JUL
2018 18

Bauwelt 14.2018: Interview with Werner Sobek and Dirk E. Hebel

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

APR
2018 25

Nest, WASTE

DETAIL: Living Unit as an architectural model for the circular economy / Wohnmodul aus Recycling-Material

»Die Stadt der Zukunft unterscheidet nicht zwischen Abfall und Vorrat«, umschreiben die Wissenschaftler den zugrundeliegenden Forschungsansatz der Experimentaleinheit mit einem Zitat von Mitchell Joachim, Vorreiter eines ökologischen Planungsansatzes. Die Urban Mining & Recycling (UMAR)-Unit ergänzt seit Februar 2018 als experimentelles Wohnmodul das modulare Forschungs- und Innovationsgebäude NEST auf dem Campus der Eidgenössischen Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (Empa) in schweizerischen Dübendorf. Der Entwurf stammt von Werner Sobek mit Dirk E. Hebel und Felix Heisel. Sobek ist Leiter des Instituts für Leichtbau Entwerfen und Konstruieren der Universität Stuttgart, Hebel und Heisel sind Leiter und Forschungsverantwortlicher des Fachgebiets Nachhaltiges Bauen am KIT Karlsruhe und100

FEB
2018 07

Nest

UMAR unit now has its own website: www.nest-umar.net

The Urban Mining and Recycling unit now has its own website. At www.nest-umar.net you can find all information about Empa NEST, the unit UMAR, as well as the making of the unit. Additionally, the website offers a material library of the materials used including data sheets and company contacts.

DEC
2017 07

ADDIS 2050

The Guardian: Addis has run out of space

As Addis Ababa creaks under the weight of a mushrooming populace, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest housing project is under way. But who benefits? Wrapped in a white shawl and sporting a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Haile stares out at his cattle as they graze in a rocky patch of grass. “My family and I have been here since I was a child,” he says, nodding at the small, rickety houses to his right. “But we will have to leave soon.” In the distance loom hulking grey towers, casting long shadows over his pasture. This is Koye Feche, a vast construction site on100

NOV
2017 29

Nest

Construction starts at NEST Unit Urban Mining & Recycling

One working day, two cranes and a well attuned team: on 21 November 2017, the woodworkers from the Austrian company Kaufmann Zimmerei und Tischlerei placed the seven prefabricated modules of the new “Urban Mining & Recycling” unit with utmost precision between the projecting platforms of NEST, the research and innovation building of Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf. The interior finishing will be implemented in the next weeks. The apartment will be ready in the spring of 2018 and will accommodate two tenants. The NEST unit “Urban Mining & Recycling” is simultaneously an apartment, a material storage, and a material lab.100

SEP
2017 29

BAMBOO

2017 SMART Innovation Execution Grant awarded to Alternative Construction Materials

Alternative Construction Materials of the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) in Singapore and Sustainable Construction at KIT Karlsruhe have received the 2017 SMART Innovation Centre’s Execution Grant and have been admitted to the Innovation Fellows Program for the project “High-Tensile Organic Fiber Reinforcement for Structural Concrete”. The Fellows Program is aimed to work with Faculty, Post Docs and researchers to prepare them to launch their company. The team was previously awarded the 2012 SMART Innovation Centre’s Innovation Grant for the project “High-Tensile Organic Fiber Reinforcement for Structural Concrete”.

SEP
2017 29

BAMBOO

2017 Strategic Pilot Grant of University of Newcastle awarded to Alternative Construction Materials

Alternative Construction Materials of the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) in Singapore and Sustainable Construction at KIT Karlsruhe, together with University of Newcastle’ Singapore branch (UoN) have received the 2017 Strategic Pilot Grant from University of Newcastle Australia for the project “Structural Behaviour and Applications of Newly Developed Bamboo Composite”. The aim of this scheme offered by UoN is to provide support for researchers to pursue high impact, strategic and collaborative research activities, specifically for young investigators. The joint research aims to optimize the FCL’s bamboo composite materials for structural applications in the field of timber construction. Several physical and mechanical100

AUG
2017 17

Exhibitions, Seoul Biennale

Beyond Mining – Urban Growth to open at Seoul Biennale

Opening on 2nd September 2017, the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism is entitles Imminent Commons: In an age of environmental decay and unprecedented wealth inequality, the cities of the world gather in Seoul to explore the urban parliaments where the politics of resources and technologies is enacted. The Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017 is an experimental platform for an imminent urbanism that goes beyond human-centered function, ownership, and consumption to a commons of resources, technologies, and production. The cities of the world stand at a crossroads. Amidst radical social, economic, and technological transformations, will the city become100

