BioBuild

IVW has been awarded with the JEC Innovation Award 2015 in the field “Construction“.

Legal requirements and improved insulation materials in the European building industry have led to a 6-fold decrease of the heating energy of buildings in recent decades. In contrast the indirect, embodied energy has increased within the same time. Since this energy is mainly determined by the used materials, the main aim of the BioBuild project is to replace traditional building materials like bricks and aluminum by bio-based materials like natural fiber reinforced biopolymers. Thus, the embodied energy is reduced by a multiple without increasing the costs. In a first step new solutions for the modification of selected natural fibers and biopolymers were found at IVW using bio-based materials and combinations with water glass. Furthermore, the mechanical performance of the composites could be increased by optimizing the press process. Provided that the design is adapted to the requirements, the materials are suitable for the use in the building industry. This could be shown by producing the case study “external bio-cladding”, which was exhibited at the EcoBuild trade fair 2015 in London. Currently, the cladding is located in IVW’s foyer. It consists of endless panels and profiles which were produced in a semi-continuous compression molding process. Within the BioBuild project,