The German Civil Engineering Award (Deutscher Ingenieurbaupreis) is one of the most important prizes for civil engineers. It is awarded as a state prize under the joint sponsorship of the Federal Ministry of The Interior, Building and Community and the Federal Chamber of Engineers.

The engineers at Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering in Stuttgart broke new ground with their project, realised in cooperation with Berlin architects hg merz. On 13 June 2018, their work received recognition by a distinguished panel chaired by Prof. Annette Bögle.

At the request of the General Music Director, the reverberation time in the historical hall was to be extended without changing the external appearance of the listed Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Since spatial volume was a key factor, the planning team decided to raise the original ceiling by five meters – and the additional spatial volume thus gained now serves as a reverberation gallery.

During construction, Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering’s design scored points through its use of materials, manufacturing techniques and load-bearing properties. The specially developed, sound-transparent rhombic lattice structure closes the gap created by the raised ceiling between the highest tier and the ceiling and incorporates the diamond pattern dating back to Frederick the Great. It was cast from self-supporting glass-fiber reinforced phosphate ceramics (CBPC): The use of fiber-reinforced composite materials in the construction industry has grown substantially in recent years.