On October 5, construction of the StrawBrick demonstrator begins in the HFT courtyard. In cooperation with Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, winner of the European GROUNDBREAKERS Challenge, a prototype made of pressed straw-lignin bricks is being built and will be presented at IBA'27 in 2027. Anyone returning to HFT at the start of the semester can follow the construction progress live.
On 5 October, construction will begin on the StrawBrick demonstrator, which will add another building block to the HFT Space in the courtyard. In collaboration with the project partners from the Bauhaus University Weimar – whose entry won the European GROUNDBREAKERS Challenge (EGC) – a prototype building is being constructed on one of the experimental sites using pressed bricks made from a mixture of straw and lignin (both residual resources!). The demonstrator will be unveiled next year at IBA’27. Together with the other experimental structures in the courtyard, built from clay and circular timber, the specialist audience will be able to experience what is, so to speak, a Circular Material Hub at the HFT in 2027.
So far, the manufacturing process has been scaled up in Weimar and the straw blocks have been pre-produced. At the start of October, these will be transported to Stuttgart and used in a two-week construction workshop with students from the Bauhaus University. This will result in the first building constructed using the new building material.
Anyone returning to the HFT at the start of the semester can witness the construction progress first-hand, or stay up to date via GROUNDBREAKERS’ channels (e.g. LinkedIn). If you have any questions or comments, please contact Hannah Pinell, who is coordinating the project (hannah.pinell@hft-stuttgart.de).
The EGC is an innovation competition for nature-based construction, launched by GROUNDBREAKERS last year. Next year’s exhibition will showcase not only the StrawBrick but also other entries and nature-based solutions from international start-ups that took part in the challenge.
