FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, 2023

The livMatS Biomimetic Shell at the FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies is a pioneering research building. The generous space, which flows smoothly into the surrounding campus, serves as an architectural incubator for the development of innovative, cross-disciplinary research ideas. Simultaneously, the building itself represents a research project of the two Clusters of Excellence, Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC) at the University of Stuttgart and Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) at the University of Freiburg, which are investigating an integrative approach to design and construction for sustainable architecture.

The building brings together the different research approaches of the two Excellence Clusters to achieve an architectural synthesis. Compared to a conventional timber building, the FIT Biomimetic Shell reduces the total environmental life cycle impact by 50%. The distinctive and highly resource-efficient segmented timber shell construction is fully deconstructible and reusable. It is made feasible through the integrative development of computational design methods, robotic prefabrication and automated construction processes, as well as novel forms of human-machine interaction in timber construction. Embedded in the wood shell is the “Solar Gate”, a large-scale skylight which contributes to the regulation of the indoor climate by means of a biomimetic, energy-autonomous, 4D-printed shading system. Together with an activated floor slab made of recycled concrete, this enables comfortable year-round use with minimal building services. The result is an expressive, flexible space and an architecture that shows alternative paths for sustainable construction, which will also serve as a platform for further research.

You can find more information on the IntCDC website. Title photo: Roland Halbe.

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