How can waste wood and digital tools be used for new, sustainable applications in circular construction?

The construction industry is responsible for 37% of energy-related emissions worldwide. In Germany, it consumes around 90% of mineral raw materials and generates around 50% of total waste. This includes packaging waste such as disposable pallets or discarded reusable pallets. Such materials must be reused in line with the principles of a circular construction industry. Targeted sorting of components and materials facilitates reuse and recycling.

“NAIL IT” was constructed from recycled wood from Euro and disposable pallets. The structure is made up of a total of 827 individual parts, which were geometrically recorded and stored in a database. Using digital design tools, these were automatically assembled into 36 three-dimensional support ribs. No plans or analog drawings were used for the production—instead, augmented reality. The assembly was thus paperless, at the interface between digital and physical reality. The wooden parts were connected with wooden pins that were shot in with compressed air, a single-material and reversible solution.

During the seminar week from May 30 to June 2, 2023, 20 architecture students worked on the “NAIL IT” project in the production hall of Digital Design & Fabrication (DDF) and Design of Structures (dos). They gained practical insights into digital planning and manufacturing processes for circular, resource-efficient, and material-appropriate construction.

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie – Department of Architektur

Professorship Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF)
Tenure-Track Prof. Moritz Dörstelmann, Daniel Fischer, Fanny Kranz, Vincent Witt

Professorship Design of Structures (dos)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Professor Riccardo La Magna, Tamara Haußer, Michael Kalkbrenner

Architecture students:
Deniz Aktürk, Julia Bakucz, Loreta Biba, Jeremias Bröning, Ligia-Maria Chitu, Philipp Coen, Esengül Demir, Anna Haase, Michael Hosch, Sophia Hausner, Aimée Issaka, Maja Jankov, Josephine Lichte, Finn Mayer, Sophia Merkle, lanur Sahin, Jonas Schückle, Isabel Schumm, Lara Sodomann, Anna-Lena Thessmann

Photos
©Christoph Engel, KIT photo workshop, ©ddf_KIT