Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) | RWTH Aachen

What Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) | RWTH Aachen does

Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) is an academic teaching and research department within the Faculty of Architecture at RWTH Aachen University, a public state university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Established in 2015, the unit focuses on real estate project development across six research areas: sustainable building, participation, real estate industry, architecture, urban planning, and energy. It teaches within RWTH's Bachelor and Master programs in Architecture and Urban Planning and operates summer schools and academic excursion programs.

The department's core "products" are academic — peer-reviewed publications, edited journals, conferences, and applied real-world research projects rather than commercial software. Flagship initiatives include the SmartQuart real-world laboratory for the energy transition (with testbeds in Essen, Bedburg, and Kaisersesch), the ReFaTEk resource-efficient facade technology project with industrial partners Hagemeister, Vonovia, and Viessmann, and the Energie-App (Epp) developed in cooperation with RWTH's Chair of Informatics 10. Other outputs include the recurring Zeitschrift für Immobilienökon omie (German Journal of Real Estate Research), thematic books such as "Umnutzung von Kirchen," and biennial conferences (e.g., Hospital Planning, UrbanSlam). Survey work is conducted through the S2Survey.net platform and disseminated via YouTube, Vimeo, and social channels.

Because iPE is a non-commercial university department, it does not operate a traditional go-to-market or pricing model. Revenue economics are limited to public grant funding (e.g., ~100,000 EUR from the NRW Ministry for the Energy App), institutional university budgets, and modest publication sales priced around 69.90 EUR per volume. Customer engagement occurs through RWTH coursework, collaborative research with industrial and public-sector partners, conference participation, and continuing-education programming rather than commercial sales motions. The department is wholly owned and governed by RWTH Aachen University with no independent ownership.

Name

Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) | RWTH Aachen

Legal name

RWTH Aachen University

Website

https://ipe.arch.rwth-aachen.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) is an academic teaching and research department within RWTH Aachen University's Faculty of Architecture. It conducts interdisciplinary research and teaching on sustainable building, real estate development, energy transition, and urban planning, serving students, industry partners, and public-sector collaborators in Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Real Estate Research and Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHABAK

Land-Grant–Like/Extension-Oriented Private Research Universities (Applied Outreach)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Private Research Universities

SECONDARYEDAHAAAB

Land-Grant Public Research Universities

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

Keywords

• Real estate research
• Urban planning research
• Sustainable building studies
• Energy transition research
• Property development education

Headquarters

HQ city

Aachen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Teaching and Research Field for Real Estate Development (iPE) is an academic department within RWTH Aachen University's Faculty of Architecture that delivers university-level teaching (Bachelor and Master programs in Architecture and Urban Planning with a real estate development focus) and conducts interdisciplinary research on sustainable building, energy transition, urban planning, and building economics. It also produces academic publications, organizes conferences, and runs summer schools, with research operations funded through public university budgets and government research grants.

Product overview

Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) is an academic research and teaching institution at RWTH Aachen University's Faculty of Architecture. It does not offer commercial software products; instead, it provides academic degree programs (Bachelor & Master in Architecture & Urban Planning), research publications (including the peer-reviewed Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie journal, SmartQuart research series, and church repurposing publications), summer schools, and organizes conferences such as Hospital Planning. The institution focuses on real estate development research with six main focus areas: sustainable building, participation, real estate industry, architecture, urban planning, and energy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor & Master Programs in Real Estate Development Undergraduate and graduate academic programs in Architecture and Urban Planning at RWTH Aachen University, with modules covering real estate project development, digital methods, building economics, and barrier-free construction, offered to enrolled university students.
• Summer Schools Program Annual continuing-education summer school offerings covering topics in real estate development and sustainability, including the Seniorenstudium (senior education) program.
• Academic Excursions Program Field trips and site visits for enrolled students, including factory tours, church property visits, power plant explorations, and international excursions to cities such as Vienna and Dortmund.
• Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie (German Journal of Real Estate Research) Annual peer-reviewed academic journal on real estate economics edited jointly with Tobias Just and Bertram Steininger, covering research in real estate development, investment, and market analysis.
• SmartQuart Real-World Laboratory Publications Two-volume research publication series documenting the findings of the SmartQuart real-world laboratory on social acceptance and actor-specific acceptance of the energy transition in residential neighborhoods.
• Umnutzung von Kirchen (Repurposing of Churches) Publication Publication documenting 21 examples of converted churches from North Rhine-Westphalia (built 1865-1965) covering new uses including cultural buildings, columbariums, sports facilities, offices, housing, and kindergartens; sold for €69.90 plus shipping.
• Chancen des Strukturwandels (Structural Change Opportunities) Publication Thematic volume from a digital event series providing new perspectives for North Rhine-Westphalia, examining economic and spatial transformation challenges.
• Hospital Planning Conference Conference addressing challenges and best practices in healthcare system and hospital architecture, convened with international experts.

