English Articles

We know honey bees mainly from beekeepers. But in the wild, honey bees are invaluable for biodiversity. To give wild bees more space, innovative nests have been developed.

To make the construction sector structurally sustainable, we need not only practical solutions but also a long-term vision. This is what the building faculties of the technical universities advocate.

The office building you work in could be equipped with a "brain" in the coming years: a self-learning system that optimizes building performance and thus sustainability and comfort.

Extreme heatwaves are affecting many European cities. What can we do to keep the heat bearable?

The Dutch construction industry is at a loss. To cope with the housing crisis, one million new houses must be built before 2030. And in a sustainable way. Fortunately, students inspire the housing industry. They are working in teams across the country to come up with the most groundbreaking solutions. “Through trial and error, we found out that sustainable doesn’t have to be expensive at all,” says former student Antoine Post of Integer Technologies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Twins are cautiously gaining a foothold in the construction industry. The possibilities of digitalization seem endless, but their implementation still needs to be improved.

3D printers in construction are the ideal solution to both the housing shortage and the labor shortage. The opportunities are endless, but there are also some drawbacks.

A fully circular construction economy by 2050. Are we going to achieve that? t will be difficult, but it starts with good cooperation.

Something to think about: we will only end climate problems with integral solutions. "It sounds abstract but at the same time it makes perfect sense."

Construction in the Netherlands urgently needs to innovate. The housing shortage, meeting sustainability goals, and infrastructure maintenance make transition and innovation necessary. Professor André Dorée, chair of the Civil Engineering & Management Department at the University of Twente, is already involved for 30 years in how the Dutch construction industry - and infrastructure in particular - innovates. "In this, I mainly look at the role of the government," he says. "It fulfills many roles. Among other things, the government is market master, important buyer, licensing authority and enforcer."

Innovations that go far off the beaten track, that is what 4TU.Bouw, one of the nine Centers of the 4TU.Federation, is dedicated to. The four technical universities and fourteen universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands are working together on a long-term vision and an action plan for (fundamental) research in the construction sector. Clever minds are shining their light on the future of the construction sector, each from their own background and perspective.

More and more often, tiny cracks are appearing in train tracks. International cooperation is crucial to solve this.

 The world is in transition. This is having a huge impact on all sectors, and that includes construction. Consequently, 4TU.Bouw is committed to jointly developing the knowledge of tomorrow.

After two years of scientific directorhip of 4TU.Built Environment, Maarten Hornikx (TU/e Built Environment) hands over the baton to Max Hendriks (TUD Civil Engineering). Hendriks sees sustainability as one of the most important themes for construction. A common scientific vision is needed, and therefore cooperation between the 4TU and partners in the construction industry. An interview with both of them.

SOMA College (the biggest construction equipment operator training center in the Netherlands) faced a challenge: how can one instructor observe five or six students at the same time, with each student operating a large machine?