BioMat@Copenhagen Research Centre

Materials as a Design Tool

The Bio-based Materials and Materials Cycles in the Building Industry in Copenhagen (BioMat@Copenhagen) is founded in 2022 at the Institute of Planning in the Technical Faculty of IT and Design (TECH) of the Aalborg University, Copenhagen Campus. BioMat@Copenhagen was established after the success of the BioMat lab initiation in Stuttgart, Germany since 2016.

BioMat@Copenhagen aims at exploring innovative solutions for future sustainable Architecture and the Building Industry. The design philosophy of BioMat sees material properties as a design tool, merging the fields of Material Research, Architectural Design, and Digital Fabrication to create feasible sustainable applications for the built environment. 

DESIGN, FABRICATION, DIGITALISATION, INNOVATION

HANAA DAHY

Hanaa Dahy is a registered architect, engineer, inventor and product developer. She established the BioMat@Copenhagen Research Centre at Aalborg University in 2022 at the Planning Department at TECH after the success of her BioMat department in Stuttgart, Germany in 2016 and after grounding her architectural office in Cairo since 2003. Dahy holds diverse patents in the field of sustainable building solutions, especially natural fibres and biomass applications in sustainable architecture and the building industry. Her patents are internationally registered, in EU region, in Germany, in USA, and in Malaysia. She developed the architectural design philosophy „Materials as a Design-Tool“, based on applying alternative materials, digital fabrication and optimized geometric constellations through parametric computational design. That enabled designing and fabricating diverse innovative sustainable architectural solutions and  products, allowing to earn numerous design awards and industrial project funds as well as constructing numerous architectural and landscape projects in the middle east, north Africa and in Europe. Dahy’s research fields include architecture inspired by nature, biocomposites, biomimetics, sustainability, smart materials, ecologic building Systems, product design, robotic and digital fabrication techniques, bio-intelligence, vertical farming, 3D printing, Tailored Fibre Placement, Bioeconomy.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBERS

NN of architecture, technology development and civil engineering background is joining soon. Further info is coming soon!

CONSTRUCTION & ENVIRONMENT

The ‘Materials as a Design Tool’ philosophy is a direct reaction to the large environmental impact of commercial construction. The built environment, for instance, accounts for 35% of global energy use, with cement alone contributing to 8% of annual global carbon dioxide production. The strong links between climate change and the environmental impact of architecture mean an urgent necessity to rethink current building materials and methods.