MAY
2017 12

Nest

Urban Mining & Recycling (UMAR) Unit in Dübendorf

The Urban Mining & Recycling (UMAR) Experimental Unit is the newest unit of the NEST research building on the campus of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Dübendorf, Switzerland. The building design created by Werner Sobek with Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel demonstrates how a responsible approach to dealing with our natural resources can go hand in hand with appealing architectural form. The project is underpinned by the proposition that all the resources required to construct a building must be fully reusable, recyclable or compostable. This places life-cycle thinking at the forefront of the100

APR
2017 07

Seoul Biennale

Beyond Mining – Urban Growth <br>at Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017

As populations and aspirations grow, so does the demand for materials and resources to support them. Although such resource demands were once satisfied by local and regional hinterlands, they are becoming increasingly global in scale and reach. This phenomenon has generated material flows that are trans-continental and planetary in scope, and has profound consequences for the sustainability, functioning, sense of ownership and identity of future cities. However, the global concentration of the construction industry on a selected few mined materials puts high pressure on our natural resources. If we talk about the future city, it becomes clear that it cannot100

MAR
2017 07

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Bamboo Composite Reinforcement at SuperMaterial in London

SuperMaterial is a major public exhibition by The Built Environment Trust celebrating the essential, and often hidden, elements of our surroundings. Delving into the world of academia and science, we identify the latest laboratory-based discoveries and demonstrate how they will change our world – informing the R&D departments of today and transforming the buildings of our future. The project will also explore how the historical application of raw elements and minimally processed goods – the ‘super materials’ of their time – have shaped our urban fabric. The show exhibits bamboo composite reinforcement produced by the Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel at100

JUL
2016 04

LECTURES, SAND

Summer School on Sand Alternatives at TU Delft

This year’s summer school organized by ETH Zürich’s Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel, in collaboration with the TU Delft and ETH Global kicks off today with an introductory lecture by Professor Dirk E. Hebel on “Sand: an (in)finite Resource?”. Sand is the most used raw material for production of goods on our planet. It is found in concrete, glass, computers, detergents and even toothpaste. But sand is a finite resource: what took millions of years to come into being through erosion and sedimentation, man is mining at rivers and ocean coasts in a so-far unknown speed. In a matter of a100

JUL
2016 01

BAMBOO, HIGHLIGHTS, RESEARCH

Engineering bamboo – a green alternative under basic research Part 3

Hebel, Dirk E., Felix Heisel, Alireza Javadian, Mateusz Wielopolski, Simon Lee, Philipp Müller, Karsten Schlesier (2016). Engineering bamboo – a green alternative under basic research Part 3, in: a+u 550, Feature: Vo Trong Nghia Architects, 2016:07, Japan Architecture and Urbanism, Tokyo, Japan Essay Series: Engineering bamboo – a green alternative under basic research Part 3, Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel: The Advanced Fibre Composite Laboratory in Singapore investigates new methods and procedures to produce a high-strength building material out of natural bamboo fibres. If successful, the research could provide a starting point for the introduction of new100

JUN
2016 13

HIGHLIGHTS, SAND

Der Sandkrieg hat begonnen

Knellwolf, Bruno (2016). Der Sandkrieg hat begonnen, in St. Galler Tagblatt: 19–20 Wider Erwarten wird Sand immer mehr zum raren Gut. Bereits spricht man vom Sandkrieg und der Sandmafia, die den Handel mit dem knapper werdenden Baustoff betreibt. Dirk E. Hebel und Felix Heisel zeigen an der Biennale in Venedig Alternativen.

JUN
2016 09

CAMBODIA SCHOOL, RESEARCH

Five young women and a young man are taking charge of the implementation of the Cambodian Schoolhouse Project

A team led by five inspirational young women and one young man have taken command to realize a large educational facility in Mea Nork, Cambodia, designed for 1000 students. The architectural project involves the construction of a new school, consisting of 24 classrooms, 15 group study rooms, 3 workshop rooms, an administrative wing, a library, cafeteria, community laundry, community medical clinic, toilets, staff dormitories, an outdoor assembly space, playgrounds and a lake. The gestation of the project began when the students, Lisa Devenoge, Lorine Grossenbacher, Franziska Matt, Elizabeth Müller, and Alina Wyder met whilst undertaking the ‘Schoolhouse Cambodia’ design studio100

