Circular future in the laboratory sawmill at the TH Rosenheim

2.12.2025

On November 27, as part of the EU Interreg project DECORATOR - Circular Transformation in Architecture and Construction in the Danube Region, we were able to hold an inspiring workshop in the laboratory for timber construction and solid wood processing at Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences.

Together with students, architects and sustainability experts, we intensively discussed how the laboratory sawmill can be used in the future and what potential its materials offer in the event of a possible dismantling.

A space and material excursion through the sawmill provided a hands-on experience of the circular economy. How can resources be preserved? What future uses are conceivable? Which components can live on in new contexts? And how can we plan and build today in such a way that less waste is produced tomorrow and more materials remain in the cycle?
These considerations gave rise to a vision for a sawmill that offers students a wide range of possible uses and at the same time strengthens material cycles.

The workshop was moderated by Astrid Köppel, process facilitator and expert in organizational development. Also present was the artist Johann Reißer, who will implement an artist residency program in the sawmill. In his work, Reißer combines architecture, poetry and artistic research, deals with the interweaving of human and non-human life and will present the results of his work at the beginning of February.
We would like to thank all participants for their ideas and impulses and look forward to taking the next steps towards a circular use of the sawmill together.