Vienna training programme sets the pace to develop sustainable construction skills

Applications are now open for a renowned Vienna-based design and engineering programme, which brings together expertise from across the globe to identify ways to make buildings more sustainable.

Vienna offers an innovative backdrop as a live case study, providing insight into passive house and sustainable, smart city expertise for Green.Building.Solutions. (GBS).

Participants can immerse themselves in a unique, intensive experience - developing new skills to design and build sustainable cities in an environment that includes workshops, lectures, fact-finding visits and insight from world-leading academics.

The not-for-profit programme is relevant to students and professionals alike in the fields of architecture and professions relating to the built environment – and with all study and social activities carried out in English, it is well-suited to participants from across the UK and Ireland.

GBS takes place from 21 July to 12 August and is organised by the OeAD-Housing Office – part of Austria’s national agency for international mobility and cooperation in education, science and research.

Run in association with eleven universities, including Vienna’s BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences and the Vienna University of Technology, the course is priced at €2,490 for professionals and €2,000 for students.

This cost includes all social activities, lessons and tours, as well as accommodation for participants throughout the duration of GBS in one of OeAD’s passive house student residences – giving an added perspective to participants’ experiences in Vienna.

The accommodation is also included as part of the fee for almost a week after the programme, enabling those taking part to explore the city at leisure.

Günther Jedliczka, CEO of the OeAD-Housing Office, said: “Austria is world-renowned as a pioneer in sustainable construction and GBS offers students the opportunity to broaden their perspective and build a network of useful contacts.

“It provides a truly international atmosphere, with 46 students from 30 nations successfully completing the programme in 2017.

“GBS’s timetable starts with an overview of the historical development and introduction to green building design, before moving on to the study of urban planning.

“Sustainable materials, construction ecology, building physics and innovative energy technologies are addressed, as well as building simulations and daylight engineering.

“Finally, an investigation into indoor and outdoor climate is undertaken, before the programme concludes with an integrated design project, which centres around an actual live topic in Vienna.”

As well as GBS, the OeAD-Housing Office also operates the Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems programme (AEMS).

AEMS analyses how economic, political, monetary and environmental factors need to change to be more sustainable and takes place from the 25 July until 10 August 2018.

More details about GBS and AEMS - including testimonials from 2017’s programme participants - can be found at www.summer-university.net