JUN
2016 06

BAMBOO, Exhibitions

Bamboo Composite Materials at Constellation.s in Bordeaux

On Thursday June 2nd, constellation.s – an exhibition by arc en reve centre of Architecture in Bordeaux, France – opened its doors with a contribution by the Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel entitled Bamboo Composite Materials. The show displays test samples from the material research, especially focusing on the interface of bamboo composites and concrete. From the curators: “In response to the worldwide transformations that are profoundly affecting the conditions in which we live, constellation.s will present individual and collective initiatives providing perspectives on tomorrow’s challenges in terms of how the urban environment is made.  In response to fear, inward-lookingness, and extremism, constellation.s encourages100

MAY
2016 30

Exhibitions, Venice Biennale

Daring Growth at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale

On May 28th, Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel opened the exhibition Daring Growth at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale in the presence of ETH president Lino Guzzella. The installation calls for a radical paradigm shift in how habitats are materialized. The mining-based mentality must move towards an ethic of cultivating, recycling, recovering, breeding, raising, farming, and even growing future building materials. Decentralized, local and renewable production strategies and methods that do not deplete the planet’s resources or energy reserves must be given priority. A shift in attitude would allow developing societies to provide themselves with the building materials required for secure100

MAY
2016 30

BAMBOO, HIGHLIGHTS, RESEARCH

Engineering bamboo – a green technical alternative Part 2

Hebel, Dirk E., Felix Heisel, Alireza Javadian, Mateusz Wielopolski, Simon Lee, Philipp Müller, Karsten Schlesier (2016). Engineering bamboo – a green economic alternative Part 2, in: a+u 549, Feature: RCR Arqitectes, 2016:06, Japan Architecture and Urbanism, Tokyo, Japan Essay Series: Engineering bamboo – a green technical alternative Part 2, Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel: At the Advanced Fibre Composite Laboratory in Singapore, a new mechanical processing for raw bamboo has been developed, which leads to a fibrous material with physical features that are mainly defined by the bamboo species. This material is used as a natural fibre100

MAY
2016 30

Exhibitions, HIGHLIGHTS, RESEARCH

Forschung: Der Pilz, aus dem die Mauern sind

Paganini, Romano (2016). Forschung: Der Pilz, aus dem die Mauern sind, in: Beobachter 11/, Zürich, Switzerland An der ETH Zürich erforschen Architekten und Ingenieure das Potenzial von Pilzen. Sie sollen einst Plastik ersetzen. Die Prototypen sehen aus wie hellbraune Backsteine und riechen nach Grosis Estrich. Doch sie könnten das Industriematerial der Zukunft sein. «Es ist ein extrem vielversprechendes Material, dessen Potenzial wir noch gar nicht richtig abschätzen können», sagt ETH-Architekt Felix Heisel schwärmend. Read full article here.

MAY
2016 30

Exhibitions, HIGHLIGHTS, RESEARCH

Dirk E. Hebel: «Architektur ist eine Lebensphilosophie»

Ettlin, Anna (2016). Dirk E. Hebel: «Architektur ist eine Lebensphilosophie», in: coop Zeitung, 23.05.2015, Zürich, Switzerland Dirk E. Hebel forscht über Baumaterialien der nächsten Generation. Sind Bambus, Pilze und Müll eine Alternative, wenn Stahl und Beton knapp werden? Er beschäftigt sich mit der Stadt der Zukunft, als Assistenzprofessor an der ETH Zürich und am Future Cities Laboratory in Singapur. Bekannt wurde Dirk E. Hebel (45) vor allem durch seine Arbeiten mit ungewöhnlichen Baumaterialien, die demnächst an der Architektur-Biennale in Venedig präsentiert werden. Wir müssen im 21. Jahrhundert zwei grosse Fragen beantworten: die Frage nach der Energie und die Frage nach den100

MAY
2016 09

Exhibitions, MEDIA COVERAGE, RESEARCH

Venice Biennale: Dirk Hebel on Cultivating Materials at world-architects.com

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

APR
2016 29

BAMBOO, HIGHLIGHTS

Engineering bamboo – a green economic alternative Part1

Hebel, Dirk E., Felix Heisel, Alireza Javadian, Mateusz Wielopolski, Simon Lee, Philipp Müller, Karsten Schlesier (2016). Engineering bamboo – a green economic alternative Part 1, in: a+u, Feature: big and small, 2016:05, Japan Architecture and Urbanism, Tokyo, Japan Essay Series: Engineering bamboo – a green economic alternative Part 1 Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel: 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, very few developing countries have the100

