Research and teaching
Architects are confronted with diverse, often contradictory requirements, be they technical, ecological, economic, social or even artistic in nature. Integrating diverging circumstances and bringing them together to form a meaningful whole is a skill that is not only required in the creation of architecture. Therefore, it is a concern of the chair to understand and practice designing and constructing as an integrating planning process of diverging circumstances.
In the first as well as in the second study phase this is done in the form of integrated projects. Students work in groups on projects ranging from the preliminary design to the construction planning and detailing. All decisions necessary for construction planning are made in a model way, i.e. the teaching of the subjects of building construction, building materials, building physics, building services engineering and structural engineering is included in the project work. This is done in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary way with specialist engineers of all trades involved in construction, experts from teaching and research and from the construction industry. In addition to the goal of teaching the contents of the course in as practical a manner as possible, the students also practice creating interdisciplinary connections.
In addition to integrated teaching, the chair is concerned with technology transfer, system construction, research into new materials and the development of new building technologies and construction methods. Construction projects such as the development of the SolarPlusHouse demonstration building or a hot water collector system facade as an integrated high-performance façade result from the research fields of the chair: solar construction, use of wind energy in buildings, building envelopes (system facades, integrated high-performance facades and components), glass (transparent adhesive technologies, lightweight glass construction, structural glass construction) and bionics (transfer and use of bionic principles in the development of materials and components).