
BUGA Materials Labyrinth
Material innovations for the future of building
17 April – 6. October 2019, Heilbronn
Location: Bundesgartenschau 2019
Materials Selection: Dr. Sascha Peters
Whether insulating materials made from fireproof mushroom mycelium, grown architectural structures, building materials with natural binders from calcite-forming bacteria or hygroscopic facade elements that can open or close automatically in relation to the humidity: the Paris Climate Agreement provides the cornerstones for a building and product culture that strive for values such as sustainability, resource conservation and energy efficiency. Switching to a system with closed material cycles is the central challenge facing industrial societies over the next decade.

In 2019, BUGA Heilbronn also presented a city exhibition for the first time in the context of the garden exhibition. In addition to the main goal of making the city tangible with new, permanent park, lake and shore landscapes, a new quarter near the city center was created in the Fruchtschuppen area, a 30-hectare conversion area for the railway between the Old Neckar and Neckar Canal. This exemplified how people can live well together in an urban conurbation. In this context, the question of available and sustainable resources for the urban development of the future was raised in relevance. A decarbonized society focuses on the awareness of environmentally friendly handling of materials, thinking in terms of material cycles, resource-saving constructions and regenerative energy technologies.

With the “Materials Labyrinth”, the future agency HAUTE INNOVATION from Berlin set a format for the city exhibition in which material innovations for the future of sustainable building were presented in an impressive way. Around 250 square meters of interior space was available for outstanding developments in bio-based materials, so-called smart materials and energy harvesting solutions.

image: Furniture production with fast growing willows (source: FullGrown, UK)
image: Light shade made from grown mushroom material (Krown Design, NL)
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