ihrer Dankesrede.
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.
BUILDING WITH RECYCLATES IS FEASIBLE The Department of Sustainable Construction at the Institute of Design and Building Technology at Karlsruhe’s KIT develops concepts that can tame the immense consumption of building resources – and regularly provides project evidence that it is already possible to plan and build in a cycle-oriented manner today. It is clear that supplies will run out at some point, one look into the fridge at home makes this principle quickly comprehensible for everyone. However, the transfer of this simple knowledge to the global scale poses great problems for mankind. The consumption of resources is higher than100
Urbanmining.at reports on our work in a detailed report describing the Mehr.WERT.Pavilion at the BUGA 2019: The ‘Mehr.Wert.Pavillon’ is situated in middle of the Federal Garden Show at Heilbronn, Germany. What makes it so special is that it is made purely from waste materials. The pavilion proves, that already today circular design can facilitate the transformation from waste to resource in the building industry. Consequently, at the end of the exhibition, the pavilion will be taken apart and its parts and materials will be either reused or recycled. The full article (in German) can be found here. For more information100
The Mehr.WERT.Pavillon at the BUGA Heilbronn has won a materialPREIS award 2019 in the category “Public Voting”. The award is organized by the material agency RaumPROBE Stuttgart. The pavilion design originated in the design studio Building from Waste of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction at KIT Karlsruhe (Felix Heisel, Karsten Schlesier and Prof. Dirk E. Hebel). It was further developed by KIT students Lisa Krämer, Simon Sommer, Philipp Staab, Sophie Welter, and Katna Wiese in collaboration with the Professorships Structural Design (Prof. Matthias Pfeifer / Certification engineer) and Building Technologies (Prof. Rosemarie Wagner / Structural form finding), as well as100
The international competition “beyond bauhaus – prototyping the future”, sought ground-breaking design ideas and concepts that address a socially relevant topic and provide creative answers to the pressing questions of our time. Almost 1500 projects coming from 50 countries applied for an award. The 20 award winners convinced the international jury with their ideas and concepts. The spectrum of entries reflects the challenges of our time: it ranges from food cultivation on the water to individually dosed medicine and new technologies for urban development to sustainable building materials. The Professorship of Sustainable Construction Dirk E. Hebel together with Philippe Block100
“The illustration shows an excerpt from the Mehr.WERT.Pavillon, which was recently opened on the Heilbronn BUGA site, where all the materials used have already undergone at least one life cycle – either in the same or modified form. “Anders Bauen” does not always have to mean that no new materials are used, but intelligent, restrained and gentle handling of materials and ressources should always be the goal. And so, for this issue, which continues our series of congresses and booklets on Sufficiency in building culture, we also tracked down projects (new buildings and conversions) that live up to this claim.100
Glück auf am Theodorschacht! The winners of the second Urban Mining Student Award have been announced: The first prize in this student competition goes to Torben Ewaldt and Sofie Fettig from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). They were able to convince the jury with their resource-saving draft of a conference and learning center for circular economy. The planning task of this Germany-wide, open student competition was to design a conference and learning center for circular economy and resource conservation at the Theodorschacht in Ibbenbüren. The mine was closed at the end of last year as one of the last100
Wie sich vorhandene Rohstoffe nachhaltig in das Bauwesen einbinden lassen, zeigt ein Pavillon, der als Gemeinschaftsprojekt von Studierenden des KIT und den Fachgebieten Nachhaltiges Bauen (Professor Dirk E. Hebel), Tragkonstruktion (Professor Matthias Pfeifer) und Bautechnologie (Professorin Rosemarie Wagner) entstanden ist. Der Pavillon ist Teil des Mehr.WERT.Gartens, eines gemeinsamen Projektes des baden-württembergischen Umweltministeriums und der Entsorgungsbetriebe der Stadt Heilbronn, und steht – selbst vollständig aus wiederverwendeten und -verwerteten Materialien entworfen und realisiert – symbolisch für die Notwendigkeit, recycelte Ressourcen nicht länger als Müll zu betrachten, sondern deren Potenzial zu nutzen. Den Initiatoren geht es darum, einen Paradigmenwechsel, wie wir mit unseren100
Walls made of old beverage packaging, roofs made of metal waste: houses can be built from recycled materials. Now scientists are trying to make the energy and resource-saving building materials competitive. Article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. December 18, 2018, by Andrea Hoferichter, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Deutschland S.14.