Quantifiable outcome

• SmartQuart real-world laboratory established in three neighborhoods across North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chair of Informatics 10 - RWTH Aachen UniversitycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Cooperation on Energy App (Epp) project developing a user-friendly application to process and optimize individual energy consumption.
• Chair of Building and Indoor Climate Technology (EBC) - RWTH AachencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration on SmartQuart real-world laboratory project for energy transition in neighborhoods. Jointly developing surveys and conducting research on energy-efficient building and acceptance of technologies.
• Chair of Energy Efficient Construction - RWTH AachencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration on SmartQuart real-world laboratory project, working together on interdisciplinary research for energy transition in residential neighborhoods.
• HagemeistercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Industrial partner in ReFaTEk project 'Resource-efficient facade technologies: energy clinker'. Contributing expertise in facade systems and building materials.
• VonoviacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Industrial partner contributing to ReFaTEk research on energy-efficient facade technologies. Provides practical perspective from large-scale residential property management.
• ViessmanncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Industrial partner in ReFaTEk and SmartQuart projects. Contributes heating and energy systems expertise to energy transition research.
• Baukultur Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on church repurposing research project 'Zukunft - Kirchen - Räume' investigating converted churches, their backgrounds, framework conditions and structural requirements.
• HDR GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConference partner for Hospital Planning conference 'Challenges and Best Practice' held at RWTH Aachen SuperC.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• IRPUD - Institute for Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund: TU Dortmund institute covering urban and spatial planning research. Comparable as a joint-awarding partner with NRW.BANK for iPE's research awards and as a nearby German public university research unit addressing overlapping real estate and urban development topics.
• TU Berlin - Department of Real Estate Management (Immobilienwirtschaft): Academic chair at a major German public university focused on real estate economics and project development. Directly comparable as a university-based German real estate research and teaching unit operating with similar academic, non-commercial profile.
• TU Darmstadt - Institute for... Construction Economics: Construction economics and real estate research group at TU Darmstadt. Comparable as a peer German technical university unit addressing overlapping topics in real estate economics, building cost analysis, and project development.
• Bauhaus-Universität Weimar - Institute for Construction Economics: German university institute covering construction economics and real estate-related research. Comparable as a peer German academic unit working on building economics, construction cost management, and real estate project development.
• TH Köln - Institute for Real Estate and Facility Management: Real estate and facility management research and teaching group at TH Köln. Comparable as a peer German university of applied sciences unit covering real estate development, building economics, and related applied research themes.
• Hamburg University of Technology - Institute for Real Estate Management: Real estate and facility management research and teaching institute at TUHH. Comparable as another German technical university unit covering real estate development, building economics, and sustainability with similar academic positioning.
• TU Munich - Real Estate Management (I² Immobilienwirtschaft): Real estate research and teaching chair at TU Munich covering project development, investment, and building economics. Comparable as a peer German technical university unit focused on the same core domain (real estate development) and serving similar academic and industry audiences.

Others

• DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council): German sustainable building certification and standards body. Comparable as a thematically adjacent ecosystem organization operating in the same sustainable building and real estate development domain that iPE's research addresses, though operating as a standards/certification organization rather than a research unit.

Broad incumbents

• Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IÖR): Leibniz Association research institute focused on sustainable urban and regional development in Germany. Comparable as a larger, established applied research player addressing overlapping urban development, building, and sustainability research questions.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (IEE): Fraunhofer institute specializing in energy transition research and energy system transformation. Comparable as a major German applied research organization working on Energiewende topics overlapping with iPE's SmartQuart and ReFaTEk portfolios, but with substantially larger scale and headcount.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lehr-und-forschungsgebiet-immobilienprojektentwicklung-ipe
• Instagraminstagram.com/ipe_rwth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet für Immobilienprojektentwicklung (iPE) | RWTH Aachen