Presenting an idea in just three minutes that has the potential to change the world—that’s exactly what the “Falling Walls Labs” are all about. Under the motto “Which wall will your research break?”, the international pitch competition provides a platform for early-career researchers, founders, and innovators. Preliminary rounds are held worldwide; the winners will present their ideas at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin from November 6–9, 2026. This year, Dr. Daria Kovaleva from the University of Stuttgart will also compete on the Berlin stage. On July 22, the architect from the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) emerged as the winner of the Baden-Württemberg preliminary round.
“The Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg impressively demonstrates the innovation potential of our research community. The fact that the University of Stuttgart provided four of the selected talents and also produced this year’s winner, Daria Kovaleva, makes us particularly proud and underscores the strength of our researchers in international competition,” says Prof. Alexander Brem, Vice Rector for Science Transfer and International Affairs.
Daria Kovaleva’s vision: In the future, concrete should not only be a building material but also store CO₂ and thus contribute to climate protection. In an interview, she provides insights into her research.
Daria Kovaleva, concrete is actually often considered a “climate killer.” You want to turn concrete into an ally in the fight against climate change. What research approach lies behind this unusual idea?
The production of concrete accounts for 8 percent of global CO₂ emissions. However, concrete is also a natural CO₂ sink; the material can absorb CO₂ from the environment—a process known as carbonation. However, standard structures are too bulky and dense to let the gas in. Our "Carbon-Sink-by-Design" approach overcomes this barrier. My team and I are developing new concrete components, thereby co-optimizing geometry, mixture permeability, and processing parameters to maximize CO2 uptake. The goal is to make every building element act as active CO2 storage, transforming our built environment into a massive carbon sink.
A bold idea, that has since become a successful research project. How did you get there—what motivated you, and what insights have you gained so far?
Despite concrete is often called a climate killer, it naturally wants to return to its original state as limestone, a natural carbon sink. The material is not the problem; how we handle it is. Driven to decouple concrete from this blame, I started by exploring how geometry alone could increase CO2 absorption. This led to my hypothesis: by merging structural design, mixture composition, and controlled environmental conditions, we can find the sweet spot to finally break the reaction diffusion barrier.
Securing the IntCDC Blue Sky Grant in 2023 allowed me and my team to turn our "Carbon-Sink-by-Design" approach into reality. First, we built an accelerated carbonation chamber to control process parameters. This boosted CO2 uptake in high surface-to-volume ratio filigree geometries—even using standard concrete mix formulations—reaching 40g of CO2 per kg of concrete in 24 hours. Projecting this to construction scale, an 8.1x8.1m slab will be able capture more CO2 in one day than a mature oak tree does in 50 years.
That sounds promising—and it also won over the jury at the Falling Walls Lab BW 2026. What’s next now that you’ve won the preliminary round of the pitch?
In November, I will represent the University of Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg at the Falling Walls Global Finale in Berlin. Beyond the stage, we are upscaling this technology to make it suitable for industrial applications. Thanks to winning the Vector Stiftung Forschung für den Klimaschutz competition, we collaborate with the Institute for Photovoltaics (IPV) on the project Atmosphere to Architecture. There, we integrate Direct Air Capture into our workflow, completing the source-to-sink chain to develop net-negative technology for precast plants.
To wrap up, let’s take a look ahead: What will our cities look like in 50 years—and as an architect, what kind of future do you envision for our built environment?
In 50 years, our cities won't be scars on the natural landscape; they will act as artificial forests, lungs, or climate machines—producing energy, cleaning the air, and dynamically adapting to indoor user needs and outdoor environmental shifts. Our built environment will be defined by circularity, fluid multi-use programming, and micro-climate containment. Buildings will evolve from static, passive shelters into active, intelligent infrastructure.
The Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg
The Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg is part of the Falling Walls Foundation’s international Falling Walls Lab initiative. The 2026 Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg was hosted by Heidelberg University. The University of Stuttgart participated as a co-organizer through its Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research (ENI). In addition to Daria Kovaleva, three other early-career researchers from Stuttgart competed: Chiara Bernardini (Institute of Biochemistry), Amin Soleimani Mehr (Institute for Energy Process Engineering and Dynamics in Energy Systems) and Maximilian Raff (Institute for Adaptive Mechanical Systems).
Contact
Lena Jauernig
Editor Research / Early Career Researchers