In 2019, the construction industry was responsible for ten percent of global CO2 emissions. To reduce emissions, concrete elements from old buildings can be reused and installed in new buildings. In the Collaborative Research Centre 1683 ‘Interaction Methods for Modular Reuse of Existing Structures’, more than 50 scientists from the fields of civil engineering, architecture, mechanical engineering and computer science are researching solutions for the reuse of concrete components at a structural level. The aim of the project is to develop a circular construction method in which concrete is not recycled, but components are reused directly. To this end, existing buildings are dismantled in a targeted manner so that individual slabs, walls and beams are preserved and can be used in new buildings.

In addition to Ruhr University Bochum, the University of Stuttgart, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are also involved in the SFB. Prof. Bernd Kuhlenkötter from the Chair of Production Systems and Prof. Markus König from the Chair of Computing in Engineering are part of the project team on behalf of ZESS.