APR
2016 27

HIGHLIGHTS, WASTE

Peter Baccini: From break to breakthrough – operating in large-scale metabolic systems

Hebel, Dirk (2016). From break to breakthrough – operating in large-scale metabolic systems, in Breakthroughs – Ideas at ETH Zurich that shaped the world, Gerd Folkers, Martin Schmid (Hg.), ETH Zürich, Chronos Publishers, Zürich, Switzerland. Every day and perhaps even every hour, there’s a scientist somewhere in the world making the next scientific breakthrough. Indeed, scientific development cannot take place in a vacuum; rather it thrives in an environment that offers inspiration and the necessary framework. One such place is ETH Zurich; it has flourished in this role over the course of its more than 150-year history. It is not100

MAR
2016 02

Events, WASTE

a+u publishes `Building from Waste` in Japanese

The publication Building from Waste (Hebel/Wisniewska/Heisel; Birkhäuser, 2014) will be published by a+u in Japanese. The book provides a conceptual and practical look into materials and products which use waste as a renewable resource for architectural, interior, and industrial design. The inventory ranges from marketed products to advanced research and development, organized along the manufacturing processes: densified, reconfigured, transformed, designed and cultivated materials. ”Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover“ is the sustainable guideline that has replaced the ”Take, Make, Waste“ attitude of the industrial age. Based on their background at the ETH Zurich and the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, the100

FEB
2016 03

BAMBOO, HIGHLIGHTS

SUDU – the Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit – an architectural experiment

Hebel, Dirk E., Melakeselam Moges, Zara Gray, in collaboration with Something Fantastic (2015). SUDU – the Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit, Manual and Research, Ruby Press, Berlin, Germany SUDU―the Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit―is a full-scale prototype for an affordable, two-story house built with local materials and traditional building techniques in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Developed in a collaborative endeavor between the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development and ETH Zurich, SUDU ties in with the rich tradition of loam construction while at the same time taking a fresh look at how to adapt this tradition to contemporary needs.100

NOV
2015 28

PUBLICATIONS, SOIL

SUDU publication

On December 01, 2015, Ruby Press Berlin publishes SUDU, Research and Manual, edited by Dirk E. Hebel, Melakeselam Moges and Zara Gray. SUDU—the Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit—is a full-scale prototype for an affordable, two-story house built with local materials and traditional building techniques in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Developed in a collaborative endeavor between the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development and ETH Zurich, SUDU ties in with the rich tradition of loam construction while at the same time taking a fresh look at how to adapt this tradition to contemporary needs. Recapitulating SUDU’s idiosyncratic construction process100

NOV
2015 26

BAMBOO, LECTURES

Bamboo: The Green Reinforcement

Public lecture by Alireza Javadian, PhD researcher in the Assistant Professorship Dirk E. Hebel at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, on November 26th at ENAC | School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering at EPFL in Lausanne titled “ Bamboo, The Green Reinforcement “. This talk introduced the research on new bamboo composite materials carried out at Advanced Fiber Composite Laboratory in Singapore and Zürich, featuring high tensile capacity composites with applications for building and construction sector.

SEP
2015 15

HIGHLIGHTS, SAND

Wie Sand am Meer

Hebel, Dirk E, Aurel von Richthofen (2015). Sand, eine endliche Ressource, in Wie Sand am Meer, Reihe Kunst und Wissenschaft, Katalog zur Ausstellung, 08–11. München: ERES Stiftung. Seine Fülle ist sprichwörtlich. Trotzdem gibt es ihn nicht mehr wie Sand am Meer. Wie es dazu kam, welche Alternativen sich abzeichnen und warum Wüstensand als Baumaterial ungeeignet ist.

