Regional reed plant Miscanthus as a renewable building material

The ‘Future of Building’ research project of the Department of Architecture is entering the next phase.

The report on the joint project by Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, the University of Siegen, RWTH Aachen University, the University of Bonn, and the industry partner Evonik Industries AG on the new construction material Miscanthus has now been published by the funding body, the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR).

Led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mathias Wirths from the Department of Architecture at Alanus University, the joint project is developing bending beams from the fast-growing reed plant Miscanthus x giganteus. The project demonstrates that it is possible to produce beams from Miscanthus with the same load-bearing capacity as structural solid timber. Materials made from this resource have the potential to store large amounts of CO₂, which can make an important contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions in the construction sector. Thanks to renewed funding approval from the BBSR, the project team will be able to continue its research on this topic from 01.01.2025. The new building materials are to be optimized and assessed in terms of life-cycle analysis. Additional areas of application and connection types will also be developed.

The full project report can be viewed on the BBSR website via this link.

Captions:
1. The rapidly renewable raw material Miscanthus x giganteus.
2. Processed Miscanthus wood as a building material.

Photo: Mathias Wirths.

Press contact:
+49 (0)2222 9321-1944
presse@alanus.edu

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