With the German Thesis Award (Deutscher Studienpreis), the Körber Foundation honors outstanding dissertations that have exceptional societal relevance. One of the three award winners in 2025 is Prof. Christina Eisenbarth. Eisenbarth completed her doctorate at the Institute of Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design at the University of Stuttgart in the field of façade engineering and is now a professor at TU Darmstadt.
HydroSKIN: A forward-looking approach to climate-resilient buildings and cities
Due to progressing climate change and increasing surface sealing, the risks of heatwaves and heavy rainfall are steadily increasing in German cities. Christina Eisenbarth’s dissertation investigates an innovative, integrative approach to effectively and economically enhancing urban climate resilience: Hydroactive façades (short “HydroSKIN”) combine heat and flood protection with minimal resource use. The textile façade elements for rainwater absorption and evaporative cooling restore the natural water and heat balance of runoff and evaporation, which has been disrupted by surface sealing in urban areas, turning our cities increasingly into urban heat islands and flood basins. Thanks to their lightweight design, the textile elements can be universally retrofitted in both new constructions and existing buildings.
Eisenbarth’s research represents “a pioneering approach for climate-resilient buildings and cities,” writes the Körber Foundation on the occasion of announcing the German Thesis Award.
“I would like to congratulate Christina Eisenbarth on receiving the German Thesis Award. Her work exemplifies how visionary and responsible early-career researchers are shaping the future. They rethink solutions – thus setting impulses for a sustainable world,” says Prof. Judith Tonhauser, Vice Rector for Early Career Researchers and Diversity at the University of Stuttgart.
The German Thesis Award carries a prize of 25,000 euros; the award ceremony will take place on December 4, 2025, in Berlin. In addition to Eisenbarth, who will receive the first prize in the Natural and Technical Sciences category, Lara Bister (University of Groningen) and Christian Ollig (University of Hamburg) will also receive first prizes in the Social Sciences and Humanities and Cultural Studies sections, respectively. The patron of the competition is Bundestag President Julia Klöckner.
Winner of multiple awards
For Christina Eisenbarth, the German Thesis Award is not her first recognition: HydroSKIN has already received numerous national and international awards, including the “German Design Award 2024,” the “Blue Compass” from the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, as well as a Young Researcher award from the Stuttgarter Gips-Schüle Foundation. HydroSkin has also been nominated for the Stuttgart Innovation Prize 2025.
Outstanding Researchers:
Every year, numerous researchers from the University of Stuttgart are honored for groundbreaking and creative achievements. Here is a selection of our award winners.
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Lena Jauernig
Editor Research / Early Career Researchers