The Future of Prefabricated Concrete Components at the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt
17.08.2026
Figure: IZB
Serial construction is experiencing a renaissance: The exhibition “In the Mode of the Series: Difference, Variation, and Repetition in Architecture and Design” at the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt explores the history, potential, and forward-looking technologies of prefabricated concrete construction methods. The Concrete Information Center (IZB) is supporting the exhibition with contributions on “Building with Prefabricated Concrete Components.” The exhibition will open with a lecture and discussion event, the “Serienparlament,” on August 12. A public guided tour with curator Prof. Axel Sowa will round out the opening.
Affordable housing is in short supply: functional architecture, social housing, and modern urban planning are intended to counteract this. What was a social challenge 100 years ago is once again a major concern today. “New Frankfurt” set new standards in the 1920s and continues to inspire us today. Mass production, standardized floor plans, and optimized logistics were—and remain—effective ways to reduce construction time and costs. So what can we learn from that era for today?
The exhibition “In the Mode of the Series: Difference, Variation, and Repetition in Architecture and Design” at the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt addresses this question. It examines how serial planning and industrial production have shaped architecture since the 1920s. In doing so, it also explores the potential this opens up today for resource-efficient, high-quality, and cost-effective construction.
Serial Construction with Concrete
The accompanying “Serial Parliament” event, “Building with Prefabricated Concrete Components,” underscores the importance of concrete as a material for serial construction concepts. Today, industrially prefabricated concrete components enable a construction method that is precise, economical, and at the same time architecturally sophisticated. Against the backdrop of rising demand for housing, the transformation of the existing building stock, and the decarbonization of construction, these concepts are gaining in importance.
A public curator-led tour with Prof. Axel Sowa opened the exhibition on August 12, followed by a lecture and discussion event. Representatives from academia, engineering, industry, and architecture exchanged their views on the future of serial construction. Moderated by Günseli Güler (urban future forum e.V. Foundation), Prof. Silke Langenberg (ETH Zurich), Prof. Angelika Mettke (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg), Prof. Manfred Grohmann (Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure), Julian Biermann (InformationsZentrum Beton), as well as Anja Knura (Goldbeck) and Lucio Blandini (Werner Sobek), will discuss the opportunities, challenges, and innovations of serial construction with concrete.
Through its participation in the exhibition, the InformationsZentrum Beton aims to foster dialogue about the future of construction. The focus is on questions regarding the connection between industrial prefabrication, architectural quality, and climate protection.
“Today, serial construction means far more than just standardization. Innovative building concepts combine cost-effective production with high design quality while also making an important contribution to sustainable construction,” says Ulrich Nolting, Managing Director of the Concrete Information Center. “The exhibition and the ‘Serial Parliaments’ offer an excellent opportunity to discuss these developments with experts from the fields of planning, research, and industry.”
The exhibition is curated by Prof. Axel Sowa, with support from Florian Eschner and the team from the Department of Architectural Theory, as well as students from RWTH Aachen University. It is being developed in cooperation with students from the HfG Offenbach under the direction of Prof. Matthias Wagner K. A catalog will be published to accompany the exhibition. All information about the exhibition and the “Serial Parliaments” is available here: In the Mode of the Series
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