History was made today at Einsteinstraße 12 in Dresden. The carbon concrete building CUBE was inaugurated with guests from politics, business, science and society.

The Rector of the Technische Universität Dresden, Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, as well as the client and director of the Institute for Concrete Structures, Manfred Curbach, together with the Minister of State Thomas Schmidt (Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development), the State Secretary Thomas Kralinski (Saxon State Ministry for Economics, Labor and Transport), the Ministerial Council in the Innovation Department of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Hans-Peter Hiepe, and the Education Mayor of the City of Dresden, Jan Donhauser, ushered in a new construction era. With the completion of the CUBE, important building blocks were laid for future construction projects in the building sector.

“The CUBE carbon concrete building is a big step towards a future-proof construction sector. With carbon concrete, the energy consumption of the construction industry can already be drastically reduced. Used on a large scale, it can make construction more energy-efficient, gentler on materials and more recyclable. At the same time, the new building material can be used to build technically and aesthetically very sophisticated. This is a great opportunity for climate-friendly construction. I'm sure that the carbon concrete construction method developed and established in Saxony will not only give building construction a great boost, but also road and bridge construction," stressed Minister Schmidt at the inauguration. For Education Mayor Jan Donhauser, it is no coincidence that the world's first house made of carbon concrete is in Dresden: "With the CUBE, the state capital of Dresden is continuing to write architectural history. Solutions like these are urgently needed to conserve resources. That is why we are also planning to build two school sports halls with carbon concrete. Dresden can score with its core competence, the close cooperation between administration, science and business.”

In the field of research and development, Saxon companies and institutions in particular - AIB - Architekten Ingenieure Bautzen GmbH, Assmann Consulting and Planning Dresden Branch, Concrete Works Oschatz GmbH, Institute for Solid Construction at the TU Dresden, Institute for Concrete Construction at the HWTK Leipzig, and texton e.V. as associated partner – contributed significantly to the success. “Today is a big day for carbon concrete and for the entire Free State of Saxony. Because with the CUBE, an innovation made in Saxony becomes visible and accessible. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of this building with a great vision and a lot of heart and soul. The Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport will continue to support innovations that are open to all sectors and technologies. Especially with a view to the required sustainability, I hope that carbon concrete will be used worldwide in the future.” – said State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Labour, Thomas Kralinski.

The best possible partners were identified for the innovative building through a multi-stage award process. The aim was to implement this structure economically and at the same time to enable innovative technology. Hans-Peter Hiepe is therefore certain: "The CUBE stands for an innovation policy that makes radically new thinking and building possible." to break new ground with carbon concrete. Instead of steel reinforcement, carbon mats from solidian GmbH, Wilhelm Kneitz Solutions in Textile GmbH and carbon rods from ThyssenKrupp Carbon Components GmbH (now Action Composites) and SGL Carbon, as well as glass from Schöck Bauelemente GmbH, ensure the stability of the material. A special mixture was also used for the concrete: a high-performance concrete developed for CUBE by PAGEL Spezial Beton GmbH. The concept design came from the architectural firm HENN, while AIB – Architekten Ingenieure Bautzen GmbH was responsible for the general planning.

Carbon concrete is a combination of high-performance concrete and carbon fibers that are processed into a fabric or a rod and serve as reinforcement. The very low use of concrete and the significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional reinforced concrete construction make carbon concrete an interesting building material - also from the perspective of sustainability and the environment. "Climate-friendly construction is a central research topic at the TU Dresden as well as worldwide, which will become even more important in the future. With the CUBE on the TU Dresden campus, we see an excellent example of how research results find their way into practice.” – stressed the Rector Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger.

Thanks to funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, up to 226 companies, institutions and associations have been working on the successful introduction of the material carbon concrete to the market since 2014 in an interdisciplinary manner and under the umbrella of C³ - Carbon Concrete Composite e.V.

2 years and a pandemic later, a masterpiece was created, a gem that opens its doors to visitors from now on and makes carbon concrete technology tangible.

Contact:
Sandra Kranich
Tel.: +49 351 484-56714