Nicholas Kohler

Nicholas Kohler is a Professor (1993-2007) at the University of Karlsruhe, now part of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He leads the Department of Building Lifecycle Management, focusing on lifecycle analysis of buildings, product modeling, and collaborative planning strategies. His career includes roles as a visiting professor at the Ecole Spéciale d'Architecture (Paris), lecturer at EPFL (Switzerland), and R&D leader in facade systems industries.

• Education: Diploma in Architecture from ETH Lausanne (1969)
• Professional Experience: 1978-1992 at EPFL’s Solar Energy Laboratory; 1970-1978 in facade industry R&D

Research Focus: Explores sustainable building lifecycles, integrating knowledge modeling and solar energy systems. His work bridges industrial production methods with architectural innovation, emphasizing distributed collaboration frameworks.

Leadership & Outreach: Advisory board member in Germany, France, and England since 2007; editor of Building Research and Information; conducted seminars in the USA and China.

Labs & Teams: Former head of the Institute for Industrial Building Production (now Department of Building Lifecycle Management), fostering interdisciplinary approaches to building systems.