Dirk. E. Hebel, our Urban Miner of the month October, is professor for Sustainable Construction. Currently he teaches at the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie. One of his latest projects using exclusively recycled building materials was UMAR. In his answers he puts the focus on his work and points out, that the Netherlands are the leading nation in the field of reuse and recycling in the building sector. Read full texte here
For materials that are no longer needed, there was for the longest time only one word: waste. Following this linear mentality of “take, make and waste” the term “disposable society” came up in the second half of the 20th century. With the start of the oil crisis in the 1970s this ideology started slowly to be rethought. Today, people talk less about waste when dealing with materials they no longer need. One speaks of “ressources”. In form of an interview, Werner Sobek and Dirk E. Hebel take their latetst building project UMAR to discuss future concepts of a circular econmy100
Echte Innovationen für ein nachhaltigeres Bauen finden nur sehr langsam den Weg auf die Baustelle – auch weil niemand das Risiko eingehen möchte, sie als Erster unter realen Bedingungen zu testen. Ein ganz besonderes Haus nahe Zürich schafft Abhilfe. Read the full article here.
German television SWR and ARD reported on this semester´s design studio “Tabakschuppen Hayna” of the Professorship of Sustainable Construction in a clip screened on 27.04.2018. “Im südpfälzischen Hayna stehen viele historische Tabakschuppen leer und verfallen. Was könnte Kreatives daraus entstehen? Dem Projekt haben sich jetzt Architekturstudenten angenommen.” Watch the full report in German here.
On February 8th at Empa in Dübendorf, Switzerland, the “Urban Mining & Recycling” residential unit (UMAR) was inaugurated inside NEST. Designed by Werner Sobek with Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel, the unit aims “to advance the construction industry’s transition to a recycling economy.” Read the full article here.
On January 5th, 2018, Swiss Newspaper Neue Züricher Zeitung reports on the successful installation of the NEST Unit Urban Mining and Recycling in Dübendorf. Read the full article here.
In 2017, a number of designers explored the structural properties of new, environmentally friendly materials – but mushroom mycelium was one of the most unusual. It was used to create a tree-shaped self-supporting structure in South Korea.
On 01. November, Detail RESEARCH featured MycoTree on their website. The article in German describes the aim of the Chair of Sustainable Construction, as well as the Block Research Group to find ways to extend the palette of building materials beyond the conventional choices towards more sustainable and renewable options. The next print edition of Detail will further discuss the exhibition ‘Beyond Mining – Urban Growth’ at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism. You can read the full article here.
On 6th October, daily newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung published a report on MycoTree in Seoul, as well as the research work of Sustainable Construction of KIT Karlsruhe and the Block Research Group of ETH Zürich. The complete article (in German) can be found here.
On September 19th, also Karlsruhe’s newspaper ‘Badische Neueste Nachrichten’ reports on the MycoTree in Korea.
“While some architects have been experimenting with mushroom mycelium as a cladding material, architect Dirk Hebel and engineer Philippe Block have gone one step further – by using fungi to build self-supporting structures. Hebel, who leads the Sustainable Construction unit at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and Block, who founded the Block Research Group at ETH Zürich, have created a tree-shaped structure consisting almost entirely of mycelium. According to the duo, the material – which is formed from the root network of mushrooms – could provide the structure of a two-storey building, if it is designed with the right geometries.” Read the100
On 18 July 2017, Süddeutsche Zeitung reports on the resource sand for the building industry, with an interview by Prof. Dirk E. Hebel. “Dirk Hebel von der Universität Karlsruhe zweifelt trotzdem an der Nachhaltigkeit von Wüstensand und seinem Nutzen als alternativem Baustoff. ‘Die Idee klingt erst einmal gut’, sagt er, ‘aber auch Wüstensand ist erschöpflich. Die Wüste hat genauso ein Ökosystem wie Meere oder Flüsse, das dann zerstört wird. So würden wir ein Problem mit einem nächsten ersetzen.’” The full text (in German) can be found here.
On 07.07.2017, Felix Heisel held a public lecture at the conference “Kreislaufgerechtes Bauen” in Aachen, speaking about the NEST Module UMAR (Urban Mining and Recycling), which is currently under construction in Switzerland. The German magazine Recycling reported on the event with the words: “Felix Heisel vom Fachgebiet Nachhaltiges Bauen des Karlsruher Institut für Technologie forderte Architekten zum Umdenken in der Planung auf. Ein mit dem Architekturbüro Werner Sobek in der Schweiz geplantes Gebäude sei im Bau und zeige neue Möglichkeiten: Alle Bauteile sind hier dekonstruierbar und sortenrein trennbar, um eine Wiederverwendung von Materialien sicher zu stellen. Nur so können Gebäude100
The first installment in an interview series that explores the philosophical concerns of architects exhibiting at “TIME – SPACE – EXISTENCE,” a collateral event at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, features Dirk Hebel of ETH Zürich. World-Architects first became aware of the materials research that Hebel and his ETH colleagues having been undertaking when we visited a pavilion he designed for the IDEAS CITY Festival in New York City last year. Made from shredded beverage cartons pressed into wallboards, the striking pavilion featured arched structures resting on wood pallets. That project is visible in this four-minute interview with Hebel, who discusses the broader100
Future Cities: Singapore focuses on the exceptionally forward-looking urban approach of the island nation to learn about the challenges of planning for future generations. (CNN) Singapore is small, hot and heavily populated — the 5.5 million residents of the tropical city-state live in less than 750 square kilometres of land. And population is expected to reach 6.9 million by 2030. Despite these challenges, Singapore continues to be amongst the most liveable and economically successful cities in the word, with a GDP equaling that of leading European countries. With more than 50% of the world’s population living in cities already (a100
Paul, Jochen (2015). `Bauen mit Müll`, Scheizer Baublatt, Seite 16-19, Rüschlikon, Schweiz Global betrachtet wird Müll in naher Zukunft zu einer wichtigen Ressource: Entwicklungsländer könnten ihre Importabhängigkeit bei Baustoffen reduzieren, die lndustriestaaten wertvolle Rohstoffe und graue Energie einsparen. Notwendig dafür ist ein Umdenken.
