During the international and interdisciplinary »Building the Future: From Bauhaus' Form Follows Function to Form Follows Material« event, experts from the fields of architecture, construction, and design will discuss the current state of research and the hurdles that still need to be overcome. The aim of the scientific research is to develop innovative technologies that will optimise material use and facilitate sustainable serial construction.

»The future of construction is digital from design to production«, explains symposium organiser Stefan Kollmannsberger, Professor of Data Science in Civil Engineering at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. The networking meeting will take place in Weimar for the first time to celebrate Prof. Kollmannsberger’s appointment in March 2024. 

Kollmannsberger, who previously conducted research at the Technical University of Munich, is now investigating the effects of the unavoidable deviations from the original designs that occur in 3D printed materials, among other things: »By combining CT scans and newly developed simulation methods, we want to predict how irregularities and defects affect strength and durability. This should help pave the way for safer and more efficient 3D-printed structures«. 

In addition to welcoming speeches – including from Prof. Peter Benz, President of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar – Prof. Katrin Dörfler and Prof. Harald Kloft will be introducing the »DFG Transregio 277 Additive Manufacturing in Construction«, which the symposium is part of. Frank Steffens, CEO of the Brüninghoff Gruppe, is scheduled to speak about the potential of prefabrication, Prof. Caitlin T. Mueller from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will speak about new digital methods of creating structures at the interface between architecture and construction, and Prof. Casimir Katz, founder of SOFiSTiK, will make a contribution on large-scale additive manufacturing. Materials scientists Prof. Horst-Michael Ludwig, F.A. Finger Institute for Building Materials Engineering, and Prof. Carsten Könke, Materials Research and Testing Laboratory, will share their expertise on sustainable concrete and recycling building materials.

The second day of the event will focus specifically on the historic Bauhaus and its significance in the 21st century. What can Bauhaus teach us about 3D printing? Dr. Ute Ackermann, Director of the Bauhaus-Museum Weimar, will discuss this question together with Dorothea Roos, Director of the Bauabteilung Bauhaus Dessau. Prof. Jan Willmann from the Faculty of Art and Design will be holding a lecture on »Bauhaus im digitalen Zeitalter« (Bauhaus in the digital age). The event will be hosted by Prof. Kollmannsberger from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Nearly 100 attendees are expected. 

Symposium Building the Future:
»From Bauhaus' Form Follows Function to Form follows Material«
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Maurice-Halbwachs-Auditorium
31 March to bis 1 April 2025

Attendance is free of charge and the event will also be streamed online. 

The two-day symposium is being held as part of the Collaborative Research Center’s »Transregio 277 Additive Manufacturing in Construction« (AMC), whose board of directors includes symposium organiser Prof. Stefan Kollmannsberger. The AMC, which has received funding from the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) since 2020, is based at the Technischen Universität Braunschweig and the Technical University of Munich.  

Further information, including information on registration, can be found at:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEneYqoc3DZMrVEMpQ9OzbmrVbpOTBUSsaVZWVCra0y7zPPw/viewform