International Conference: Climate and Constructions

The conference was held on 24 and 25 October 2011 at the Hotel Der Blaue Reiter in Karlsruhe-Durlach (Germany)

 

Overview

 

 

Objective

Climate impacts the construction sector in various ways. In this context, the construction sector includes not only construction chemistry, materials technology and building science, but also planning, construction techniques and urban climate.

The challenge is to identify which component is most vulnerable to changes in climate and how to respond to these changes. Many challenging questions are raised by sciencists, policy makers, industry etc. For example, what do we know about climate change and its impacts on the construction sector? Which technologies are needed to respond to future climate conditions without neglecting ecological, social, and economical aspects?

The conference establishes a platform to discuss scientific results in combination with practical examples, and therefore, contributes to an increased understanding of the two-way interaction between climate change and the construction sector.

 

Conference Topics 


The conference topics cover a wide range of construction research fields that are affected by the changing climate. We invite you to contribute to one of the following topics in the context of climate change:

Construction Chemistry

Development of longer-lasting, optimized properties, ecological, economical, and easy-to-handle materials to reduce materials and energy input.

Building Science

Innovative building technologies and concepts which help to prevent damage caused by increasing climate extremes and provide indoor environments with high energy and comfort performance.

Materials Technology and Construction Techniques

Innovation of materials technology with focus on mechanical properties, processibility, and serviceability of materials to reduce deformation and damage of infrastructure and building.

Method of building development and construction developed for infrastructure. Structural design is affected by building science, construction chemistry, and materials technology.

Urban Climate

Part of environmental climatology dealing with substantial and energetic interactions between the atmosphere and the urban area, assessment and methods for quantification of urban climate.

top


Workshops


In four parallel workshops, researchers, experts, and practioneers discuss the latest technical developments, new operational concepts with regard to needs of further improvement and sustainable implementation.

Four key words are highlighted to define sustainable building management in the context of climate change. These are the subject of the following four workshops:

 

Technology

• To what extent can materials already cope with the present-day climate?
• Which technologies are particularly climate-sensitive?

Ecology

• What is the role of natural landscape units in the city and are these replaceable by sustainable buildings?
• What is the role of ecological activities in the context of sustainable building?

Economy

• What are the impacts on the economy in the long term of an ecological response to climate change?
• When is adaption more benifical than mitigation?

Society

• To what extent is society willing to support sustainable building?
• What is the scope of action of society in the case of sustainable building?

 

 

Conference Proceedings

We are checking if the proceedings can also be made available digitally. 

 

top

Scientific Committee

 

Prof. Andreas Wagner (chairman)
wagner does-not-exist.kit edu

building science

Prof. Dr. Andreas Gerdes
andreas gerdes does-not-exist.kit edu

construction chemistry
Prof. Dr. Armin Grunwald
armin grunwald does-not-exist.kit edu
sustainability
Prof. Dr. Christoph Kottmeier
christoph kottmeier does-not-exist.kit edu
meteorology / climatology
Prof. Dr. Thomas Lützkendorf
thomas luetzkendorf does-not-exist.kit edu
sustainability / economy 
Prof. Kevin Lomas
k j lomas does-not-exist.lboro ac uk
building science
Prof. Dr. Helmut Mayer
helmut mayer does-not-exist.meteo uni-freiburg de
meteorology / climatology
Prof. Dr. Harald S. Müller
sekretariat-bt does-not-exist.ifb uka de
materials technology
Prof. Dr. Manfred N. Partl
manfred partl does-not-exist.empa ch
materials technology
Prof. Dr. Dr. Ralf Roos
ralf roos does-not-exist.kit edu
construction techniques

 

top

Local Organizing Committee

 South German Climate Office
(Süddeutsches Klimabüro)


Dr. Hans Schipper
Dr. Christina Endler
klimabuero does-not-exist.kit edu
+49 (0)721 608-42831
http://www.sueddeutsches-klimabuero.de/

 

Institute of Functional Interfaces
Prof. Dr. Andreas Gerdes
andreas gerdes does-not-exist.kit edu
+49 (0)721 925 1354