After studying civil engineering at the TU Berlin, Werner Lorenz gained his first practical experience in 1980 before returning to the TU Berlin in 1984 to specialize in structural engineering. Later, he was a guest lecturer at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, among others, before accepting the new Chair of Structural Engineering History at the BTU Cottbus in 1993. He maintained his practical relevance through his engineering office in Berlin, which specializes in historical structures. Retired in the fall of 2018, he continues to be involved in many activities as an honorary professor at BTU. Since 2021, he has headed the DFG Priority Program “Cultural Heritage Construction” (SPP 2255).

Mark Gielen studied architecture at BTU Cottbus. After initially working in various planning offices, he joined the team at the Chair of Structural Engineering History and Structural Conservation at BTU in 2010. For the long-term research project on the hidden iron structures of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, he developed his very own signature for the model realization of the highly complex structures. He specializes in recording historical load-bearing structures and the visual implementation of these structures in two- and three-dimensional space.