The requirements and demands on the building industry are becoming ever broader and more diverse. In addition to traditional requirements such as quality and costs, building physics issues such as energy efficiency and user comfort are increasingly coming into focus. These are complemented by the need for climate-neutral buildings and neighbourhoods, light and resource-efficient construction, and the increased use of recycled and bio-based materials. At the same time, the impact on land use and thus on biodiversity should be kept as low as possible. The use of biobased raw and other materials can play a special role in this context. On one hand, it promises a shift away from fossil or mineral resources, suggests environmental friendliness per se as well as a positive climate balance and local availability. On the other hand, the cultivation of bio-based resources in agriculture and forestry is time-consuming, involves the use of agricultural chemicals and considerable water input.
However, many questions from these disciplines show that they can or must also be understood as complementary research topics in the field of civil engineering. The research work of the Institute of Acoustics and Building Physics IABP is dedicated to these current challenges of the sustainable design of our built environment and the associated opportunities and challenges of valorising biogenic resources.
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