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Research

The IBO's research is primarily oriented towards results and implementation: IBO research should encourage the dissemination of independent information, substantiated comparisons, decision-making aids as well as make tools available. Research activities cover all areas of sustainable construction. The scientific approach makes it easier to identify which measures improve construction. Research at the IBO focuses on quantitative and qualitative assessment that can be applied in practice.

Research projects


ResearchBuilding Materials and Components
Circular economy

reSOILution
Utilization of excavated soil for the production of earthen building materials

Excavated materials generate large amounts of waste and represent a key lever for resource conservation and waste reduction in the construction…


Building physicsRenovation

natuREnovation
Innovation network for the sustainable, recyclable, regional and resilient renovation of historical buildings

natuREnovation is an interdisciplinary innovation network dedicated to developing eco-friendly, durable and circular renovation solutions for…


ResearchLifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs

DiNaBau
Digital sustainability credentials for the construction industry

Due to the EU taxonomy and the ESG reporting requirements for large companies, SMEs in the construction sector will also be required to provide…


ResearchBuilding Materials and Components

Key2Store
The timber industry as a key to CO2 storage

Current methods of life cycle assessment of wood products show serious gaps, particularly with regard to manufacturing phases and the ability to…


ResearchBuilding Materials and Components
Circular economy

missing link
Requirements for the production of earthen building materials from excavated material on-site

Clay is considered a sustainable alternative in the construction sector but is rarely used locally. The project missing link explores the use of…


ResearchLifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs
Material ecologyBuilding Materials and ComponentsCircular economy

eLABoration Wood
Creation of teaching and learning materials on the subject of building ecology and sustainability

The ‘eLABoration Wood’ educational laboratory is the first initiative in Austria to combine the knowledge of wood-related institutions with the…


ResearchLifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs
Dissemination of knowledge

ÖkoBauLanz
Training as a life cycle assessor for (construction) products

In a collaboration between FH Campus Wien and IBO, a pioneering training programme is being developed, tested and implemented. The main objective is…


ResearchRenovation

Favorite Facades Reuse Reduce Repair

The exploratory project ‘Favourite Facade ReUse’ has set itself the goal of realising the renovation and thermal upgrading of buildings with curtain…


ResearchPassivhaus & Plusenergie Gebäude
Lifecycle assessments and lifecycle costsComfortMonitoringSmart CityRenovationCircular economy

FluccoSan
Circular energy flexibility for resilient, climate-neutral renovations

FluccoSan focuses on the comprehensive development and research of climate-neutral, resilient and recyclable refurbishment strategies for existing…


ResearchBuilding Materials and Components
Circular economy

LehmKur
Rammed earth walls for multi-storey residential buildings

In order to achieve the necessary change in the construction sector, energy and emission-intensive building materials must be replaced by…


ResearchComfort
Measurements & MonitoringInterior

DyNaBe - Dynamic and sustainable comfort

Dynamic comfort models not only improve the forecasting accuracy of the standard models currently used in practice, but also offer the possibility of…


ResearchLifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs
Measurements & MonitoringInteriorCircular economy

RE-FORM earth
Clay construction for the building revolution

Clay can do many things - it can be used as a building sealant, rammed earth wall, interior plaster, screed or even floor covering. However, there is…


ResearchMonitoring

MARGRET
Measurement of greened/non-greened objects for the adaptation of calculation models

Development of measurement methods to determine the influence of greening measures on greened versus non-greened reference objects with contemporary…


ResearchPassivhaus & Plusenergie Gebäude
Smart CityRenovation

Climate communities
Climate-fit neighbourhood solutions for refurbishment in smaller towns

On the way to climate-neutral cities there is a lack of concrete, climate-friendly renovation solutions that can be widely applied. Small and…


ResearchComfort
Monitoring

SRI Demo
Demonstration of smart technologies in buildings and support for the SRI pilot phase in Austria

Through initiatives such as the Green Deal, and in particular the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI), the EU aims to make buildings more…


Building product managementCircular economy

Guide to plastic-free construction
Analysis of hazards and risks over the entire life cycle of building products

It is impossible to imagine the building industry without plastics, but the long-term effects on humans and the environment have not yet been…


ResearchCircular economy

UP!crete
Performance of recycled concrete in upcycling

In the UP!crete project, scientifically sound knowledge is generated on the possibilities of improving the properties of recycled aggregates to enable…


ResearchCircular economy

Erdbewegung
Clay as a climate- and resource-friendly building material

The massive use of materials that can only be reused by means of downcycling or materials that are destined for landfill in recent decades presents…


ResearchRenovation

LehB:Klimafit!
Live in the stock today: climate fit together

High resource and energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy, recyclability, high-quality interstitial spaces and good long-term thermal comfort…


ResearchLifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs
Circular economy

Circular Twin
A Digital Ecosystem for the Generation and Evaluation of Circular Digital Twins

By 2030, more than the equivalent of two Earths will be needed to meet the demand for natural resources, therefore a transition to circular systems is…

New Scientific Publications

Dolezal F., Fellner M. Akustik als Nachhaltigkeitskriterium in Green Building Labels. Tagungsbandbeitrag DAGA 2026, Dresden.

Pichlmeier F., Sintzel B., Figl H., Gmeiner H., Fontanari C., Essig N. Healthy Residential Buildings in the Lake Constance Region - Analysis for Harmonization and Further Development of Standards for the Planning and Assessment of Healthy Residential Buildings, IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 1546 012031. Onlline: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1546/1/012031

Figl H. Holzverwendung zwischen Klimazielen und Regulierung: Die Rolle von Umweltproduktdeklarationen (EPD) bei der Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung. Beitrag zum 29. Internationalen Holzbau-Forum (IHF), Innsbruck, 2025.

Figl H. Lebenszyklusanalyse und Zirkularitätsbewertung im Holzbau. Beitrag zum Kreislauf Forum Holz 2025. Wien, 2025.

Pichelmeier F., Eßig N., Scharnhorst A., Bauer B., Figl H., Krenauer A. (2025) Kunststoffe im Bauwesen: Die unbekannte Größe – Wegweiser für den bewussten Einsatz von Kunststoffen am Bau. Bauen+, Jahrgang 11, Heft 6, 36-41. ISSN 2363-8125

Dolezal F., Dobra T., Boogman B., Neumann M. (2024) A novel concept for dynamic evaluation of the carbon sequestration performance of sawnwood considering different forest and climate scenarios. Austrian Journal of Forest Science, 141:4, 289-312. https://doi.org/10.53203/fs.2404.3

More scientific publications