Christoph Gengnagel

In the end, no matter how complex the task, the solution must be as simple as possible. This is the principle according to which Professor Christoph Gengnagel, head of the Department for Constructive Design and Structural Engineering, works. Only when a development is easy to implement will it be used often in practice, notes Gengnagel, who is also the Vice President of the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK): “We need low-tech for everyone,” i.e. intelligent solutions that are useful to the broad public.

These are exactly the solutions that Professor Gengnagel and his team are looking for together with private companies. “We’re seeing a number of interesting developments in and around Berlin in fields such as photovoltaics, storage media and electromobility,” says the engineer and architect. These developments are happening – in a manner typical for the capital – first and foremost at small and medium-sized businesses. The Berlin-based solar module manufacturer Solon SE, for example, is one of these innovative companies and also a cooperation partner of Gengnagel and his research team. Together they try to make renewable energies more useful and integrate them into residential construction.

Natural-Based Composite Materials Designed for Use As Building Materials

But renewable energies are not the only field in which Professor Gengnagel deals with sustainability. He and his team also perform research into so-called “biocomposites,” i.e. fiber-compound materials made from renewable raw materials that are already used on a large scale in the automobile industry. The question at this point is to what extent special combinations of long fibers –for example, hemp, jute and sisal in connection with an organic resin such as palm oil – could act as the basis of an entirely new form of building material for bearing and non-bearing construction elements. The manufacturing of a first pultrusion profile made of entirely recyclable biocomposites is already in the works: “We see tremendous development potential here, in particular with respect to the huge demand for residential construction in countries in Asia and Africa, who are themselves simultaneously potential suppliers of the natural resources,” says Professor Gengnagel.

These innovative materials and construction systems are the actual research focus of Gengnagel and his team. This includes the development of so-called “hybrid supporting structures,” i.e. mixed systems made of highly elastic and tension-resistant elements. These systems enable kinematic and static constructions and thus a wide variety of applications in the field of temporary, mobile and permanent buildings. Prototypes are currently being developed in two research projects that involve the development of reinforced arch support structures and quick-set-up grid shells. Experimental research into the first reinforced arch structure was carried out in cooperation with the Technische Universität Berlin. The use of biocomposites in creating highly elastic elements is being examined systematically. “This will form the basis of our further research from this point on,” says Professor Gengnagel.

Participation in the Construction of Berlin’s Temporary Art Hall

After studying architecture and civil engineering in Weimar and Munich, Christoph Gengnagel went on to complete his dissertation on the theme of “mobile membrane construction.” In 2006, he became a professor at the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK) where he took over the Department of Constructive Design and Structural Engineering. In 2008, the university’s extended academic senate voted him the first vice president of the UdK. Parallel to his scientific work, Professor Gengnagel is also a partner at the office of a.k.a.ingenieure and participated, among other things, in the construction of Berlin’s Temporary Art Hall.