Public lecture: Prefabricated buildings – a valuable housing stock for the future

About the lecture

The ‘Platte’ was not, in fact, an invention of the GDR, but can be traced back to ideas put forward by leading architects of the 1920s and 1930s. However, the GDR made extensive use of prefabricated construction to provide housing quickly. As a civil engineer, Prof. Angelika Mettke has been studying prefabricated buildings and their potential for reuse in their original form for over 30 years. The stock of prefabricated buildings is of high quality and should be seen as a material store or treasure trove for future construction projects. Professor Mettke will discuss what this means for today’s residents of prefabricated buildings and how such buildings can be transformed. The lecture may also be of interest to housing associations or building contractors, as the speaker demonstrates how reusing a valuable resource creates added value.
Admission to the public lecture “Prefabricated buildings – a valuable housing stock for the future”is free. No registration is required.

Moderator: Dr Rebecca Hohnhaus, BTU, Coordinator of the Finsterwalde Campus 
Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 5.30 pm to 7 pm
Venue: Conference room of the Finsterwalde Housing Cooperative eG,
Brandenburger Straße 2g, 03238 Finsterwalde 

About the speaker

Angelika Mettke is a civil engineer and extraordinary professor at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU). She heads the Structural Recycling field of study there and is one of the pioneers in the field of recycling building materials, in particular concrete. 
After training as a draughtswoman and studying engineering in Cottbus, where she graduated with a diploma in 1977, she obtained her Dr.-Ing. degree in 1994 and completed her habilitation in 2010 in the field of Structural Recycling. In 2015, she was appointed as an extraordinary professor. Since the 1990s, the scientist has played a leading role in research into the reuse and high-quality recycling of construction and demolition materials. Her work focuses on sustainable material cycles and the reduction of resource consumption in the construction industry. Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Angelika Mettke has received numerous awards for her scientific achievements, including the German Environmental Award in 2016 with distinction. 

About the Open BTU lecture series

From 15 April to 17 June 2026, the public lecture series Open BTU will offer insights into fascinating fields of knowledge. During the summer semester, the following topics will be explored from various perspectives:

• Democracy – Retrospectives, the Present and Future Prospects
• Prefabricated housing and heritage conservation – two architectural perspectives on the GDR
• The garden – a natural reflection of society on our green spaces 

With this educational format, open to all interested parties, the University’s Centre for Continuing Education supports lifelong learning and funds the transfer of knowledge and ideas in the region by addressing socially relevant issues. In doing so, the BTU cooperates with other universities and institutions. After each lecture, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion with the speakers. Interested parties are warmly invited to take part in the wide-ranging programme of events.

More about the Open BTU public lecture series