SEP
2015 09

BAMBOO, CONFERENCES, Events, RESEARCH

World Bamboo Congress

Keynote speech by Asst. Prof. Dirk E. Hebel at the World Bamboo Congress in South Korea on September 20th, 2015. From the organizers: “In the last 20 years, the WBC as a series of Sessions & Demonstrations has grown to attract participants from more than 30 countries around the world, including world-renowned experts in bamboo design, construction, and architecture. For any professional that works with this amazing natural resource — whether a botanist, biologist, horticulturist, architect, artist, designer, businessperson, government representative, non-profit organization, or economist, the WBC has been an ideal opportunity to meet and develop collaborations in research and100

AUG
2015 26

BAMBOO, Events, SAND, WASTE

Sand, Bamboo and Waste research exhibited at BodenSchätzeWerte

On August 24, focusTerra opened its new exhibition entitled “BodenSchätzeWerte” or Earth’s Treasures at the ETH Zurich NO Building. Focusing on the past and future’s use of our earth’s resources, the exhibition also features several research topics of the Assistant Professorship for Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel. From the curator: Mineral resources play a fundamental role in our daily lives. We take their availability for granted and their worldwide consumption is steadily on the rise. What are the long-term consequences of our increasing use of non-renewable resources? What challenges lie ahead for us? This exhibition is about the formation,100

JUL
2015 01

Events, WASTE, Waste Vault

Waste Vault – ETH Zürich Pavilion

Watch the ETH Zurich Pavilion being built.

JUN
2015 17

MEDIA COVERAGE, PUBLICATIONS, RESEARCH, WASTE

CNN: FCL Singapore developes ideas to steal from

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

JUN
2015 03

LECTURES, WASTE, Waste Vault

“In the Future, There Will Be No Waste …”

Full House on May 30th at the ETH Zurich Pavilion in New York, as it hosted a public panel discussion with Asst. Prof. Dirk E. Hebel, Prof. Philippe Block, Asst. Prof. David Benjamin and Asst. Prof. Mark Wasiuta. The panel, hosted by the AIA Center for Architecture New York Chapter, brought an overwhelming response to the pavilion. The IDEAS CITY Festival theme for 2015, The Invisible City, borrows from Italo Calvino’s classic novel exploring the invisible constructs that holds a city together. Two panels pursued this theme further by asking “What cultural practices define the future smart city, and where can100

JUN
2015 03

Events, LECTURES, WASTE

Meet the Future – a tour through the ETH Zurich Pavilion

On May 30th, Felix Heisel gave a public guided tour through the ETH Zurich Pavilion, and the connected exhibit of 25 building materials produced from waste.

MAY
2015 28

Events, WASTE

ETH Zurich Pavilion now open for the public

ETH Zurich Pavilion: New York NY, Image (c) Albert Vecerka/Esto On May 27th, the ETH Zurich Pavilion was officially opened by Ambassador André Schaller, Consul General of Switzerland in New York, Juerg Brunnschweiler, Director of ETH Global, and Felix Heisel, project architect of the ETH Zurich Pavilion. The Pavilion will now be open to the public from May 28-30, 11am to 10pm daily. Please come by and join us for the exciting program.

MAY
2015 28

Events, Exhibitions, LECTURES, WASTE

Building from Waste: swissnex San Francisco highlights

In April 2015 swissnex San Francisco together with Chair of Architecture and Construction at ETH Zurich organized a one week event called ‘Building From Waste’. During this time everyone interested in the issues of rethinking the use of waste could participate in a series of presentations, a panel discussion, a hands-on workshop and an exhibition.

MAY
2015 25

Events, WASTE

ETH Zurich Pavilion – Construction Day 3

On the eve of Construction Day 3, the first shell of the ETH Zurich Pavilion is closed and lighting experiments are taking advantage of the dusk.

MAY
2015 25

Events, WASTE

ETH Zurich Pavilion – Construction Day 2

Construction Day 2 of the ETH Zurich Pavilion concluded with the first few ReWall arches go up and span over the First Street Green. Stay tuned!

MAY
2015 23

Events, Waste Vault

ETH Zurich Pavilion – Construction Day 1

On May 22nd, construction of the ETH Zurich Pavilion started at the First Street Green in New York City. The stacking of the recycled pallets was concluded with the installation of the parametric triangular footings for arches made from reused beverage cartons. Within the next 3 days, the team from the Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel and the Block Research Group will conclude a 90 m2 pavilion in time for the IDEAS CITY Festival starting on Thursday 28th May 2015.

MAY
2015 20

Events, Waste Vault

Official IDEAS CITY Program out now!

ETH Zurich brings a cutting-edge artifact of the future to the East Village: a pavilion created from waste materials. Recasting “trash” as a valuable asset, ETH Zurich Future Garden and Pavilion will redefine the notion of waste, acknowledging its value as a resource from which new cities can rise. Read more about the events of next week here.