Climate-Neutral Home of IntCDC
The IntCDC building will constitute a new model of a research building that spatially fosters interdisciplinary Co-Design and a vibrant scientific environment. It will seamlessly connect in-door and outdoor lab spaces for computational design, cyber-physical fabrication and con-struction research. Located on campus in Stuttgart Vaihingen, it will serve as the future home of IntCDC, housing its research activities and central infrastructure.
Permanent Building Demonstrator
The IntCDC Building will be the Cluster’s climate-neutral future research facility, including 2,700 m² of office area (A), 2,700 m² of indoor lab for robotic prefabrication (B) and 3,000 m² of outdoor lab for cyber-physical construction (C). The IntCDC Building also serves as a permanent building demonstrator of IntCDC’s research accomplishments. The integration of novel, co-designed building systems and methods developed in IntCDC First Funding Period (FP1) has been achieved through the successfully completed design and preconstruction phases in collaboration between IntCDC and the construction industry:
- Robotically fabricated, resource-efficient, segmented timber shell roof with a span of 30 m and 3,500 m² roof area;
- Novel, hollow-core, mono-material, robotically fabricated, multi-storey timber building system covering 1,500 m² with dual and long-spans of up to 11 m at 42 cm depth and flat ceilings, offering a design space competitive with reinforced concrete
- Functionally graded concrete slabs of 830 m² and foundation of 470 m²
- Natural fibre composite element spanning 23 m as part of the roof structure
- Novel bio-composite interior panels
This is a significant accomplishment and demonstrates the rapid, direct two-way knowledge transfer of IntCDC’s research, resulting in resource efficiency, significant reduction of Global Warming Potential and distinctive architecture. The building’s operation will also be climate-neutral from day one, in line with the University’s ambition to be fully climate-neutral by 2030, which is supported by the University’s Green Office. The IntCDC Building will be a physical manifestation of the University’s strategic goal to be a leader in the field of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC).
Until today, all necessary building permits, including nature conservation and environmental law approvals, have been successfully obtained, the detailed design phase and construction documents have been completed, the main construction companies have been commissioned and the site has been prepared for construction start in December 2024, with completion planned in time for the International Building Exhibition IBA 2027 in early 2027. This progress has been made despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, related extended approval and certification processes, and a significant general rise in construction costs.
Further Information
- New projects continue to write the history of IBA’27
IBA`27, 24.07.2024 - Questions and answers on the new LCRL research building
University of Stuttgart, 15.02.2024 - Sustainable construction with the "Large Scale Robotics Laboratory" (LCRL)
University of Stuttgart, 21.12.2023