About 40 percent of the primary energy consumption in Germany is used for space heating and warm water. Facades which function as a “thermal wall” can help bring on the transformation of our heating system, yet they have been given little attention up to now. In the ArKol project, a research consortium led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has developed two novel solar thermal façade collectors: a solar thermal strip collector and a solar thermal jalousie. As an integral part of the façade, both elements offer an architecturally pleasing experience.

Knowing and understanding constructive details is essential for students and architects, but at the same time it is associated with costly and time-consuming research. The knowledge platform “baukobox” (an artificial word made up of the terms building construction and construction box) shortens this process. It is both a source of inspiration and a digital tool for construction details and component information.

UMass Amherst study tested strength of mass timber panels created from eastern white pine and eastern hemlock

With commercial smart home gadgets, a connected living is already possible today – but aims less at people that would especially profit from intelligent assistance. In order to create a close exchange with the society in their research of smart everyday objects, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Technical University of Berlin develop a new living lab infrastructure as a realistic test environment that present the advantages of the future living to the public. The team presents the project KosmoS, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research with roughly 1.1 million Euros, at a networking meeting today.

Flowering plants are better pollinated in urban than in rural areas. This has now been demonstrated experimentally by researchers in central Germany. Although the scientists found a greater diversity of flying insects in the countryside, more bees in cities resulted in more pollinated flowers of test plants. By far the most industrious pollinators were bumble bees, most likely benefitting from the abundant habitats available in the city. To promote pollination, the researchers recommend to take into greater account the needs of bees when landscape planning – both in cities and in the countryside. Their results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Civil engineering academic is developing new vibration-control devices based on Formula 1 technology for skyscrapers

Dense, humid broadleaf forests, monsoon-swollen rivers and deep ravines – in the Indian state of Meghalaya wooden bridges easily decay or are washed away in floodwaters. Bridges made from steel and concrete are pushed to their limits here as well. But bridges made of living tree roots can survive here for centuries. Prof. Ferdinand Ludwig of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has investigated these special structures and proposes integrating this extraordinary building technique in modern architecture.

"Corrosion" comes from Latin "corrodere": to gnaw something to pieces. This refers to the gradual destruction of a sub- stance due to the influence of other substances in the environment. Specialists at Empa take a close look at such processes and can find timely ways to prevent material failure due to corrosion – long before disasters such as those in Genoa occur.

Smart Glass Solutions – such as electrochromic (EC) and thermochromic (TC) windows and glass façades –control the radiation energy transfer with the "touch of a button" and thus can drastically reduce the energy demands for heating and air conditioning of large buildings. On 1st October 2019, the EU-funded initiative "Switch2save" was launched to improve the availability and affordability of EC and TC smart glass technologies. The consortium of ten partners from research and industry will demonstrate the energy saving potential of smart glass solutions in two fully-operational buildings.

On October 1, 2019, the EU-funded initiative “Switch2Save” was launched to improve the availability and affordability of electrochromic and thermochromic smart glass technologies. The consortium of ten partners from research and industry will demonstrate the energy saving potential of smart glass solutions in two fully-operational buildings.