
Faculty of
Architecture and Civil Engineering
in Wiesbaden
Research at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering
The competencies of the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering are bundled in research focuses.
There are currently five of these focuses, which are involved in the areas of basics and application-oriented research, primarily with a specialization in sustainability in their respective research areas:
- Architecture and building culture
- Real estate and construction industry
- Mobility and transportation
- Resource-conserving Construction and development of new materials
- Water and soil
The research activities of the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering are generally characterized by the inclusion and use of existing teaching and research laboratories. There are currently 9 laboratories at the faculty.
Wiesbaden Network for Architecture and Building Culture (WiNAB)
A responsible approach to our architectural heritage is always closely related to current issues of Architecture and urban development. It requires interdisciplinary expertise, ranging from building research and conservation to monument preservation, Architecture and urban planning.
Against this background and on the basis of teaching and research activities, the Wiesbaden Network for Architecture and Civil Engineering (WiNAB) was established at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at HSRM Wiesbaden in 2019 to support research, teaching and outreach in the field of Architectural Heritage Conservation. To this end, the existing capacities of eight teaching areas and a research laboratory have been pooled. Various associated institutes and architecture firms from the Rhine-Main region are already involved in the network.
The founding members of WiNAB teach in the Architecture (B.Sc.) and Architectural Heritage | Building in Historic Context (B.Sc.) degree programs and impart essential content in the two jointly designed degree programs Architecture I Building Revitalization and Transformation (M.Sc.) and Architectural Heritage | Building in Historic Context (M.Sc.).
The group of lecturers is characterized by a broad interdisciplinary diversity consisting of architects, urban planners, art historians and monument conservators as well as civil engineers.
The interdisciplinary cooperation shapes the approach and perspective on the common topic of the responsible handling of our architectural heritage. Against this background, the questions of contemporary urban planning as well as contemporary Architecture, the handling of historical urban and cultural landscapes, a changing understanding of monument preservation and construction history as well as careful building conservation are explored.
Above all, all those involved are aware of the importance of the built and unbuilt architectural, structural and urban heritage and its relevance for current tasks in Architecture and urban development. This diverse heritage, which is very heterogeneous in terms of value and significance, must be constantly questioned and preserved from many different perspectives and against the background of different disciplines in terms of its significance and relevance beyond the present. This must be expanded and deepened in constant exchange and mutual dialog with numerous partners within and outside the university.
In view of the increasingly urgent questions about how to deal with the existing heritage as a source of one's own architectural work, as a cultural asset worthy of protection, as an object of conversion and further construction, as a resource for recycling or even as a reservoir for upcycling, it is important to develop interdisciplinary strategies and methods so that both theoretical and practice-oriented approaches can lead to a contemporary mediation and approach.
The focus of research, which is always linked to teaching and transfer, is on three research areas that correspond to the different scales of Architecture and lead from the entire city to the whole house to the constructive detail.
These three areas are:
- 1. urban and cultural landscape
- 2. architecture and monument preservation
- 3. building research and building conservation
The Wiesbaden Network for Architecture and Building Culture has the goal of establishing itself as a trend-setting forum in the Rhine/Main region and beyond when it comes to questions of preservation and Architecture | Building Revitalization and Transformation.
The Wiesbaden Network for Architecture and Building Culture (WiNAB) includes
Prof. Dr. Cristian Abrihan, project management and project development in a historical context
Prof. Dr. phil. Anne Bantelmann-Betz, Monument Conservation
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Duppel, Construction in a historical context
Prof. Dr. Georg Ebbing, Building Theory and Design
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Volker Kleinekort, Urban Planning
Prof.-Dr. Ing. Michael Kloos, Historical Urban and Cultural Landscapes
Prof. i.V. Dipl.-Ing. Isabella Leber, Construction with existing buildings
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Corinna Rohn, Building History, Building Survey, Building Conservation and Conversion
and Dipl. Bibl. Annette Schmelz in the laboratory for building research.
Real estate and construction industry
How should buildings be constructed, operated, managed and marketed in the future? How can real estate be better developed and financed? The "Real Estate and Construction Management" research group conducts research into these key questions at the interface between technology and business, closely linked to teaching in the "Real Estate Management" degree program
Mobility and traffic
Rhine-Main Institute for Transformative Sciences in Mobility and Logistics (RITMO)
The interdisciplinary research center Rhein-Main Institute for Transformative Sciences in Mobility and Logistics (RITMO) was founded in autumn 2023 and focuses on the three fields of action transport, mobility and logistics.
More about RITMO
Resource-conserving construction and development of new materials and construction methods
This research focus reflects the core topics of the faculty and can be seen in the individual research projects of the laboratories. Whether it is research on wood and composite building materials, which deals with the development and optimization of building components and construction approaches using the renewable and sustainable raw building material wood, or construction research, in which the development and testing of sustainable Architecture, construction and building materials play an important role - the focus is always on the development of building construction and building physics inventions in relation to their sustainable development for building and construction today.
This also includes research projects on the building material ultra-high performance concrete, the development of advanced calculation and dimensioning methods for the design of prefabricated stairs made of various materials, as well as the development of new constructions for impact sound insulation for drainage and drainage systems in building construction.
The individual projects are carried out on an interdisciplinary basis and with international scientists. They promote junior researchers - with the goal of a doctorate - in cooperation with various universities. These include the technical universities in Braunschweig, Cottbus-Senftenberg, Darmstadt, Dortmund, the doctoral program with the University Bergakademie Freiberg and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) Windhoek.
In the field of materials and construction, new materials, constructions and repair options are being researched and investigated. The research spectrum ranges from timber engineering, timber composite construction and adhesives in timber construction to solid construction, high-performance concretes and building repair, as well as scaffolding structures, staircase constructions and constructions made of composite materials. In addition to high-performance IT systems, the Materials and Construction department has access to over 1000 m2 of laboratory space with state-of-the-art equipment and testing machines to carry out its research activities.
Water and soil
The Water & Soil research group works on scientific and application-related issues in the fields of hydraulic engineering and water management, geotechnics and urban water management. The scientific work is often interdisciplinary, in cooperation with regional partners and other scientific institutions. The Laboratory for Hydraulic Engineering, the Geotechnical Laboratory and the Laboratory for Urban Water Management provide infrastructural support.
Mobility and traffic
Active & independent on the road - mobility needs of young girls
Needs study on the conversion to electromobility in the Hessian police force
CO2meet - climate-friendly alternatives to business trips
Mobility Management at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences
PendelLabor - Sustainable urban-rural mobility in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region
Sustainable Mobility in social housing pilot areas
User requirements for integrated travel chains
Platform for integrated mobility in Oberursel ("pimoo 3.0")
Space for new mobility - mobility stations and more in the FrankfurtRhineMain region
Subjective safety in urban areas: mobility decisions of young people
Tourist transportation in Switzerland
Resource-conserving Construction and development of new materials
"Monitoring of measures for the careful concrete repair of nationally significant post-war modernist monuments"
"BIRDS - Modular system for repair mortars and concretes for the repair of listed exposed concrete structures"
Research project towers made of wood
TACITUS FAQs - Determination and clarification of aspects for an economical application of hardwood constructions with glued-in bars
Spk Holz - Further development of screw press bonding in timber construction
Self-stabilizing and energy-reducing connection technology for multi-storey timber buildings in the event of an earthquake
Blistering of reaction resin coating on damp concrete components
Wood-cement hybrid systems for wall elements in timber construction
Hybrid lightweight beams for long-span hall structures