General information
The Chair of Geotechnics organises one to two field trips per semester.
These one-day field trips are intended to supplement the respective courses, but are also open to students from other degree programmes and faculties. Bauhaus-Universität Weimar staff are also welcome to participate.
Excursion to Leipzig 2025
Excursion to the Alte Messe Leipzig construction site
On 11 June 2025, a group from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar visited the construction site on the grounds of the Alte Messe in Leipzig. The excursion focused in particular on the earthworks carried out to improve the building ground under historic existing buildings and individual preserved façade sections.
Students from the bachelor's and master's programmes, together with staff from the Geotechnical Engineering Department, took part in a technical introduction followed by a tour of the construction site. The event was led by Ms Große, Mr Ries from GuD Geotechnik und Umweltgeologie GmbH and other staff members at the construction site.
The excursion offered participants practical insights, particularly with regard to ground improvement under historic existing buildings using a jet grouting process.
Excursion to Leipzig 2024
Excursion to the Alte Messe Leipzig construction site
As part of the excursion week, the Chair of Geotechnics organised an excursion to Leipzig on 22 May 2024. The group visited the construction site where the listed old exhibition hall 12 is being converted into a modern office and archive complex. In a series of exciting presentations, Mr Moß from the S&P Group first presented the construction project from a planning perspective, before Ms Große from GuD (Geotechnik und Umweltgeologie GmbH) provided detailed insights into the complex foundation situation. Particular attention was paid to the challenges of building in existing structures, securing a canal running under the construction project, underpinning to secure neighbouring buildings with pile foundations, and explosive ordnance detection. Following the presentation, the students were able to see for themselves how the previously presented content was being implemented at the construction site.
Excursion week 2023
As part of the excursion week at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Professor of Geotechnics offered two exciting excursions to destinations with geotechnically relevant content.
Excursion ‘New construction of the A44 between Sontra and Herleshausen’
On 31 May 2023, the first excursion took the students to the new construction of the A44 between Sontra and Herleshausen. The very challenging final construction phase, with numerous engineering structures (tunnels, bridges) currently under construction, offered the opportunity to gain a wide range of insights. Under the highly informative guidance of project manager Dr Franz from DEGES (Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau GmbH), the students were able to gain exciting insights into geotechnical issues such as tunnel construction, slope stabilisation through soil nailing and soil improvement in the form of lime milling or ballast filling.
Excursion "Neubau des Harmelinquartiers" in Leipzig
On 1 June 2023, we went on an excursion to Leipzig, where we were given a tour of the challenging excavation site for the new Harmelin Quarter building by Mr Galle, site manager at Züblin. After an informative presentation introducing the construction project and its many geotechnically challenging measures, the students were able to observe the construction and anchoring of an overlapping bored pile wall. The topic of dealing with ammunition remnants such as bombs from the Second World War was also addressed and followed with great interest by the students.
GEORADO geotechnical adventure world
Excursion ‘Practical Day of Geotechnical Engineering’
On 3 May 2018, our departmental excursion to the third ‘Practical Day of Geotechnics’, organised by the GEORADO Foundation, took place at the GEORADO geotechnical adventure world in the Tharandt Forest in Dorfhain (near Dresden). In addition to a hiking trail through Saxon rocks and numerous constructed geotechnical systems (gabions, mudslide and slope stabilisation systems, etc.), the GEORADO Foundation also houses an art collection. Numerous stations integrated the permanently constructed geotechnical systems (e.g. rockfall protection fences and nets) on site.
