Research and teaching at the Faculty of Architecture and Design is characterized by an integrated approach. The term integrated planning refers to the comprehensive consideration of all components, aims and processes of planning, i.e. a holistic view. This is indispensable for a comprehensive consideration of sustainability aspects.
We are an interdisciplinary team and our focus is on problems in the fields of new and existing buildings with the aim to combine design and comfort in use with minimal impact on the environment and resources. We devote ourselves to all relevant scales of architecture, starting from materials and structural detail, to components and buildings to large urban development contexts.
In addition to the appropriate simulation environments, this department of Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences has in particular the following tools available to it:
- Daylighting lab with a walk-in “artificial sun”
- Building material collection
- Various facade measuring facilities for tests at 1:1 scale
- Diverse building physics component level test facilities
Generally, the Centre for Integral Architecture cooperates with the following neighbouring fields at HFT Stuttgart:
- Centre for Sustainable Urban Development
- Centre for Sustainable Energy Technology (zafh.net)
- Centre for Acoustic and Thermal Building Physics
- Master programme Structural Engineering
At present, projects are being conducted, among other things, on the topics of daylighting and the potential for replacing building shells with PC sheeting. HFT Stuttgart’s participation in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 is also primarily within this department, where this very large project also deals with various subprojects from the fields of building physics and energy technology.