Ernst Alexander Dengg (2025): Integritätsorientierte Konstruktion im Holzbau. Bauteilzentrierte Tektonik zur Sicherung der Unversehrtheit, der Kreislauffähigkeit und des Werterhalts, 1st reviewer: Tom Kaden, 2nd reviewer: Ulrich Müller
Integrity, or the intactness of load-bearing solid-timber components, is a fundamental precondition for circular economy buildings. The development of a component-centered tectonic design and planning logic enables the high-quality reuse of intact components across multiple building cycles. Instead of material-consuming construction and joining techniques, the transition to integrity-oriented tectonics becomes both concrete and plannable.
Methodologically, the study comprises a heuristic elaboration and introduction of the integrity concept for continued use and a final, variant-based comparative analysis. It draws on CAD-supported modeling, transparent quantity take-offs, as well as plausibility checks based on scenarios and literature. The findings show that the principles of “no cutting,” “overlapping,” “offsetting,” and “sleeving” can be implemented in tectonic design without resorting to specialized solutions. Cross-sections are preserved, damage to dismantled components is minimized, and full-length reuse is facilitated. Across the value chain, the component dimensions produced in forestry and sawmilling are retained through production phases and life cycles. Using a modeled center panel, it was possible to demonstrate that over 90 percent of the volume of the primary and secondary construction can be recovered geometrically intact as sawn timber in standard lengths. From the ordering of tectonic design principles and the formulation of initial building blocks for a practice-oriented assessment, decision-relevant principles for designers and contractors can be derived. The argument is developed using solid timber as an example and demonstrated in a Central European context. However, the logic of integrity can be applied to other materials and construction methods, provided that the joining techniques are reversible and cause little damage. Thus, integrity shifts from a peripheral constraint to a formative design requirement, turning building components into durable, repeatedly deployable products.
