Press release

BAUnatour makes a stop in Braunschweig: Fraunhofer WKI presents exhibits on “Insulating with renewable raw materials”

Braunschweig /

From 10th to 16th April 2019, the mobile showroom BAUnatour is making a stop at the Platz der Deutschen Einheit in Braunschweig. The Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI, is participating with exhibits on the subject of “Insulating with renewable raw materials”.

© Fraunhofer WKI | Anna Lissel
Opening of the BAUnatour (from left to right): Anke Kaphammel, Mayor of Braunschweig, Dipl.-Ing. Architektin Christiane Kraatz, Vice president of the Architektenkammer Niedersachsen, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mike Sieder, Institut für Baukonstruktion und Holzbau (TU Braunschweig), Barbara Otte-Kinast, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bohumil Kasal, Director Fraunhofer WKI, Michael Lohr, Project manager BAUnatour.
© Fraunhofer WKI | Anna Lissel
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bohumil Kasal, Director Fraunhofer WKI, with exhibits on the subject of “Insulating with renewable raw materials”.
© Fraunhofer WKI | Manuela Lingnau
BAUnatour showroom in front of the town hall.

On 10th April 2019, the travelling exhibition was officially opened by Lower Saxony’s Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Barbara Otte-Kinast, together with the Mayor of Braunschweig, Anke Kaphammel. Professor Dr.-Ing. Bohumil Kasal, Director of the Fraunhofer WKI, welcomed the exhibition in Braunschweig: “For more than 70 years, the Fraunhofer WKI in Braunschweig has been the establishment for wood research in Europe. With its exhibits made from bio-based building materials, the BAUnatour has therefore arrived at a very important research location”.

The exhibition addresses the burgeoning interest of end consumers in the increased utilization of natural building materials. As a renowned institute for wood research, the Fraunhofer WKI demonstrates its expertise in the field of wood and natural fiber in construction by means of insulation-material exhibits.

During the development of innovative materials for application in construction, insulation and interior design, the researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI take well-being and residential health into consideration. “What level of quality does indoor air have if we use energy-efficient materials on the basis of renewable raw resources? With our emission analyses, we are able to investigate this in great detail,” explains Professor Dr.-Ing. Bohumil Kasal.

One key aspect of the utilization of renewable insulation materials is fire protection. Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI Center for Light and Environmentally-Friendly Structures ZELUBA® are therefore developing solutions for reactive fire-protection systems for improving not only the behavior of building materials but also the fire-resistance of building elements and entire structures in which renewable raw materials are utilized.

“A major focal point at the Fraunhofer WKI is research into the renewable raw material wood and other plants for the construction industry; we are therefore very pleased to be able to contribute our exhibits to the display,” says Professor Dr.-Ing. Bohumil Kasal.

The BAUnatour is a mobile exhibition box which is itself comprised of 90 percent renewable raw materials. With the aid of exhibits, brochures and samples, the exhibition conveys the diversity of bio-based building materials, in which wood naturally plays an important role. The initiators of the BAUnatour are the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and its project organizer, the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (Agency for Renewable Resources, FNR).

The framework of the BAUnatour encompasses a comprehensive program in which the Fraunhofer WKI is also participating. Further information can be found here:

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