Circularity: The Baumeister in January 2024

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.

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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.