Professorship Digital Design and Fabrication - DDF
The Professorship Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF) at the Institute for Building Design and Technology (IEB) of the KIT Department of Architecture, explores computational design and digital fabrication processes to enable novel digital circular construction concepts. Innovative material and construction systems are prototypically developed on a 1:1 scale at the interface of research and teaching and tested in application-oriented demonstrator projects. This includes all aspects of construction, including architectural design, component production, assembly, reconfiguration as well as disassembly and recycling in an integrated digital process.
The interdisciplinary research of digital construction technologies provides relevant contributions to societal challenges and simultaneously enables the exploration of a novel architectural design and construction repertoire within the framework of research-based teaching.
![ReFrame [3/3] An industrial robotic arm on a linear axis executes automated pick-and-place routines, handling the reclaimed timber's irregular geometries and small deviations. Robotic nailing with wooden nails forms precise timber-to-timber joints. The result is also expressive: ReFrame makes the qualities of reclaimed timber visible, revealing variety and traces of prior use, and turning irregularities into a distinctive part of the design language.
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#ReFrame #reclaimedtimber #circularconstruction #digitaldesign #computationaldesign #roboticfabrication #sustainablearchitecture #upcycling #timberarchitecture #circulareconomy♻️ #KIT #Karlsruhe](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/573404305_18063870254576635_263655788534650264_n.heic?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=103&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=NtEGZ4w1Q3gQ7kNvwFrEdwH&_nc_oc=AdnkASvAq4c704iMcsvB50RivikBIw1YpT-SnZhLeC2Dv0Ow6uUV2Lo-iRg8BE9rmQo&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=11hcW3PWMHD5gAo7Q7TmTg&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQEU3enVa-NrSi97YzBV65ewV1wL6FahVclMYGPJN4i9p9GYC97Nv138kGAOhRFK92awrKBakuM7&oh=00_AfvU0gMwSSKzGuSbJktCQZ5L5nqXPxTgT0WUGe4no8M8oA&oe=6998EFA2)
Gradientenlehm investigates how digital technologies can enable robotically prefabricated functionally graded hybrid earth slabs with integrated natural fibre reinforcement and sustainable aggregates. By grading earth composition, fibre content and additives across the slab, the project aims to activate earthen slabs structurally and functionally, tailoring local stiffness, weight and functional behaviour to structural demands instead of treating earth as dead load only with no significant structural capacity.
BUCABUMA (Building Capacity in Circular Natural Building Materials using Frugal Digital and Traditional Engineering Innovations) is an international collaboration funded under the EU Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, part of the EU–Africa Global Gateway. The project strengthens higher education, research, and skills development in sustainable construction across four African countries.
UPwood develops AI- and robotics-supported approaches to upcycle reclaimed and residual wood into durable, load-bearing timber building components for a regional bioeconomy. Instead of downcycling or incineration, the project aims to establish high-value reuse pathways by connecting material availability, design strategies, and sustainability assessment across the full resource and value chain.
