For over 60 years, Weimar has been a centre of building materials research and teaching in Germany. The foundation stone for this was laid by the civil engineer Friedrich August Finger, who in 1944 became professor for "building material science, civil engineering and statics" at the university in Weimar. It was thanks to him that a faculty of building materials science and technology was founded in 1953.
Building materials science and research at the Bauhaus University Weimar are currently represented by the F. A. Finger Institute for Building Materials Science, which was founded in 1995 by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Jochen Stark and, under his decisive influence, has developed into one of the most nationally and internationally renowned building materials institutes. After Professor Stark's retirement, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst-Michael Ludwig took over the management of the institute on 01.11.2009, and with it the management of the Chair of Building Materials. He is assisted by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andrea Osburg as deputy director of the institute. She holds the Chair of Construction Chemistry and Polymer Materials, which is also located at the FIB. The Chair of Mechanics of Materials under the direction of Prof. Luise Göbel has been part of the Institute since 01.01.2024.
At the FIB, basic research as well as applied research and development are carried out in the field of building materials, renovation and recycling with a focus on cement, mortar, concrete, gypsum, polymers and wood.
The high scientific standard of the research results is evident in hundreds of publications and the International Building Materials Conference (Ibausil), which takes place every three years. Currently the largest institute at the Bauhaus University Weimar, the FIB employs around 100 staff with a third-party research budget of approx. 4.5 million euros per year (2016).
Since 01.04.2010, the F. A. Finger Institute for Building Materials Science has been headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst-Michael Ludwig. He replaced the founder of the institute Prof. Dr. Ing. habil. Jochen Stark and restructured the FIB into its current appearance.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andrea Osburg is the deputy director of the FIB. She heads the Chair of Construction Chemistry and Polymeric Materials, which emerged at the end of 2014 from the merger of the professorship of Polymeric Materials with the professorship of Construction Chemistry.