The new research building in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, which is scheduled for completion in time for the IBA exhibition in 2027, will serve as a demonstrator for approaches and materials currently being researched at the university, particularly in the field of resource-efficient lightweight construction. At the same time, the new building will house the Cluster of Excellence’s research infrastructure and that of other interdisciplinary researchers. It comprises an experimental hall for large robots, an outdoor experimental construction site, and an office complex.
Lightweight construction principles developed at the University will be used for the first time in a major, permanent building. For example, the roof is made of a novel timber structure produced with the aid of robots. A digital timber construction system developed at the Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC) will also be used, which does away with rigid column grids, which significantly increases the space available for the interior layout. The foundations and floor slab will be made of gradient concrete, a construction material developed at the University of Stuttgart, which can reduce material consumption and "gray emissions" by up to 50 percent.
The two other contributions to IBA'27 are the Weissenhof Visitor and Information Center (BIZ), which Stuttgart is commissioning in collaboration with IBA'27 to mark the centennial anniversary of the Werkbund Estate, and the Brenzkirche following its renovation and conversion.
As IBA'27 director Andreas Hofer explains: “The Weissenhof is the starting point for IBA'27. Following years of work by the IBA'27 in collaboration with the other parties, we can now say that we will have completed two important building blocks for the further development and renewal of the estate and its surroundings by 2027. At the same time as representing new responses to the ecological, economic, and social challenges of our time, the outstanding designs for both the BIZ and the Brenzkirche are closely linked to the site’s eventful history as well as modernist concepts. The IntCDC building is also closely interwoven with this,” he continues: "The latest cutting-edge technology is being developed there in line with the formidable research tradition of Stuttgart's architects and civil engineers, particularly in the field of lightweight construction, and will play a leading role in transitioning our housing stocks and urban districts towards a resource-efficient future."
“I am delighted that the BIZ am Weissenhof, the renovated Brenzkirche, and the University of Stuttgart’s pioneering research building are three new projects that will be visible to the public in 2027,” says Thomas S. Bopp, Deputy Chairman of IBA'27 GmbH’s Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Verband Region Stuttgart. “All three projects reflect the enormous innovative strength, visionary thinking, and fruitful collaboration of the many partners together with whom the IBA is improving our region."
“The IBA'27,” as IBA'27 Managing Director Karin Lang explains: “also sees itself as a platform for the promotion of the knowledge transfer from the field of architectural and construction research to general application within the construction industry. This,” she continues, “is why I’m particularly pleased that, following the adaptive high-rise demonstrator, the IntCDC research building is now the second University of Stuttgart project to be included in the IBA'27. Globally renowned, cutting edge technology is being developed right here in the heart of Baden-Württemberg, whose profile is increasing even more due to the IBA enabling its rapid adoption within the industrial sector. In conjunction with the other exhibition venues, all three new projects will contribute significantly towards ensuring that the IBA exhibition 2027 will have a major impact far beyond our region."
Over 150 researchers from various disciplines are working on new technologies, materials, and processes at the IntCDC Cluster of Excellence for the construction of tomorrow. It is the only German Research Foundation (DFG) funded Cluster of Excellence conducting research in the field of architecture and construction in Germany. The IntCDC Building is the University of Stuttgart's second contribution to IBA'27 after the world's first adaptive demonstrator high-rise building built by the Collaborative Research Center 1244 on the Vaihingen campus.