The ‘Guideline for the Reuse of Structural Load-Bearing Elements’ is now available! Our project team is excited to announce the publication of this guideline. The new guideline for the reuse of structural load-bearing elements offers planners valuable support in the environmentally friendly and building law-compliant reuse of steel and timber components. It contains practice-orientated methods for the dismantling, preparing and reintegration of structural components as well as regulatory recommendations for implementation in accordance with German building law. The guide shows that the reuse of structural components is not just feasible, but also regulation-compliant - a crucial step towards promoting sustainable building practices in the construction sector. The full guideline and accompanying research report are now available.

We, KIT Timber Structures and Building Construction, are looking for a full-time carpenter or joiner (f/m/d) with the option of part-time employment. In this position you will support our laboratory with a variety of tasks, including

- Woodworking (e.g. preperation of test specimens)

- Carrying out material tests

- Preparation and production of test equipment, e.g. for tests on components or joints

- Handling testing machines, including for large-scale component tests

All further information can be found on the official job advertisement of the KIT.

We, KIT Timber Structures and Building Construction, are looking for a workshop employee (f/m/d) in the field of metalworking (full-time with the option of part-time). In this position, you will support our laboratory with a variety of tasks, including:

- Metalworking and materials testing

- Carrying out material tests

- Preparation and production of test equipment for large-scale tests in component dimensions

- Handling testing machines

All further information can be found on the official job advertisement of the KIT.

A lot has happened since the last Karlsruher Tage: resource-efficient construction, detachable connections and the reuse of components have long been part of everyday life, and "Tall Timber" is common practice. Special thanks go to the speakers whose presentations realised the motto "Research for practice". The event was a success thanks to your participation and the dialogue between colleagues. The positive response encourages us to organise the Karlsruher Tage again in two years' time - with the traditional closing in the laboratory.

On 19 and 20 September 2024, after a long interruption, the tradition of this special event organised by Informationsdienst Holz for university lecturers was continued. 55 professors from engineering universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland accepted the invitation to Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. The initiative for the resumption of the University Teachers' Days goes back to Prof Dietsch, who has been a board member of the Informationsverein Holz for two years.

On 29 July 2024, Andrea Lindlohr (MdL), State Secretary in the Ministry for Regional Development and Housing, visited the Research Centre for Steel, Timber and Masonry. She was accompanied by the Mayor of Karlsruhe, Dr. Frank Mentrup and Karlsruhe's Member of Parliament, Alexander Salomon. 

Under the motto "Timber Structures - Research for Practice", we would like to cultivate the traditional and intensive exchange between research and practice with you. On October 10 and 11, 2024, you can expect a diverse spectrum of the latest developments and research.

Congratulations to Carmen Sandhaas on her successful Habilitation! Carmen Sandhaas' work, entitled "Timber fasteners - a study on input parameters for the design of timber joints", offers an in-depth analysis of all relevant strength parameters of screws and nails along with their potential for standardization.

Good times with our Students: Excursion 2024. This year, we had the privilege of organizing a four day excursion in the Structural Engineering Master's program at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Click here for the excursion report.

The Association of Friends of the Research Centre for Steel, Timber and Masonry awards a prize for the best master's thesis in recognition of excellent scientific achievements. A prize of EUR 1,000 is awarded for a thesis in the field of steel structures and EUR 1,000 for timber structures.

KIT Timber Structures was thrilled to host the first face-to-face meeting of the SC 5 Plenary after the end of the enquiry period. While points of view can differ, we managed to realize informed discussions, tackling our task in a collaborative and productive atmosphere.

KIT Timber Structures and Building Construction performed large-scale tests on earth-willow-wood hybrid ceiling components, as part of the WILLOW WEAVE project. The collaborative research project WILLOW WEAVE investigated digitally prefabricated earth-willow-wood hybrid ceiling components with the aim of expanding and diversifying the range of regrowing and recyclable building materials through digital design and fabrication methods. Click here for more info

50 years ago, the forefathers of timber structures and research met for the first meeting of CIB-W18. Since then, more than 1300 papers were presented and discussed in 56 meetings of CIB-W18, now INTER. These papers are the foundation of todays timber design & standards, the CIB Code being the basis for a draft ISO timber design code as well as the first Eurocode 5. Read more about the 50-year history here: PDF

During the annual celebration of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Prof. Dietsch was given the honour of being awarded the KIT Faculty Teaching Prize 2023, a prize that is awarded on the recommendation of KIT students. Video at youtube

A few weeks ago, Prof Dietsch had the opportunity to give his inaugural lecture as part of the symposium celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Research Institute for Steel, Timber and Masonry. "I put my heart and soul into this subject and therefore also into this lecture. I was all the more pleased about the positive feedback from the colleagues present and the numerous enquiries from colleagues who were unable to make it to our symposium. In order to fulfil the wishes of our esteemed colleagues, we have produced a video of this lecture, which is now available on YouTube." Video at youtube

Happy days and excellent exchange timber engineering research and standardisation at INTER 2022 in Bad Aibling. INTERaction between 75 recognised researchers, INTERest in 26 high-quality papers, INTERface between research and standardisation! Thanks to all authors for their contributions! And special thanks to our hosts Simon Aicher and Stefan Winter!

It was a great pleasure for us to present our results and innovations from the pan-European CLT project, InnoCrossLam, live to the wood community at the ForestValue Conference in the Sara Cultural Centre, Skelleftea. In this context, we were able to collect the most important future topics for solid wood construction from the experts present. Despite corona, our research group has really grown together and we look forward to continuing to work with these outstanding researchers.

Since this 25th edition, Prof. Dietsch has had the honour of being responsible for Chapter 9 "Timber Construction" together with Prof. Colling. This chapter is only good for everyone involved if the 70 pages available provide you with the best possible information. Therefore, please let Prof Dietsch know if you notice any errors or ambiguities, which topics you would like to see covered in more detail, which content you think could be reduced and, in general, what other suggestions you have for improvement. Your feedback (LinkedIn or by e-mail) will help us to respond even more precisely to your needs in the next edition. Thank you!