Transforming Building Practices: Natural Materials, Circularity, and Policy Shifts

Welcome to the Green Building Innovations & Regulations Workshop, held at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin). This lesson introduces innovative approaches to sustainable construction and regulatory frameworks supporting the transition towards nature-based building solutions.

Prof. Eike Roswag-Klinge and Sina Jansen from the Institute of Architecture (TU Berlin) present “Transforming Building Traditions: Five Years of Balancing Acts at the Natural Building Lab.” In their presentation, they offer a deep dive into the Natural Building Lab’s five-year journey of exploring how architecture can respond to today’s environmental and social challenges. They highlight innovative uses of natural, regenerative materials like clay, wood, and straw, and reflect on the evolving role of architects in participatory, community-based processes. The Lab’s work emphasises low-tech, circular construction methods, showing how traditional craftsmanship and material knowledge can be revived to meet modern building standards and sustainability goals.

Prof. Eike Roswag-Klinge and Prof. Andrea Klinge further discuss how these approaches intersect with building policy, particularly the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), German construction law, and European climate targets. Download the presentation Bauwende – Architecture Within the Planetary Boundaries. This lesson not only provides technical and design inspiration but also encourages reflection on the broader transformation needed in the construction sector, placing environmental responsibility, social equity, and cultural continuity at the heart of building practice.

The session opens with project partners Sina Jansen and Prof. Eike Roswag-Klinge introducing the mission and activities of the Natural Building Lab. Following the introduction, Prof. Eike Roswag-Klinge and Prof. Andrea Klinge present innovative approaches to circular construction, focusing on natural materials, the reuse of structures, and building within planetary boundaries.

IN THIS LESSON:

• Welcome by the GreeNest coordinator, Maria Founti

• Five Years of Balancing Acts at the Natural Building Lab

• Introduction to the Bauwende Approach

• Architecture Within the Planetary Boundaries

• The Need for a Bauwende in Construction

• Refusing Waste: Understanding Waste as a Design Error

• Reuse Strategies: Materials, Buildings, Construction Techniques, and Foundations

• Leveraging Local Resources for Sustainable Building

• Key Actions for Achieving Planetary Boundaries Compliance by 2045