Ferdinand Ludwig

Ferdinand Ludwig is a German architect and the head of the professorship for Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture at the Technical University of Munich. Ludwig is a pioneer of and innovator in the field of Baubotanik, the architectural realm of living plant construction. In 2007, he co-founded the research group “Baubotanik” at the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Architectural Theory and Design (IGMA) and served as a head research associate until 2017. Along with Daniel Schönle in 2010, Ludwig created “ludwig.schönle: Baubotanik - Architecture - Urbanism”, a collaborative office centering on incorporating the baubotanik approach in urban planning and architectural design.

The central focus of Ludwig's research concerns integrating the growth processes of living plants into architectural design and construction. The concept of Baubotanik is not only relevant in the fields of architecture and landscape architecture, but has increasingly been recognized as an adaptation method to climate change. Prize for exceptional scientific achievements, University of Stuttgart (2013) Named a “Maker of Tomorrow” by the Minister of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg (2012) The Plane-Tree-Cube in Nagold was given the “Special Prize for Innovation” at “Holzbaupreis Baden-Württemberg 2012.”

Key publications Ludwig F: “Baubotanik: Designing with living material.” In: Materiality in Architecture. Editor: Löschke S. New York: Routledge, 2016: 182–190. Abstract Ludwig F, Schönle D, Bellers M: „Klimaaktive baubotanische Stadtquartiere, Bautypologien und Infrastrukturen: Modellprojekte und Planungswerkzeuge“. Reihe KLIMOPASS-Berichte: KLIMOPASS – Klimawandel und modellhafte Anpassung in Baden-Württemberg. Teil 2 Angewandte Forschung und Modellprojekte. LUBW. 2015. PDF download Ludwig F, Storz O, Schwertfeger H: „Living Systems. Designing Growth in Baubotanik”. Architectural Design Journal. 2012; 82(2): 82–87. Abstract Ludwig F: “Baubotanik Tower / Lake Constance Footbridge” In: Biodesign. Nature – Science – Creativity. Museum of Modern Architecture. Editor: Myers W. New York: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2012: 36–41. Abstract Ludwig F, de Bruyn G, Thielen M, Speck T: “Plant stems as building material for living plant constructions”. Proceedings of the 6th Plant Biomechanics Conference. Cayenne, French Guiana, France. November 16–21, 2009: 398–405.

See Publications for all publications.