On October 1 and 2, 2026, the Karlsruhe Days at KIT in Karlsruhe will once again provide a forum for exchange between research and practice in timber construction. This long-standing conference presents the latest developments in research, standardization, and construction practice.
This year’s program focuses on new findings regarding connections in timber construction, including the load-bearing behavior of dowel-type fasteners in hardwood and the determination of the torsional stiffness of bolted connections. In addition, the future regulations for the design of connections in Eurocode 5, new approaches to seismic design, and requirements for the robustness of timber structures will be presented.
Other presentations will address moisture protection during the construction phase, the KARLA high-rise timber building in Karlsruhe, and current practical examples of circular construction and the reuse of timber components.
▶ Further Information and Registration
You can find the LinkedIn post here.
As part of the Master’s program in Structural Engineering at KIT we organized an excursion to Hamburg that combined theory with practice. Thanks to our partners our students gained exciting insights into sustainability in engineering through innovative construction projects—from the U5 subway line and modular timber construction to Hamburg’s first zero-emission building and a boat tour with the Hamburg Port Authority. Spending these days with our students was one of the highlights of the year. Curious, dedicated, and open-minded—we are convinced that they have everything it takes to become excellent structural engineers. We also hope that many of them will become future ambassadors for innovative and sustainable structural engineering.
Special thanks go to Jonas Frohnhöfer and Lukas Paul for organizing these extraordinary days. We also thank all of our host companies for generously sharing their insights, expertise and enthusiasm with us.
You can find the LinkedIn post here.
The climate crisis and resource scarcity are shifting the focus toward the circular use of wood. But how can existing materials be transformed into a reliable building product?
The symposium organized by the Faculty of Architecture at KIT discusses the necessary steps to achieve this: identifying donor buildings, harvesting wood in a manner suitable for demolition, conducting contaminant analyses, performing mechanical evaluations, and sorting and processing the wood for structural use. Experts from research and practice will present methods, experiences and examples through lectures, project reports and discussions, linking design, construction and material cycles. The event offers a platform for exchange between theory and practice.
▶ Further Information und Registration
You can find the LinkedIn post here.
Without civil engineers there would be no school buildings, no bridges, and no wind turbines. Much of what shapes our daily lives would be unthinkable without this profession. At the same time our industry must also address the shortage of skilled workers. This makes it all the more important to show young people the appeal, significance and social impact of our profession.
Our new promotional video showcases the diversity, creativity, and impact of the profession—from sustainability in construction to future-proof infrastructure and the Energy transition—and brings its creativity and challenges to life.
We are very pleased to make this video available to you to raise awareness of Civil Engineering among young people. It is ideal for discussions with prospective students, school visits, or sharing on social media to spark enthusiasm for Civil Engineering.
You can find the LinkedIn post here.
Watch the promotional video on YouTube
The Professor Blaß University Award initiated by KIT Timber Structures and Building Construction and the Association of Tool Manufacturers for Timber Screws honors outstanding master's theses on the development and application of timber screws. Established in honor of Prof. Hans Joachim Blaß—a long-time KIT professor (1995–2021) and a pioneer in this field—the award includes a prize of 1.000 € and an invitation to the “Karlsruher Tage,” the biennial industry gathering of the German timber construction sector. The award winners show their work there in a short presentation.
Further Information
How can timber structures be permanently protected against fungal infestation and weather damage? An evening lecture organized by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Regional Development and Housing (MLW) in collaboration with KIT Timber Structures and Building Construction provided valuable insights from the worlds of politics, research, and practice. The presentations demonstrated how, for example, roof overhangs, drip edges, and targeted water management can prevent damage and reduce renovation costs. Ministerial Director Dr. Christian Schneider emphasized: “A building is only truly sustainable if it survives the coming decades, or better yet, centuries, without damage”. The presentations by Prof. Philipp Dietsch (Research and Science), Dr. Matthias Frese (Results of the Research Project), and Prof. Florian Kaiser (Structural Wood Preservation in Practice) provided fascinating insights into current preventive constructional measures in wood preservation and recommendations for non-residential buildings.
Further Information:
▶ Wood preservation in construction
Photos of the event
Congratulations to Elisabet Kuck on successfully defending her doctoral thesis! In her doctoral thesis titled "Failure Behaviour of Fasteners in Timber Connections – Testing Approaches for Laterally Loaded Dowel-Type Fasteners" she investigated the load‑bearing behaviour and failure mechanisms of laterally loaded dowel‑type fasteners in softwood and hardwood. Using innovative experimental setups and advanced measurement techniques, she analysed differences in deformation behaviour, focusing on plastic hinge formation and localisation, as well as bending angles. By capturing the stress state under load and investigating tension–shear interaction, critical regions prone to fastener cross‑section failure were identified, and approaches for accounting for internal force interaction were derived. The results provide a foundation for extended and safer design concepts for hardwood connections in structural timber engineering.
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New research on the buckling of fully threaded screws in timber, in collaboration with Roberto Tomasi and Philipp Dietsch, examines how these screws behave under compression. Over 150 single screws were tested at NMBU (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) and KIT Timber Structures and Building Construction, varying diameter, length, insertion angle, density and moisture content (12 % vs 18 %). Results show that high density greatly increases buckling resistance, while moisture has little effect; a 5° inclination is harmless, 10° causes moderate loss; length is irrelevant for slender screws.
Download link to paper:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.142610
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