Circularity: The Baumeister in January 2024

Building design
Cover illustration: Gustav Düsing & Max Hacke

Cover illustration: Gustav Düsing & Max Hacke

In our January issue, we look at the topic of circularity. Circularity is the order of the day. Reuse and recycling open up many possibilities, but have yet to reach their limits, as our examples and contributions to the discussion in B1 show.

In our January issue, we look at the topic of circularity. Circularity is the order of the day. Reuse and recycling open up many possibilities, but have yet to reach their limits, as our examples and contributions to the discussion in B1 show.

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We can’t go on building like this. Finite resources and long overdue sustainability strategies are forcing our construction industry to rethink, fueled not least by rising interest rates and the construction crisis. In this issue, we focus on circularity and the end of linear construction. We will try to take a positive view of our future and focus on special circular projects, the fight against pointless demolition, digitalized architects’ assistants and, above all, the pioneers of the much-needed turnaround in construction.

By the way: with a subscription to BAUMEISTER, you won’t miss a thing! The most important architecture magazine in the German language is an absolute “must-have”

Turnaround could be the right keyword. As you will notice, dear readers, something has changed at Baumeister. Previously, you always found the solutions at the very back of the magazine. Now some details have changed and the innovations and solutions have taken their place right at the front. We are trying to give our beloved Baumeister a slightly renewed touch with a monothematic approach, from B1 onwards and at the front on stronger paper and with a little more gloss. As a publishing house, we are investing heavily in the magazine and underpinning our passion for all our media brands, which we at GEORG Media are able to bring to life every day. For me, this is an absolute privilege and I am extremely grateful for every reader, every partner and every message I receive from you. So please let me know what you think of the renewed “look & feel” of Baumeister.

When we talk about renewal, we are back in the middle of the title topic of circularity. We must no longer use building materials and products inour architecture that are inextricably linked.This is not just about conserving our resources, but also about drastically reducing construction waste. In future, our projects must be reusable and deconstructable. Floors, wall elements and even façades must fulfill their purpose for more than just one building. On the following pages, you can read how this works and what needs to be considered. We also show how some of our neighboring countries are already bringing circular construction projects to life more frequently and use practical examples to explain what recyclable products will have to be able to do in the future. Of course, as usual, using the most exciting architectural projects and building on the principle that not tearing down is still the best sustainability strategy.

We explain what the demolition atlas is all about and how we in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are doing our small part to stop 50 percent of the world’s waste coming from the construction industry. In the course of our work on this issue, we were once again reminded of how many impressive personalities and players we can look up to in the DACH region. Technological innovations, new planning approaches and, above all, the ongoing rethink in our society are driving us all ever more strongly towards a sustainable turnaround in construction. However, we have also learned how important it is to act decisively and cleverly in order to really drive circular construction projects forward. Approval processes, government regulations and a severe construction crisis are making it increasingly difficult to realize sustainable architecture. This makes it all the more important not to lose heart. With this first issue of the new year, we would like to make a small but important contribution to the turnaround in construction. I hope that you have made a good start to 2024 and will continue to sail with us through the exciting tides of architecture.

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In our December issue, we present new projects that have recently been built with brick on the topic of “Living in brick”. Get your copy of B12 now here.

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Building with systems: The Baumeister in August 2022

Building design
In August, B8 "Building with systems", we look at residential construction on a larger scale. You can read more about the individual projects here. The cover photo of B8 is by Hendrik Lietmann

The cover photo of B8 is by Hendrik Lietmann, Ostkreuz.

Better big? Residential construction on a larger scale does not usually have a good reputation. However, it is clear that new living space is needed, especially in cities. In addition, the aspect of sustainability in construction is becoming increasingly important. You can find out whether large-scale residential construction can offer a solution to these challenges in the August issue. Read more in the editorial by Editor-in-Chief Fabian Peters.

Better big? Residential construction on a larger scale does not usually have a good reputation. However, it is clear that new living space is needed in cities in particular. In addition, the aspect of sustainability in construction is becoming increasingly important. You can find out whether large-scale residential construction can offer a solution to these challenges in the August issue. Read more in the editorial by Editor-in-Chief Fabian Peters.

