Workshop Ringgeflechte

In the summer semester, students at the Institute for Architecture-Related Art (IAK) at the TU Braunschweig explored the possibilities of ring meshes made of different materials and invited to a joint workshop with the developer Burkhard Schmeling on 08.07.21.

Supervisors: Alexa Kreissl, Prof. Folke Köbberling

Support: Max Jeromin

Students: Burcu Daglayan, Diefei Hu, Dilan Dogan, Emre Ertual, Fabian Uliczka, Sevim Hazel Gül, Jonas Schulte, Junhui Tang, Mehmet Tugrul, Robin Künnecke, Sarah Streitenberger, Yamen Abou Abdallah

With kind support of the Leibniz Science Campus - Postdigital Participation - Braunschweig "People, digital intelligence and recycling - shaping city life together".

Funding: Leibniz Association (funding line:Strategic Networking), Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture

Infinite resources: Car tires

Ring braids - Old tires - New products

For over 20 years, developer Burkhard Schmeling has been researching ring braids and their potential applications. His method makes it possible to fragment old tires into rings with minimal energy input, minimize their empty volume for storage and transport, and bind them together to form robust endless mats and closed containers. The ring, as a new product, is used as a car tire for only a short time in its 1000-year life cycle and retains the tire's essential properties: Tensile force, resilience and elasticity. Braided, it can pave construction roads, be used as a dam for flood control, fix slopes, cover surfaces and form bodies. The rubber structure as well as the steel and cord insert are suitable as shock absorbers, seals and lightweight material.