A New Fellowship for Sustainable Construction

The built environment sector is undergoing significant transformations and, like many other industries, is coming to terms with what it will mean to adapt to churn caused by climate change, rapid technological shifts, and evolving human living patterns. Although these challenges can seem daunting, they also offer opportunities for the industry to move toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all. After all, when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges, humanity has found new ways of working together and developing innovative solutions to pressing global issues.

Holcim Foundation

The Next Generation

The next generation, more than any other group, has consistently shown commitment and resilience in the face of sustainability issues facing cities, communities, and neighborhoods around the world—whether they be environmental, social, or economic development initiatives—and gen Z is no different. Many recent surveys and polls of gen Z and millennials suggest a positive trend toward eco-friendly and energy-efficient buildings in the coming years and the ever-increasing importance of sustainability in real estate investment, development, design, and construction decisions.

The influence of the next generation extends beyond activism and consumer preferences to using skills and expertise to address the complex challenges of sustainability in a thoughtful, deliberate, and world-embracing approach. Doing so requires an educational model that is not only about imparting knowledge but also about fostering innovative thinking and an understanding of the interdependence of all human life and the interconnectivity between human activities and environmental impact.

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, whose mission is supporting people who are change accelerators for sustainable construction, has decided to launch a series of in-person, intensive two-week fellowships around the world that are aimed at equipping the next generation of building practitioners to become impactful voices of change. For two decades, the Holcim Foundation has focused on creating the right conditions to identify and nurture the world’s leading thinkers and emerging talents in the fields of sustainable architecture, design, engineering, and construction. In the words of Laura Viscovich, the foundation’s executive director: “The Holcim Foundation exists to bridge individuals and expert communities from across different disciplines and different regions of the world so that best practice and emerging ideas for a sustainable built environment can be more rapidly shared and implemented.”

The new Holcim Foundation Fellowship program aligns with two of ULI’s global mission priorities: decarbonization and net zero of the built environment, and educating the next generation of diverse leaders. ULI works to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide, for example through decarbonization thought leadership efforts of the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, and through stakeholder engagement and learning efforts of the ULI Learning and University Connections program. All in, ULI is incredibly pleased to see industry advancement of its mission priorities in efforts such as the Holcim Foundation Fellowship to empower students to bridge education and the practice of sustainable construction.

Holcim Foundation

Holcim Foundation Fellowship

The Holcim Foundation Fellowship will allow 15 student participants to learn from recently built projects while also letting them interrogate key decisions, practices, and strategies employed by leading design firms. Starting with North America, each Fellowship will approach critical issues around sustainable design and construction from a regional and multidisciplinary perspective.

One of the aims of the Fellowship is to encourage a rearview-mirror look at projects that are occupied or in-use and allow a space for student participants and firms to learn together, consult, and reflect as a way to close the loop from completed projects back to the design board. This process is essential for firms, teams, and students to facilitate continuous improvements, innovation, and more sustainable outcomes. During the process, the adoption of a humble posture of learning and a curiosity-driven mindset is crucial among all stakeholders—leading to a competitive advantage for firms and a deeper awareness for future change makers, another aim of the Fellowship.

Holcim Foundation

Decarbonization at Scale

The first fellowship in New York City, open to all masters-level students within built environment university programs in the United States and Canada, will approach the theme of Decarbonization at Scale August 5–16 2024. The Holcim Foundation has decided to partner with Arup, Henning Larsen and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to let participants understand the realities of practice within large global firms that have scaled up and have the capacity to transfer learnings and outcomes across regions, projects, and offices. Discussions will be focused on how solutions and strategies can be scaled and made transferable to tackle sustainability issues, not only amid the pressing need for decarbonization but also for building uplifting places and thriving communities—all in line with the Holcim Foundation’s goals for sustainable construction.

Upon conclusion of the fellowship, ULI New York will host a summary event aimed at sharing learnings from the Fellowship and engagement with partnering firms and participants. “Our ULI New York District Council is proud to be the host city for the inaugural Holcim Foundation Fellowship,” says Felix Ciampa, executive director of ULI New York. “This Fellowship opportunity directly advances two of ULI’s Mission Priorities—our organizational priority of Decarbonization and Net Zero in the built environment and our mission commitment to Educating the Next Generation of Diverse Leaders. It is our hope that the work of our organizations—and the leaders of tomorrow they foster—will help to realize a more sustainable built environment for future generations worldwide.”

Selected Fellows will have the opportunity to take part in the next stage of their journey as Holcim Foundation Emerging ChangeMakers. The Fellowship will also take place in other regions, starting with Latin America in January 2025, where more Fellows and Emerging ChangeMakers will be selected.

Applications for the North America Fellowship are open until April 30, 2024.