CONCRETO (2023-2026) Erasmus+ programme

Title: CONCRETO. Empowering the green rehabilitation of European Concrete Architecture.

Project: Belonging to the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, call 2023, of the Key Action 2 of Cooperation Partnerships in Education and Vocational Training.

Project identification: 101140028.

Duration: 336 months, from January 2024 to December 2026.

Budget: 963,745.00 €.

Coordinator: PLN Project Foundation (Belgium).

Partners: Fundación Laboral de la Construcción, Colegio de ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos de España y Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain); Istituto per l’Istruzione Professionale dei Lavoratori Edili della Provincia di Bologna, Consiglio Nazionale Architetti, Paesaggisti e Conservatori, Consiglio Nazionale Ingegneri y Politecnico di Milano, Laboratorio Nervi (Italy); European Construction Industry Federation -FIEC- (Belgium); Mesleki Yeterlilik Kurumu (Professional Qualifications Authority), Association of Turkish Consulting Engineers and Architects y Middle East Technical University (Turkey); DOCOMOMO International Specialist Committees -ISC- (The Netherlands).  

Website: concreto-academy.org

Since the early days of its use, concrete has presented a technological and scientific achievement. However, many of these structures are in need of specialised attention and repair, so that they can remain relevant for future generations. According to the European Union's 'Renovation Wave' Strategy and Action Plan, only 11% of the EU building stock undergoes some form of renovation each year and, in many European countries, by 2050, 80% of the architecture will consist of buildings of which 97% will need to be renovated.

Therefore, 'CONCRETO' proposes to address the renovationof Europe’s concrete heritage through a training school inspired by the Renaissance concept of 'La Bottega', a training model in which apprentices improve their skills by learning directly from the ‘master’ and putting their knowledge into practice through real examples.

Thus teaching activities and knowledge transfer between traditional and emerging professions will promote awareness, knowledge, and Dissemination to protect our Modern Heritage

Objectives

CONCRETO' believes that practical training is essential to maintain and pass on  knowledge and skills that are part of the European cultural heritage and that need to be preserved as we build and transform our cities in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

The CONCRETO’s overall objective is to build an Alliance of CONCRETO’s partners to bridge this gap of knowledge urgently needed to empower ecological the green rehabilitation of the European concrete Architecture, in addition to this, ‘CONCRETO’ will have the following specific objectives:

• Foster new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning.
• Facilitate the flow and creation of knowledge between higher education and vocational education and training, research, the public and business sector.
• Fostering the setting up of incubator withing education and training institutions across Europe.
• Supporting the digital change.
• Simulating a sense of initiative and mind-sets in learners , in line with the Entrepreneuship  Competence Framework (EntreComp).

Results

'CONCRETO' has identified five pillars of comptenenceson theoretical and practical knowledge to be mastered by professionals involved in the rehabilitation and regeneration of concrete cultural heritage , wich are included in the different learning processes and methodologies of the project. Outputs to be carried out in the project include:

• The 'CONCRETO' Alliance that promotes transnational cooperation and mutual learning between academia, VET and the sectoral workforce.
• It will bring together 84 students and over 30 teachers to participate in a 3-year programme with activities in 3 countries in Europe, to enable learnersto carry out maintenance and regeneration work on buildings in Ivrea (Italy), UNESCO's headquarters, as part of their final project.
• The Concrete Alliance Book that identifies the skills that are necessary in a quality renovation process. As well as the publication of the Concrete Guidelines that promotes the sustainability of the project over time.
• A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC modality) for learning and knowledge sharing, promoting "smarter" and "greener" renovation.
• The Concreto Guidelines aim to equip today’s professionals with the necessary skills to become tomorrow's experts. These guidelines, based on the five skills pillars, will convey various methodologies and practices for concrete heritage preservation to a global audience.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.