Lack of living space

“We need to build more apartments!” This is apparently the majority opinion among politicians. The not-so-new German government has taken up this goal and written it into the coalition agreement. “We must hardly build any more, if at all”, say climate researchers and environmental activists, referring to the enormous amounts of energy consumed in the process. One thing is certain: If the answer to the lack of living space in metropolitan areas, especially affordable living space, can only be new construction, then small apartment buildings or even single-family homes will not be an option. We need to plan and build in large formats. And as little energy as possible must be used in the process. This can be achieved by using sustainable materials and building as efficiently as possible. Industrial construction methods could play a key role in the future.

The fate of large buildings

Industrial construction? For many, the images of large housing estates in both East and West immediately spring to mind. In West Germany, these neighborhoods were the epitome of social hotspots – and in many cases still are today. Much has now been achieved through neighborhood management. Nevertheless – whether Chorweiler, Neuperlach, Gropiusstadt or Märkisches Viertel, these are addresses that still have a stigma attached to them. Can new large-scale residential buildings escape the fate of their predecessors from the sixties and seventies? Or will we have a new Pruitt-Igoe moment in 25 years’ time?

Building on a larger scale as a solution to the lack of living space?

For this issue, we looked at different concepts for large-scale residential construction, talked to experts about technologies and strategies, and looked at projects and experiences in our neighboring countries France, Austria and the Netherlands. Whether we want to create more living space in the future in the form of large-scale residential construction and to what extent – this is a discussion we will have to have intensively in the coming years.

The B8 is available in our online store.

Our South Tyrol issue was published in July, in which we looked at new buildings in rural areas and the conversion of historic buildings. Read more here: South Tyrol

Roger Boltshauser: Plea for earth building

Building design
An exhibition on Roger Boltshauser in Stuttgart's Weißenhofsiedlung in March and April shows his exploration of earth building. Sketch: Roger Boltshauser

Roger Boltshauser Response 02.03/23.04.2023, sketch: Roger Boltshauser

An exhibition on Roger Boltshauser opens in Stuttgart’s Weißenhofsiedlung at the beginning of March. His work combines art, design and building as well as a passion for clay as a material.

An exhibition on Roger Boltshauser opens in Stuttgart’s Weißenhofsiedlung at the beginning of March. His work combines art, design and building, as well as a passion for clay as a material.

“If you could eat it, you’d call it superfood.” This is how the organizers whet the appetite for the exhibition on Roger Boltshauser and his clay architecture. It should be sufficiently well known by now that clay is a moisture buffer and fire protection, has a balancing effect on the indoor climate, keeps wooden structures dry, can be found almost everywhere in the world and is easy to work with. And yet we cannot talk enough about this building material and promote it.

An exhibition in Stuttgart does the same and shows the work of Swiss architect Roger Boltshauser, who works a lot with clay construction. For him, it is “a kind of fundamental experience” that still spurs him on today, makes him courageous, but also critical of all conventions and constantly drives him to find new solutions. Boltshauser then became known to a wider circle in 2008 when he and Martin Rauch built the latter’s single-family house from rammed earth in Vorarlberg (Baumeister 7/2009). At the time, it was still said that they were building “at their own risk”, a test building. The realization required ten to twenty times less energy than a conventional concrete or brick building. However, the amount of work involved was very high.

Some clients are now also enthusiastic about earth building, and a few larger earth buildings have already been built – such as the Ricola Herbal Center by Herzog & de Meuron or the Alnatura office building by Haas Cook Zemmrich. Boltshauser is working on a number of promising research projects and is also planning large buildings made of rammed earth. In his opinion, the future belongs to intelligent hybrid constructions. His colleague Martin Rauch is convinced that the next decade will be an era of earth building. It brings a new aspect of responsibility to planning and building – “simply building, putting perfectionism into perspective”, as he puts it(Baumeister 6/2021).

In this respect, one can never make enough pleas for earth building – as the architect will certainly do in his opening speech at the Weißenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart next Wednesday. The exhibition on Boltshauser aims to show that in his work, art, design and construction combine in “constant parallel processes”. Some of his collage sketches will therefore also be on display. Ultimately, it is clear that Roger Boltshauser is concerned at all levels with the search for an authentic answer.

From 2 March to 23 April 2023 at the Architekturgalerie am Weißenhof | Stuttgarter Weißenhofsiedlung, Am Weißenhof 30, Stuttgart | Curated by Roger Boltshauser with Atelier Andrea Gassner | Organized by Kyra Bullert | Exhibition design: Atelier Andrea Gassner | Vernissage: Wednesday, 1 March 2023, 7 pm: Lecture by Roger Boltshauser in the lecture hall Neubau 2

By the way, also in Stuttgart: an eyewear store with panache