Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design
As the heir to the IL (Institute for Lightweight Structures) founded by Frei Otto, a pioneering institution of German lightweight construction, and with strong roots in the century-old tradition of innovative concrete construction - shaped by personalities such as Emil Mörsch and Fritz Leonhardt - the ILEK is home to groundbreaking evidence of both disciplines. Its collections, which have grown historically and are still maintained today, document the outstanding interdisciplinary collaboration between architecture and civil engineering at the University of Stuttgart since the 1960s.
The main site of the ILEK is located in a tent structure that was originally erected as a prototype for testing the construction and assembly of the "German Pavilion" at the 1967 World Expo in Montreal. This experimental building, which has been a listed building since 1989, bears witness to the innovative power of Stuttgart professors Frei Otto, Fritz Leonhardt and Rolf Gutbrod, who created icons of lightweight construction and modern architecture with tent constructions like this one.
The current collections of the ILEK (Pfaffenwaldring 7 + 14) include the current and historical holdings of the libraries, including the much-cited IL publications and Fritz Leonhardt's famous "Red Books". The plan and photo collections and the extensive slide library on lightweight construction can also be found there. The estate of the former Institute for Model Statics - at the time one of the leading technical institutions in its field - is another important part of the ILEK collections. In addition to numerous objects from today's research work, the historical model collection of the IL is also historically linked to it. The collection is completed by the tools and equipment used at the time, such as the unique soap skin machine. Much of this has been created through interdisciplinary cooperation in the Collaborative Research Centers "Long-span Surface Structures" (SFB 64) and "Natural Constructions" (SFB 230).
In cooperation with the university library, parts of the collection, including the IL publications, are currently being digitized.
Contact:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. M.Arch. Lucio Blandini
Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design