Pioneering project launched for circular construction in basic vocational training

Olten, June 26, 2024 - With the "Future Perfect Circular Building" project, the Future Perfect association has launched a pioneering project to integrate the circular economy into basic vocational training in spatial and construction planning. With Future Perfect in the overall project management, the project is being implemented in a consortium with the professional association Plavenir, the association of teachers of the drawing professions Constructa and the teaching materials publisher LernMedien-Architektur GmbH. Future Perfect Zirkuläres Bauen teaches learners skills relating to the reuse and recycling of materials and components in the construction industry. To this end, Future Perfect provides digital courses, trains teachers and runs workshops in inter-company courses. The test run is scheduled for the spring semester of 2025. After the test phase, the Future Perfect Circular Construction courses for schools will be available from the fall semester of 2025.

Circular economy as the key to sustainable construction

The construction industry is one of the most resource-intensive sectors in Switzerland, consuming around 62 million tons of material and generating 74 million tons of waste every year. Large CO2 savings are possible by reusing and recycling existing infrastructure or parts of it. New buildings must be constructed in such a way that they can be used and dismantled on a modular basis, making efficient use of the most sustainable resources possible. This minimizes the consumption of resources today and in the future, which not only brings ecological benefits, but also makes economic sense in the medium and long term. The "Future Perfect Circular Building" project aims to anchor these principles in the training of construction and spatial planning professions at an early stage and thus provide future architects and engineers with important skills for sustainable construction.

Target groups

The project is primarily aimed at students and teachers of spatial and construction planning, particularly in the fields of architecture and civil engineering. However, other professions in the construction industry with a connection to planning aspects are also addressed. Cooperation with the relevant players in the industry, in particular the Plavenir and Constructa associations as well as numerous application and knowledge partners, will provide the project with broad support.

Extensive training and further education opportunities

Future Perfect will develop and implement various training measures and digital learning opportunities over the next three years:

• Further training for teachers: Teachers are introduced to circular construction in full-day training courses and learn how to use Future Perfect. 
• Digital courses for basic education: Various digital courses are being developed and offered on the basics of circular construction, life cycle assessment of buildings, reuse and building with natural raw materials such as wood and clay, which learners can also use for self-study.
• Workshops for inter-company courses: In a simulation game, learners weigh up the use of new and used components against each other, taking price, availability and ecological aspects into account.  
• Project work and project competitions: Learners apply their skills to concrete examples in project work and can in future take part in project competitions in which aspects of the circular economy are also assessed.

Financing

The project is made possible by the financial support of the Minerva Foundation and the Federal Office for the Environment. 

‍