///FunkBAU: Rethinking the Building Envelope Through Innovation Networks
FunkBAU is an innovation network uniting SMEs and university research institutes to develop functionalised, multifunctional building components — with the facade at the centre.
Vision Using advanced planning and manufacturing technologies, the network aims to turn the building envelope into an active element that boosts both performance and architectural expression.
Focus Areas
- Multifunctional facades — envelopes that manage light, climate response, and context-specific performance
- Additive manufacturing — new materials and geometries, plus work on certification standards for construction
- Digital, AI-supported planning — integrating functional and environmental requirements from the design stage
The Network Partners include facade engineering and consulting firms (e.g. knippershelbig, Priedemann Facade Experts, VERROTEC), manufacturers of advanced building materials, and research groups such as TU Darmstadt’s Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design (ISM+D) and its Generative Design Lab, working on 3D-printed glass, steel, ceramics, and paper. The program is organised by JOIN, a research and development facilitator.
Why It Matters FunkBAU shows how collaborative networks — spanning industry and academia — can move functionalised, additively manufactured facade components from research into practice.
https://www.funkbau-innovation.net/