Baukongress – a review

Discuss, analyse, motivate: Leading experts from politics, science, associations and the construction industry met to discuss sustainability, automation and digitalisation at the Baukongress, which took place in Aachen on 1st and 2nd June, 2022. The special feature of the Baukongress: More than 90 leading representatives from science and industry worked together in expert panels before the start of the congress to provide comprehensive insights into various future topics and the most pressing questions of the construction and real estate industry in a total of nine specialist sessions.

The nine expert sessions were divided into different thematic complexes:

•     Climate-positive building
•     Industrialisation of construction
•     Availability of motorways
•     Multi-storey timber construction
•     Smart Buildings & Spaces
•     Sustainable digitalisation in infrastructure
•     Functional building envelopes
•     The digital twin in the construction and operation phase
•     Modular bridge construction

In the particularly compact and practice-oriented format, the participants gained deep insights into trends, innovations and problem solutions in the construction industry. Stefanie Kieslich, Division Manager F.A.Z. Conferences and Contract Events, is satisfied with the two-day Baukongress: “We are very pleased with the successful premiere of the Baukongress. The format convinced us immediately with its unique programme concept. The congress fills an important gap in the long overdue open discourse on concrete measures in the construction industry for more sustainability, automation and digitalisation.”

The goal for the next Aachen Baukongress is that many of the things presented and discussed will no longer be pilot projects, but will already be implemented on a broad scale by various players. Hadi Teherani, owner of Hadi Teherani Design GmbH, emphasises the special responsibility of architects: “As architects, we are designers of the living environment: Our projects are holistic and sustainable. We are united by courage, openness and the desire to allow change and to plan without limits. This is the only way we can meet the challenges we face with climate change.”

Eight of the 50 speakers work and research in the Construction Cluster, in which the three centers BIM Center Aachen, Center Building and Infrastructure Engineering and the Center Construction Robotics are currently working intensively on the development and testing of new technologies for implementation in the construction industry.

Acht der insgesamt 50 Speaker arbeiten und forschen im Cluster Bauen, in dem sich aktuell die drei Center BIM Center Aachen, Center Building and Infrastructure Engineering und das Center Construction Robotics intensiv mit der Entwicklung und Erprobung neuer Technologien für die Einführung im Bauwesen beschäftigen.

The Building Congress was jointly organised by AACHEN BUILDING EXPERTS e.V. (ABE), the Construction Cluster of RWTH Aachen Campus, FH Aachen University and RWTH Aachen University. The event took place under the umbrella of the F.A.Z. conferences.