History of the Institute of Concrete Construction

In 1908, Ehlert Robert Friedrich Otzen became professor of iron construction and statics. From 1911, the subject of reinforced concrete was added, which was renamed concrete construction in 1914. Robert Otzen is one of the people who had a lasting effect on the newly introduced term, which combines stone, concrete and reinforced concrete construction (R. Otzen, Der Massivbau, 1926). He is also credited for the term Autobahn, which was new in his time, instead of the previously used term Nur-Autostraße. In 1931 Otzen left Hanover and became president of the National Materials Testing Office, today's Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM).

In 1932 Kurt Wilhelm Gaede became the successor of Robert Otzen as professor for concrete construction at the by then renamed "Technische Hochschule Hannover".  At this time, the teaching areas are very diverse and also include building operations and the statics of building structures. From 1939 onwards, students are also taught building materials science. In addition to heading the chair, he was also director of the Institute of Civil Engineering until his retirement in 1954.

Wolfgang Zerna took over the chair as Full Professor of Concrete Construction in 1957. He had already been an adjunct professor at the institute since 1952. Zerna recognised the potential of electronic computing for research at an early stage. Thus, just one year after taking up his position, an electronic computing system of the type ZUSE Type Z 22 R (tube computer) was procured for numerical investigations. In addition, there was an automatic drawing system ZUSE GRAPHOMAT Z 64 for the graphical representation of the calculation results. At that time, the institute was a pioneer in the use of computers in civil engineering. Hardly any comparable institute had such equipment. The Department of Automatic Calculation and Construction later developed into an independent institute.

In addition, the realisation matured that the chair needed to be complemented by an experimental department in order to be able to conduct research effectively. In 1961, an experimental department was therefore founded for research purposes. It is called the Institute of Concrete Construction and exists parallel to the chair. The director of the institute is Wolfgang Zerna.

In 1967 Zerna leaves Hanover to set up an institute for structural engineering at the Ruhr University in Bochum.

• From 1960 - 1965 further facilities in the Königsworther Straße 3
• From 1964 - 1974 facilities in the Woolworth-Gebäude (E-Damm 53) for experimental research
• From 1965 - 1973 further facilities in the new building of the Üstra in the Goethestraße

After Zerna, there is initially a vacancy at the Chair of Concrete Construction and the Institute of Concrete Construction. Klaus-Wolfgang Bieger took over the management of both institutions in 1968, initially on a commissionary basis. Meanwhile, Heinrich Trost, who has been a scientific advisor and professor in the field of solid bridges and prestressed concrete since 1966, takes over the operational management. At that time, Trost carried out important work in the field of time-dependent concrete behaviour (creep). In 1971 Trost was appointed to the Institute of Concrete Construction at RWTH Aachen University.

In 1970, Klaus-Wolfgang Bieger finally took over the management of both institutions. He had already been appointed to the chair for statics and building construction in the architecture department in 1965. Under his aegis, the experimental possibilities undergo an enormous improvement. Initially, a small experimental hall was operated from 1976. In 1985, the large test hall still in use today was built on the Schneiderberg, which is operated jointly with the Institutes of Steel Construction and Building Materials. The chair also moves to the high-rise building at Appelstraße 9A.

In 1978, in the course of the university reform, the chair and the institute are merged to the scientific institution Institute of Concrete Construction in its present form. In 1992, he retired after 24 years in office.

In 1993 Jürgen Grünberg took over as director of the Institute of Concrete Construction. He continues the successful research of his predecessors and sets his own accents in the development of mechanical and numerical models as well as in the area of safety concepts and design rules for structural engineering. Under Grünberg's leadership, the workplaces are modernised. All offices are equipped with PCs and internet. He retires in 2010.

In 2011 Steffen Marx became head of the Institute of Concrete Construction. On his initiative, a globally unique resonance test stand for fatigue testing of large structural components was built and put into operation in 2014. His research focuses on bridge construction, monitoring, fatigue and wind energy.

In February 2020, Marx accepted an offer of professorship at the TU Dresden and thus moved to his old place of work.

With Steffen Marx's move to the TU Dresden, there is once again a vacancy in the directorship of the Institute of Concrete Construction. Until a new director is appointed, Nabil A. Fouad will head the institute in a commissionary function until a new director is appointed. Fouad had already been a member of staff at the Institute of Concrete Construction from 2001 to 2003 before he took over the administration of the Institute of Building Technology and Timber Construction in 2003 and became its director in 2007 under the new name of Institute of Building Physics.

In 2021, Vincent Oettel is called to the Leibniz Universität Hannover and becomes the director of the Institute of Concrete Construction.