Summary

The main objetive of BUILD2050 is to contribute to improve the construction, renovation and operation of healthy and sustainable buildings at European level through the development of an integrated and transnational training.

Aranzazu Galan Gonzalez

Background

All Europeans face the same challenge of decarbonising buildings. The challenge for the European Union for 2050 is to decarbonize the economy, were buildings having an important role in this goal. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to develop technologies in an integrated way, and in a holistic approach, properly adapted to climatic, cultural, and natural resource conditions, through circular economy methodologies. This is an enormous challenge for all authors, technicians, scientists, policy makers and the population of all member states. For this it is necessary to develop new courses based on innovative training methods with interdisciplinary content, with a European scope and that allow a continuous update.

At the end of the last century, the beginning of the present, there were several formats for evaluating buildings, especially those related to Sustainability. Currently, the concept of Sustainability with Health and Well-being has been extended, as the need to create healthy built environments is becoming increasingly present. However, Construction 2050 is considered to have other challenges. In addition to minimizing the consumption of resources, applying its circularity should also contribute to restoring the nature of what it took from it. These will be 2050 construction, almost zero carbon, healthy and that promote well-being, as well as returning to the natural environment a contribution of what they take from it. The decarbonisation of the Economy by 2050 is a reality.

The need for professionals in the areas necessary for this purpose is a challenge for higher education institutions. These future professionals who interconnect different areas of knowledge will have different professional opportunities as the market needs to adapt to this reality. In addition to creating professionals for decarbonisation in construction, which implies sustainability criteria, the health of construction as well as enhancing regeneration / restitution are increasingly necessary and complementary challenges. In terms of study cycles in higher education, there is also a flexibility challenge. The current models of continuous and simultaneous training in different areas of knowledge, can lead to a difficulty in deepening knowledge and excessive work simultaneously. Thus, recommending study cycles that may be shorter and more complementary may allow greater flexibility in the acquisition of knowledge, as well as allowing, in the same way as currently existing ones, to create specialized training offers.