Two young talent awards for digital innovations in construction

On March 25, the winners of the 2026 national young talent competition “Built on IT – Construction Careers with a Future” received their awards at the digitalBAU trade fair in Cologne. The competition is held under the patronage of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and focuses on innovative digital solutions for the construction industry. The competition is particularly interested in projects with a strong practical focus.

In the “Architecture” category, two theses from the Master’s program in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research (ITECH) stood out: First place went to Juan David Frank and Alfiia Shakuryanova. Second place went to Clara Blum, Gonzalo Muñoz Guerrero, and Laura Marsillo. Three of the award-winning students are now conducting research as part of the University of Stuttgart’s IntCDC Cluster of Excellence. 

Juan David Frank and Alfiia Shakuryanova have developed a digital tool that supports architects in their design work and makes it easier to comply with complex building codes. The AI-powered system analyzes digital building models for compliance with regulations in areas such as fire safety, energy efficiency, and accessibility. The system uses the building code assessment to generate intelligent design recommendations. While earlier tools either performed compliance checks or generated design proposals, the approach developed by the ITECH graduates combines both processes for the first time. The jury praised this as contributing to code-compliant, safe, and sustainable building design and awarded the project first place.

In their Master's thesis, Clara Blum, Laura Marsillo, and Gonzalo Muñoz Guerrero demonstrate how reclaimed lumber can be efficiently used in construction. Their approach, which they call “Reclaimed Design,” turns traditional planning logic on its head. Rather than starting with new, standardized building materials, “Reclaimed Design” tailors architectural designs to the materials already available. Reclaimed wood elements are carefully inspected for condition and load-bearing capacity, assessed using detailed data, and analyzed to determine their suitability for structurally sound applications. To achieve this, the team combines data collection, machine learning, and computational structural design into a seamless design-to-fabrication approach. The jury praised the combination of digital, analytical, and practical construction methods and awarded second place for the project’s significant contribution to circularity in the construction industry.

Master's Program in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research (ITECH)
The goal of the research-based ITECH program is to prepare students from various disciplines for the ongoing advancements in technological and computational processes in the development of the built environment. There is a strong emphasis on computational design, simulation, and digital manufacturing. ITECH is part of the ecosystem of the Cluster of Excellence IntCDC - Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Transformative Architecture at the University of Stuttgart. IntCDC conducts research on the methodological foundations for transforming the construction industry. The goal of the Cluster of Excellence: To significantly reduce resource consumption and CO2 emissions through the use of bio-based building materials, AI technologies, and effective, circular, digital planning and construction.