Concrete Design Competition: Winner of the “TransForm” Competition Announced

With his project ‘The Liquid-Stone Paradox’, Ghiath Mardini demonstrates how 3D concrete printing can help with reconstruction following destruction
Figure: IZB/ Ghiath Mardini

With his project ‘The Liquid-Stone Paradox’, Ghiath Mardini demonstrates how 3D concrete printing can help with reconstruction following destruction
Figure: IZB/ Ghiath Mardini
The winner of the Concrete Design Competition (CDC) on the theme “TransForm” has been announced. First place went to Ghiath Mardini from the Technical University of Darmstadt for his project “The Liquid-Stone Paradox.” Organized by the Concrete Information Center (IZB), the student competition for the 2025–26 academic year focused on how concrete, construction processes, and design can be reimagined in the context of changing ecological and societal conditions.

Mardini’s project explores how reconstruction after destruction can succeed without losing a place’s identity. Photographs, narratives, and digital reconstructions are used to reinterpret lost spatial contexts and make them visible again through 3D concrete printing. For his work, the student will receive prize money, the opportunity to participate in an international workshop in Vienna, and a seat on the jury for the upcoming competition.


Focus on 3D Concrete Printing and Reuse

The jury awarded second place to Robin Karutz from RWTH Aachen University. His project, “Transforming Concrete Assembly,” explores a magnetic connection system for concrete components. The focus is on material efficiency, demountability, and modular construction methods.

Third place was awarded to two projects. Leon Bischoff from the Technical University of Cologne developed “Construction 5.0,” a concept for the systematic reuse of existing buildings and components. Paula Dudziak and Justus Voigt from the Berlin University of the Arts were honored for their project “WG-Haus Lichtenberg,” which transforms the typical materials and structures of a Berlin prefabricated concrete building into a new residential model.

The submitted entries were evaluated by an independent, interdisciplinary jury. The call for entries for the next competition will be launched this fall. The theme of the CDC 2026/27 is “Solid.”

CONTACT

InformationsZentrum Beton GmbH

Toulouser Allee 71

40476 Düsseldorf/Germany

+49 211 28048 1

www.beton.org

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