The world's first building made of carbon concrete.

Henn designed The Cube in collaboration with the Institute of Construction at the Dresden University of Technology, headed by Professor Manfred Curbach. Currently under construction on the Dresden University of Technology campus (Germany), the building is considered "the world's first building made of carbon concrete".

Researchers claim that this newly developed type of concrete has a structural integrity comparable to concrete reinforced with steel bars, but requires significantly less concrete.

This type of carbon concrete is created by bonding many carbon fibers together – ultra-thin strands of nearly pure carbon crystals – through a thermal decomposition process called pyrolysis. These fibers are used to create a mesh surface on which concrete is then poured.

According to Henn, the resulting material is four times stronger than regular concrete, but also four times lighter, due to the reduced structural components. Unlike steel, carbon fiber mesh is a corrosion-resistant material, meaning carbon concrete has a longer lifespan than conventional reinforced concrete. This also means its structure can be much thinner and lighter, as much of the concrete's thickness is needed to prevent water penetration that would oxidize the steel reinforcement.

A representative from Henn further shared, "The Cube's design emulates the flexible, lightweight nature of carbon fiber by seamlessly connecting the ceiling and walls into a single entity. It showcases and foreshadows a future of architecture – where environmental awareness is integrated with design freedom, leading to a radical rethinking and re-evaluation of essential architectural materials. Walls and ceilings are no longer separate components but merge into a continuous, organic whole."

The building will house a major research project from Dresden University of Technology calledC³ - Composite carbon concrete architecture, a project supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim of the project is to explore the potential applications of this new material in construction.

"Carbon concrete can contribute to freer and more resource-efficient construction, and switching to carbon concrete could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50%."₂"from the construction process," Henn also said.

In an interview with Dezeen, Dr. Erik Frank, a senior carbon scientist, shared, "The benefit here is that we can make concrete noticeably lighter but with much greater load-bearing capacity. Therefore, we can create incredibly diverse designs. There are some research examples of building components, benches, or reinforcing steel made of carbon concrete. The aim is to get rid of the enormous amount of concrete that is being used today."

However, according to the doctor, the carbon emissions of carbon fibers "are often very bad." Researchers are looking for ways to create carbon fibers from lignin, a common plant-derived substance that is also a byproduct of the paper industry.

He also predicted that biocarbon fibers would not replace petroleum-based carbon fibers, as they do not yet offer similar efficiency. However, he believes that the demand for biocarbon fibers will continue to grow. "It will become a secondary market alongside petroleum-based carbon fibers," he said.

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