Call for Papers

Building materials that persist – Architecture responding to climate and life cycle

Energy-efficient construction modes result in the increase of the share of grey energy embodied in construction products – in relation to the ever-decreasing operating energy needed for buildings. Yet also in absolute terms, the share of the energy effort that is due to construction products is increasing, as the utilization of materials, the variety of materials and the number of building component layers used for energy-efficient building envelopes is equally on the rise, as well as connection techniques. And we have not even mentioned the areas of land required and the input of pollutants into the air, waterbodies and the soil and thus also into living beings – and ultimately into our own bodies – by way of manufacturing and transport.

If construction products were perfectly recyclable, all these efforts and expositions could be related to a virtually infinite useful life, i.e. they would approach zero. The extension of the actual life cycle of buildings and the extension of the useful life of construction products beyond the life cycle of a building are thus key tasks for sustainable building!

It is time for an update! Where do we stand today? Where could we be standing in the near future? We would like to welcome you and your research project, building project or product development most cordially at BauZ! 2020!

1. Regenerative construction products, building elements and formula ingredients, …

  1. that are reuseable for the first time/better reuseable than before or that are actually being reused (process improvements, enhanced economic efficiency)
  2. that are recyclable for the first time/better recyclable than before – enhanced recycling options – in technical and economic terms
  3. that have featured good recyclability from the outset, but have now also been granted technical approvals, are governed by way of standards, or comply with fire-protection requirements – i.e. that have evolved to now be better used in practice.
  4. that constitute novel alternatives to currently customary products and elements – and offer advantages in terms of recyclability.

2. Separable constructions and building component layers

  1. New (approved, standardized …) separable connection options
  2. Construction systems saving connections by way of their simpler structure (saving of building component layers)
  3. Construction systems for repeated assembly and disassembly
  4. Repair-friendly constructions, smooth refurbishability, exchange of (short-lived) Building Services Engineering components

3. Architecture that lasts

  1. Spacious architectural structures – ready to be used continually for diverse functions so that buildings can last for centuries.
  2. Beautiful architectural structures – the thorny issue of “beauty in architecture” as a sustainability factor.
  3. Robust instead of efficient designs – robust in terms of user needs and types of utilization in the course of a building’s life cycle. Are designs becoming more “robust” if they have already been ordered in a way that makes them easily retrofittable for several types of utilization in the course of their life cycle? Examples of “conversions that have already been provided for by planning”!
  4. The supplementary concept: buildings that can be disassembled for the purpose of temporary utilization and that can be erected anew somewhere else.

Download: BAUZ_call_2020_e