Toh, Felicia (2015). `Action for Cities`, Singapore Architect. Issue 04/2015: Education and Research, page 130-137, Singapore The Future Cities: Research in Action exhibition by Future Cities Laboratory featured prominently on the ground floor of URA Centre from 23 January to 13 March 2015. Felicia Toh investigates its key research interests in cities.
Lim, Jan (2015). `Researching the future city`, CUBES. pages 156-157, Singapore An exhibition at the URA Centre presented four years of research and offered practical proposals for the development of sustainable future cities.
Johnson, Nathan (2015). `Could bamboo replace steel reinforcement in developing countries?` Architecture and Design Australia. Chatswood, Australia. Singapore’s Future Cities Laboratory is working to tap into the potential of bamboo as an alternative to steel for reinforced concrete applications in developing countries. Currently, steel-reinforced concrete is the most common building material in the world, and developing countries use close to 90 per cent of the cement and 80 per cent of the steel consumed by the global construction sector. However, few developing countries actually produce their own steel or cement and are thus forced into exploitative relationships with sellers in100
McGar, Justin (2015). `The Bamboo Revival: Green Structures`, Sourceable. Industry News and Analysis, Australia and Canada Bamboo is one of the world’s oldest structural materials and has been used in construction for centuries. Now new research could potentially bolster its continued resurgence and use as a material in green structures. read more
Bislang sind Häuser und Brücken aus Bambus Einzelfälle. Forscher von der ETH Zürich wollen jetzt aus dem Süßgrasgewächs einen ökologischen und günstigen Massenbaustoff für die Städte von morgen entwickeln. Ein Beitrag von Oliver Ristau im Technology Review Magazin für Innovation. (article in German only)
Ristau, Oliver (2015). `Bambus statt Beton`, Technology Review – Das Magazin für Innovation. Ausgabe 02/2015, Deutschland Bislang sind Häuser und Brücken aus Bambus Einzelfälle. Forscher von der ETH Zürich wollen jetzt aus dem Süßgrasgewächs einen ökologischen und günstigen Massenbaustoff für die Städte von morgen entwickeln.
Swiss daily newspaper Tagesanzeiger recently published a report in the research activities of the Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel at the ETH Zürich and the FCL Singapore. You can read the full article here in German.
Saul, Louis (2015). `Bambus statt Stahl`, Bauen für die Zukunft. Callway Verlag, Seite 71, München, Deutschland Stahlbeton ist aus dem Bau von heute nicht mehr wegzudenken. Aber morgen vielleicht.
‘Bambus statt Stahl’ (Bamboo instead of Steel) has been published in Switzerland’s leading daily newspaper ‘Neue Zürcher Zeitung’ on Sunday 27th July. The article offers an overview on the recent developments of the Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel in its bamboo composite material research and led to a wide public interest in Switzerland and Europe. The full article can be accessed here.
Very few developing countries have the resources to produce their own steel, and without this material tall buildings and urban development are all but impossible. But what if there were a local, renewable material that could be used instead of steel in reinforced-concrete buildings? And what if that substitute could be manufactured easily? These questions have motivated Dirk Hebel, an assistant professor of architecture and construction at the Future Cities Laboratory, in Singapore, to investigate a bamboo fiber composite as a possible substitute for steel reinforcement in concrete. The Future Cities Laboratory is a research arm of ETH (Eidgenössische Technische100
On July 31st, German Radio WDR5 reported on the chair’s bamboo composite research at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore. Above you can listen to the short interview with Prof. Dirk E. Hebel in German.
Civil Engineering is the award-winning monthly magazine of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Reaching an audience of more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide, this magazine has the largest circulation in the engineering market and provides a compelling editorial mix of engineering projects and trends, engineering science, business and professional strategies, exploration of key issues, and news. The Civil Engineering website provides weekly news and feature content that supplements the content of the monthly print and digital editions. On July 8th, the magazine published a lengthly interview with Prof Dirk E. Hebel on his current material research at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore100