Call for tenders

The competition is organized by the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio 280 "Design Strategies for Material-Minimised Carbon-Reinforced Concrete Structures—Principles of a New Approach to Construction", which has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) since July 2020. The Transregio 280 would like to invite artists to be inspired by the topics of the Collaborative Research Center. The aim of the competition is to show that carbon-reinforced concrete, as a product of science and technology, has a variety of relationships with art and nature. What becomes visible, what remains hidden to the researcher and what remains invisible to the external viewer? How can nature and carbon-reinforced concrete be combined as an art object?

Competition theme: DISCOVERY

The material concrete is basically simple, quick and inexpensive to produce, it can take almost any shape and is the only building material that is also used extensively in developing and emerging countries. The Transregio 280 deals with a new way of building. The strategy development is aimed at developing innovative concepts and intelligent constructions made of carbon-reinforced concrete. Suitable methods for design, such as modeling and construction with new materials, therefore require in-depth basic research. New ways of thinking and changing established patterns of thought are necessary in order to preserve our natural habitat and reduce CO₂ emissions and the enormous consumption of resources when building with concrete. Inspired by science, such as botany and mathematics, art should serve as a source of ideas for new construction methods. In combination with other materials, concrete serves as a medium for the artists' creative ideas.