Vita

Jan Knippers is a consulting engineer and has headed the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart since 2000. He is particularly interested in innovative and resource-efficient load-bearing structures at the interface between research, development and practice.

In 2001, he co-founded and co-managed “Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering” for many years, with offices most recently in Stuttgart, Berlin and New York. His key projects from this time are the EXPO Axis in Shanghai, the Thematic Pavilion in Yeosu, South Korea, and most recently the Gallery of the State Opera in Berlin, completed in 2017. Since 2018, he would like to focus on innovative projects, which he personally accompanies from concept to completion, and has founded “Jan Knippers Ingenieure” in Stuttgart for this purpose. The technical focus is currently mainly on wood and fiber composite structures.

From 2014 to 2019, Jan Knippers was spokesperson for the DFG Collaborative Research Center TRR 141 “Biological Design and Integrative Structures”, of the Universities of Stuttgart, Tübingen and Freiburg. At the University of Stuttgart, he was Vice Rector for Research from 2019 to 2021 and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning from 2021 to 2023. Since 2019, he has been deputy speaker of the DFG Cluster of Excellence 2120 “Integrative Design and Construction for Architecture”. He is also the German representative on the European Standards Committee CEN/TC 250 “Fibre Reinforced Polymers”.

In 2024, Jan Knippers is Leverhulme Visiting Professor at University College London.

Jan Knippers is the author of several books and scentific publications, gives numerous lectures in Germany and abroad, and volunteers in various forms on juries, advisory boards, and foundations. Since 2024 he is member of the section Architecture of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

Publications

Overview (external link)

Awards

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