Renabuma
Re-interpretation of Natural Building Materials using Frugal Digital Construction Technologies in Ghana
RENABUMA is a design-build research project exploring how locally available natural materials can be combined with frugal, digitally supported construction methods to develop scalable, circular building systems. The project is based on a long-term teaching and research collaboration between the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana.
The construction sector is one of the most resource-intensive industries worldwide. In rapidly urbanizing regions such as Ghana, challenges including housing shortages, rising material costs, and the ecological impacts of climate change place increasing pressure on conventional building systems. RENABUMA addresses these challenges through the development and full-scale testing of innovative construction systems based on locally sourced natural materials—primarily bamboo and earth.
Central to the project is the reinterpretation of traditional building knowledge through digital design and fabrication strategies that are specifically adapted to contexts with limited digital infrastructure. Rather than transferring high-tech solutions, RENABUMA focuses on lowering technological barriers and enabling locally applicable CAD-to-craft workflows that are developed in close collaboration with local actors.
Design-Build Demonstrator
In September 2025, a first full-scale research demonstrator was realized on the campus of KNUST as part of an intensive building week. Students from KIT and KNUST worked together in interdisciplinary and intercultural teams to construct a 1:1 demonstrator using a bamboo–earth hybrid system. Digital tools supported the process through projected assembly instructions and simplified digital planning methods, facilitating precise construction while remaining compatible with manual craftsmanship.
The demonstrator serves both as a built research prototype and as an educational space. Designed as a semi-permanent pavilion, it remains on campus as a place for learning, exchange, and exhibition, while also acting as a physical reference for sustainable construction practices using natural materials.
Digital Tools and Material Research
RENABUMA combines material experimentation with the development of frugal digital tools. During the project, digital planning, joining, and fabrication strategies were developed and tested directly on site. These include projection-based guidance systems that visually communicate construction steps and reduce the need for extensive prior training.
By linking digital design methods with traditional material logics, the project investigates how bamboo–earth composite systems can be standardized, prefabricated, and, in the future, scaled. The research focuses on cost efficiency, climatic suitability, and adaptability to local value chains.
Teaching, Exchange, and Impact
RENABUMA is embedded in joint master-level teaching formats at KIT and KNUST and builds on continuous remote collaboration during the academic year. The building phase represents the practical culmination of this exchange, enabling direct knowledge transfer between students, faculty members, and local craftspeople.
Beyond the built prototype, the project aims to contribute to a growing open-source material and technology catalog for ecological construction in Ghana. Through documentation, publications, and public visibility on the KNUST campus, RENABUMA seeks to strengthen local building cultures, support sustainable development, and inform future architectural and regulatory practices.
Photo Gallery
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Department of Architecture - Professur Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF)
Tenure-Track Prof. Moritz Dörstelmann, Vincent Witt, Carolin Feldmann, Javier Fuentes
At KNUST Renabuma was implemented under TCC-CIMET with collaboration from Department of Architecture, Department of Construction Technology and Management and Center for Settlement Studies
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) - TCC-CIMET
Prof. Francis Davis, Mr. Kenneth Donkor, Anselm Kyeb, Jason Barnor-Arthur
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) - Department of Architecture
Prof. Alexander Boakye Marful, Henry Kofi Danso, Amma Agyemang Opoku, Stephanie Davies, Eric Asirifi, Margaret Baamah Patterson, Nana Kwame Boakye-Yiadom, Michael Mauena Baccah, Steven Nusesi, Henrietta Brew Ntim-Addae, Isaac Kwofie Egyir, Abigail Coppson
Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) - Department of Civil Engineering
Prof. Emmanuel Appiah-Kubi
The project was realised in collaboration with architecture students from both the Faculty of Architecture at KIT and at KNUST
Kusi Ama Aboagyewaa, Tay Ethelinda Evangeline Deladem Abla, Emanuel Vincent Oko Addy, Kelvin Kojo Adoboe, Kwaning-Agyarkoh Kwadwo Acheampong, Mercy Akpe, Grace Adwoa G. Attuah, Tettegah Erica Atsupui, Alina Sophie Behren, Abudey Bismark, Julia Budnicka, Ran Cheng, Agnes Daisie, Boadu Michael Frimpong, Julien Fünfgeld, Zheng He, Eva Kasbauer, Yelda Kayihan, Ampomah Paa Kwasi, Wanxin Liu, Hannah Jolan Martin, Paul Oduro, Osborne Osei-Effah, Asamoah Perdehel, Alexander Pfleiderer, Hieu Hoang Minh Pham, Silas Schmidt, Emil Seeber, Fosu Adwoa Serwaa, Belen Perdiguer Torralba, Yifei Wang, Sophie Weiss, Lea-Luise Wolf, Boakye Ammishaddai Yiadom, Zhuoqun Yu, Francisca Winbod Zangina, Niclas Zumholte
With support from:
Gerard Jonah, Sarhene Festus, Abocco Mark Wepia, Mensah Lovelace, Gyan Annye Isaac, Addai Guggisberg
With support from:
Project-related publications