In 1991, he became a professor at the Leibniz University Hannover (successor to Bernd Tokarz) and director of the Institute for Structural Design and Building Methods.
Both in its research and teaching, the ILEK at the University of Stuttgart unites the aspect of design that is dominant in architecture with the focus on analysis and construction from structural engineering as well as materials science.
From the individual details to the whole structure, the approach focuses on the optimisation of form and construction with respect to material and energy use, durability and reliability, recyclability and environmental sustainability.
[3] In 2008 Werner Sobek was appointed Mies van der Rohe Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
A well-known concept study by Werner Sobek is "R-129" which uses a polyurethane skin on a carbon-fibre frame, giving it walls thinner than eggshells.