BUGA Wood Pavilion - Reuse 2023

Bundesgartenschau Mannheim 2023, Germany

The Bundesgartenschau is once again presenting the innovative BUGA Wood Pavilion. Following its initial construction at BUGA Heilbronn 2019, the pioneering timber structure has been rebuilt at BUGA Mannheim 2023. Developed in collaboration between the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart, the research building showcases advanced timber segmental shell construction inspired by the morphological principles of the sea urchin's plate skeleton.

This segmented wood shell construction was made possible through an integrative approach to computer-based planning and robotic production. This approach enabled the realisation of a wide-span, differentiated, and particularly resource-efficient, mono-material timber structure. From the onset, the pavilion was design as a fully reusable building. The reconstruction of the structure in Mannheim, consisting of 376 precisely robotically manufactured hollow cassettes, shows how this genuinely digital lightweight timber construction breaks new ground in terms of reusability and contributes to circular design and construction.

In 2019, the BUGA Timber Pavilion received the German Sustainability Award for "Digitalisation" in the "Architecture" category, recognising its fully computationally designed and robotically fabricated structrure. The pavilion effectively demonstrates that digitally designed and manufactured lightweight construction methods, as a key technology of the 21st century, offer a wide range of solutions for transforming the built environment. In addition to its architectural quality, the pavilion focuses  on resource efficiency and circularity. For its pioneering design, the pavilion has been included in the New European Bauhaus Compass.

The pavilion's segmented shell structure also allows for future reuse and relocation. Based on new research findings, it will also be possible to convert the segmented shell construction into a closed, permanent building.

The BUGA Wood Pavilion constitutes a building demonstrator for the Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC).

Further information on the integrative, computational co-design, robotic production, and the innovative timber structure method of the BUGA Wood Pavilion can be found via the following link: > Link

PROJECT PARTNERS 2023

Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC)

ICD Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Achim Menges, Monika Göbel, Christoph Schlopschnat

ITKE Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Jan Knippers, Simon Bechert

Müllerblaustein Bauwerke GmbH, Blaustein

Bundesgartenschau Mannheim 2023 gGmbH

PROJECT BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS

Landesstelle für Bautechnik 
Dipl.-Ing. Willy Weidner

Proof Engineer
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hugo Rieger

MPA University Stuttgart
Dr. Simon Aicher

with support of:
Carlisle Construction Materials GmbH
Puren GmbH

Filmproduktion:
amplify design GmbH / Soundtaxi GmbH
Uli Matheus, Moritz Metzger, Wolf-Peter Steinheißer

PROJECT PARTNERS 2019

ICD Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart 
Prof. Achim Menges, Martin Alvarez, Monika Göbel, Abel Groenewolt, Oliver David Krieg, Ondrej Kyjanek, Hans Jakob Wagner

ITKE Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Jan Knippers, Lotte Aldinger, Simon Bechert, Daniel Sonntag

with support of:
Jorge Christie, Rebeca Duque Estrada, Robert Faulkner, Fabian Kannenberg
Guillaume Caussarieu, Bahar Al Bahar, Kyriaki Goti, Mathias Maierhofer, Valentina Soana, Babasola Thomas

Müllerblaustein Bauwerke GmbH, Blaustein
Reinhold Müller, Daniel Müller, Bernd Schmid

BEC GmbH, Reutlingen
Matthias Buck, Zied Bhiri

Bundesgartenschau Heilbronn 2019 GmbH
Hanspeter Faas, Oliver Toellner

PROJECT BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS

Landesstelle für Bautechnik 
Dr. Stefan Brendler und Dipl.-Ing. Willy Weidner

Proof Engineer
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hugo Rieger

MPA University Stuttgart
Dr. Simon Aicher

PLANNING PARTNERS
Belzner Holmes Light-Design, Stuttgart
Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Hollubarsch
BIB Kutz GmbH & Co.KG, Karlsruhe
Dipl.- Ing. Beatrice Gottlöber
IIGS – Institut for Engineering Geodesy, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Volker Schwieger, Laura Balange, Urs Basalla

PROJECT SUPPORT

State of Baden-Wuerttemberg
University of Stuttgart
EFRE European Union
GETTYLAB
DFG German Research Foundation

Carlisle Construction Materials GmbH
Puren GmbH
Hera Gmbh & Co. KG
Beck Fastener Group
J. Schmalz GmbH
Niemes Dosiertechnik GmbH
Jowat Adhesives SE
Raithle Präzisionswerkzeuge Service
Leuze electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Metsä Wood Deutschland GmbH