The subject that we are tackling for this Skillshare is low-carbon buildings. The EU has committed Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The aim is to develop a competitive and resource-efficient industry that does not generate greenhouse gas emissions and in which economic growth is separate from resource use. According to the United Nations Environment Program, buildings and their construction generate 36% of global energy consumption and 39% of carbon dioxide emissions. It will therefore be crucial to decarbonise the building construction sector. However, decarbonisation begins with the planning of settlements and buildings.

Dana Behrman from UNStudio will present the vision of the Brainport Smart District. Unlike everything else they have designed so far, UNStudio’s urban vision for the Brainport smart district is a flexible network that will evolve according to the needs of its residents. The Brainport Smart District as such is not a pre-determined fixed plan, first planned and later built; it is a responsive urban tendency where planning and construction will be closely linked to user-led gradual development.

Over the next ten years, 1,500 new homes and 12 acres of business premises will be built based on the needs of the people who live and work in the area. The goal is to achieve a sustainable, circular and socially connected neighbourhood with joint energy production, food production, water management, digital data management and cutting-edge transport systems. Thus, the development will be characterised by the use of the latest technologies and knowledge, and the area will become a “laboratory for living”.

At Syddansk University (SDU) in Denmark, a new university and master’s program in civil engineering and architectural engineering was designed in 2020, focusing on sustainability and digital technologies applied to buildings and cities. The lecture will present the results of research work carried out in collaboration with GXN, the research branch of the Danish architectural firm 3XN. In their presentation, Hugo Mulder (SDU) and Kåre Stokholm Poulsgaard (GXN) will explain how the GXN Circular House structured new education and talk about the responsibility that comes with teaching a new generation of civil engineers.

What innovations and adjustments are needed to achieve this goal? To create a sustainable and inclusive built environment that will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which will be economical in resources and energy and above all ensure the well-being of users?

• How to design, build and use low carbon buildings?
• Which participants need to work together to achieve low-carbon construction?
• How to speed up the planning and what are already good examples from practice?
• How can the cultural and creative sector contribute to this goal?

The event is aimed at anyone facing many new dilemmas and looking for new approaches on how to build more sustainably: especially urban planners, architects, builders and investors. At the event, we will present the findings of international experts in the field of construction, architecture and urbanism.

This Skillshare event was created in cooperation with the CER Centre – Partnership for a Sustainable Economy. You need to register for the event by clicking on the ‘Register’ button in the upper right corner. The database of applicants will be managed by the co-organisers of the event and will not be passed on to third parties.