GBS 2022 – It’s a wrap!

Over the past three weeks, 47 students and professionals from 26 nations deepened their knowledge in the field of sustainable architecture, passive house technology and green building design!

Throughout the program of lectures, simulations, workshops and a group project, students kept the “big picture” of climate change and its challenges for the building sector in mind while learning about topics such as urban energy planning, alternative building materials and circular economy. During the course, they also got to learn how to use different tools and softwares, such as Building Information Modelling, and the energy simulation tool IDA.Ice.

As part of the project work, the participants planned an energy-efficient and sustainable residential area in the 23rd district of Vienna. The design was attempted to correspond to the best practice for regenerative buildings. After visiting the project site, they collaborated on the first rough concept for the design in interdisciplinary groups – meaning that each group included an architect, urban and / or social planner, (energy) engineer and other professions dealing with the built environment. They successfully applied the gained knowledge at a real building design: Strategies and topics- such as circular economy, urban mining, green roofs and facades, flexibly built structures, social aspects and alternative constructions material - were directly implemented in the design, which was presented at the final day.

Further highlights of the program include nine excursions, such as the passathon (with a biking and a walking group) in Aspern Seestadt including the GreenHouse and Popup dorms, a visit to AITLabs & EnergyBase, a tour in Sonnwendviertel to Bike and Rails passive house and Blaue Lagune, to a passive refurbished flat, to Hundertwasserhaus and the district heating plant at Spittelau, the light lab at Danube University Krems, Urban Mining at the former Ferry-Dusika-Stadium and a visit to the roof garden of GrünStattGrau as well as the TÜWI of BOKU University. GBS also offered four social activities, such as two sports evenings, Waltzing lessons and two dinners at Austrian “Heurigen” restaurants in Vienna and Krems.

Together with the summer school Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems, GBS also hosted public events, such as the opening event “A good life for all within the planetary boundaries” with speakers Ernst Ulrich v. Weizsäcker, Helga Kromp-Kolb, Anika Dafert and Harald Frey, the screening of the movie “NOW” by Jim Rakete and a public panel discussion on the topic of “The monetary systems of the future” with speakers Richard Werner, Christian Kreiss, Lea Steininger and Yeva Nersisyan.

This year’s GBS concluded on Saturday with the presentations of the projects and the closing ceremony - the students were apparently relieved. They did a great job under very tight conditions!

Thank you to our great international students for your dedication and the GBS team for a wonderful collaboration & therefore a unique summer experience for everybody!

Great appreciation goes to our lecturers, sponsors and partners - who made this year's GBS possible.

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