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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


Research  Lifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs 

C2B – Carbon to Business
Business models for activities aimed at the long-term sequestration of CO₂

In order to achieve the climate target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, the sequestration and removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere are required in…


Research  Smart City 

QU-STORE
Scalable neighbourhood storage for residential and commercial areas

The project is investigating how the targeted deployment of power generation units and storage systems at the outer reaches of the grid can help avoid…


Research  Smart City 

Building4GridRes
Grid-friendly building and neighbourhood flexibility for resilient urban electricity grids

The project aims to establish urban building systems as active participants in the energy system that support both the grid and the wider system. The…


Research  Building 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…


Research  Circular economy 

Jakub & Levi
Development of an innovative, climate-neutral neighbourhood within an urban agglomeration

The Jakub & Levi exploratory project is investigating the framework conditions for the development of a climate-neutral neighbourhood within the…


Building physics  Renovation 

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…


Research  Lifecycle 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…


Research  Building 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…


Research  Building 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…


Research  Lifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs 
Material ecology  Building Materials and Components  Circular 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…


Research  Lifecycle 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…


Research  Renovation 

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…


Research  Passivhaus & Plusenergie Gebäude 
Lifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs  Comfort  Monitoring  Smart City  Renovation  Circular 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…


Research  Renovation 

LehB:KlimafitDemo2+1
Living in existing buildings today: Climate-friendly renovations of existing buildings within the framework of non-profit housing.

The LehB:KlimafitDemo2+1 project investigates innovative renovation solutions for the climate-friendly modernization of non-profit housing buildings…


Research  Building 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…


Research  Comfort 
Measurements & Monitoring  Interior 

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…


Research  Lifecycle assessments and lifecycle costs 
Measurements & Monitoring  Interior  Circular 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…


Research  Monitoring 

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…


Research  Passivhaus & Plusenergie Gebäude 
Smart City  Renovation 

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…


Research  Comfort 
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…

New Scientific Publications

Prislan R., Vrhonik M.M., Burnard M.D., Dolezal F. Perception of Vibrations Induced by Impact Sound Sources in Buildings. Proceedings of Forum Acusticum. Graz 2026.

Dolezal F., Fellner M. Akustik als Nachhaltigkeitskriterium in Green Building Labels. Tagungsbandbeitrag DAGA 2026, Dresden. https://doi.org/10.71568/daga2026.030

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

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