Think about tomorrow today

Next year, the Bau trade fair will return to its traditional dates in winter. Between January 13 and 17, 2025, architects, engineers, investors, dealers and tradespeople will find solutions and products for the future of construction in Munich. The main topics include the transformation of cities, rural areas and neighborhoods, the conservation of resources, resilient and climate-friendly construction, increasing productivity through modular construction, and cost-effective construction using robotics and artificial intelligence.

The topics include sustainable land use, the transformation of existing buildings and the creation of new and affordable living space. The organizers see forward-looking planning as essential to making residential areas future-proof. Both in urban and rural areas, demographic change, the necessary infrastructure and mobility, sustainable spatial planning and settlement development must be taken into account. What is also needed, they say, are intelligent concepts that enable the flexible conversion and continued use of existing buildings, preserve cultural identity and minimize further emissions. The establishment of communal living arrangements is also a good way to create new living space.

The organizers are convinced that a more efficient use of resources is essential to ensure the quality of life of present and future generations. This requires a rethink, for example, through the use of environmentally friendly, recyclable, renewable and sustainably produced materials and raw materials, or by reducing the emission and energy intensity of classic building materials using new production processes. Efficiency strategies aim to reduce the use of raw materials and energy, consistency strategies focus on the development of long-lasting products, and sufficiency strategies question how much consumption is really necessary.

Bau also shows what climate-friendly building means for buildings and districts in concrete terms. It emphasizes a holistic, long-term approach: buildings that are planned and built today must still be functioning under the then prevailing climatic conditions in 50 years and more and must withstand future extremes as well as possible. To achieve this, the industry is focusing, among other things, on unsealing, flood protection and renaturation. Light-colored surfaces, the expansion of urban greening, the planting of heat-resistant tree species, but also shading and cooling concepts can help to reduce heat radiation. At the building level, climate-friendly construction means creating healthy and comfortable living and working conditions, for example, by optimizing daylight and air circulation or by using low-pollutant building materials.

Driven by increased material and labor costs, as well as persistent bottlenecks in the supply chain, construction prices are continuously rising. Industry experts see the lever for cost efficiency and improved profitability in the consideration of all parts of the value chain – planning, construction and operation. This includes political framework conditions as well as research into new solutions. A life cycle-oriented approach not only ensures economic efficiency, but also the future viability of real estate in an increasingly sustainability-oriented market. Deliberately simple, low-maintenance construction methods complement this concept. Digitalization can help to increase efficiency through the use of new planning tools and methods such as building information modeling (BIM), digital twins and artificial intelligence. The German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction is dedicating its own stand at the fair to this topic: “Zukunft Bau”.

Almost a year before the start of the fair, the number of exhibitors and the amount of space rented were already at the same level as for Bau 2023 during the same period. The organizers therefore expect Bau 2025 to be fully booked again and for all 18 halls to be occupied. Among the exhibitors are Eurobaustoff, Bosch Power Tools, Ciret, Döllken Profiles, Erfurt & Sohn, Egger, Fischerwerke, Gloria, Brennenstuhl, HSK Duschkabinenbau, Hilti, Koczwara, Kip , Meffert, Metabo, Neuhofer Holz, Otto Graf, Osmo, Picard, Pufas, Remmers, Steinel, Steico, Stanley Black & Decker, Stabila, Spax, Soudal, Selit, Techtronic Industries or Westag.