The institute introduces itself
For more than 100 years the subject 'solid structures' has been taught at the TU Dresden. At the moment four professorships belong to our institute. All studies and research within the institute are focused on experimentation on reinforced concrete in all its various forms. In the field of teaching, we collaborate with many partners of the construction industry. Together we make research findings become part in construction projects.
The summer of 2022 ...
[Foreword from the Institute's 2022 Annual Report.]
... was, according to the records of the German Weather Service (DWD), the sunniest...
The year was the sunniest, third warmest and fifth driest since weather records began. There were several intense heat waves, and on July 20, 2022, four DWD stations in Germany measured more than 40 °C.1 The annual average temperature has already increased by more than 1.0 °C worldwide between 1881 and 2019. In Germany, the increase is already 1.6 °C.2
Because of these and other climatic changes, our tasks are clearly ahead of us: we must slow down climate change and we must adapt to the altered, irreversible climate changes. For both tasks, the construction industry, and thus concrete construction, must become much more active than before.
To limit climate change, CO2 emissions must first and foremost be drastically reduced. Germany has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2045. That's only 22 years away! Considering how slowly new developments in the construction industry are implemented, not only do numerous disruptive ideas need to be implemented by all those acting in the construction industry, but above all, the speed of change needs to increase drastically.
In addition, we must observe that due to the climate change that has already taken place, numerous consequences exist for the existing built environment: this concerns our load assumptions such as wind and extreme rain, but also the risk of flooding with its consequences for structures. The melting of glaciers and thawing of permafrost soils increase the risk of landslides and thus dynamic loads due to rockfall.
All employees of our institute are aware of their responsibility for the urgently needed transformation of the building industry and in particular for building with concrete, and are working in a wide variety of fields for climate-neutral and resource-efficient building. This involves new materials and material combinations such as carbon reinforced concrete, new design strategies, digitalization, monitoring, recycling and much more.
We invite you to inform yourself about our activities with the help of our annual report and also to get involved. We see ourselves as one player among many, knowing full well that we can only work together to successfully transform the construction industry. Communication, exchange, sharing of research results are the core building blocks for success. And we all urgently need it.
It goes without saying that we also focus on these ideas in teaching, since we must give the next generation the means to plan and build in a climate-neutral and resource-efficient way. We consider the demands of young people - whether through Fridays for Future or other groups - to be extremely justified and are therefore happy to offer our insights.
We thank our staff for their willingness to contribute their ideas, thoughts, and commitment to our important mission, and we thank all of our partners, funders, and supporters for their support. Please feel invited to contact us via the hopefully entertaining texts in our annual report in order to successfully continue our joint work for Neues Bauen.
Manfred Curbach and Steffen Marx