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INTBAU Summer School Incubator concludes with a celebration in Bruges

Posted 30 Aug 2024

The INTBAU Summer School Incubator brought together INTBAU Chapters to foster collaboration on developing educational programmes focused on traditional building, architecture, and urbanism.

The INTBAU Summer School Incubator, held from 13-17 August 2024 in the picturesque cities of Utrecht and Bruges, has concluded, leaving a lasting impact on INTBAU Chapters across the globe. This exclusive programme brought together representatives from INTBAU Chapters fostering collaboration and sharing knowledge on developing successful education programmes that highlight traditional building, architecture, and urbanism.

Delegates from INTBAU chapters in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Qatar, and Romania, along with members of the INTBAU Secretariat and INTBAU Belgium.

Inspiring the creation of new education programmes globally

The Incubator Programme was attended by delegates from seven INTBAU chapters: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Qatar and Romania. Each was motivated by a desire to roll out new education programming in their local context, learning from the example of successful programmes in the Netherlands and Belgium.  INTBAU Executive Director Alexander Lamont Bishop outlined how:

‘The INTBAU Incubator allowed us to peer behind the curtain of successful summer schools run by our chapters, in the expectation of expanding that offer in 2025 and beyond. The INTBAU network is committed to strengthening the pipeline of practitioners with training in traditional building, architecture and urbanism, in the belief that traditional architecture builds communities, helps individuals identify with their surroundings, and offers an inherent form of sustainability based on local knowledge of materials, climates, and contexts.’

The education programmes run by INTBAU Chapters provide unique opportunities for students and professionals around the world to reconnect with time-tested knowledge. Alexander Dowthwaite, Chair of the INTBAU Education Committee, emphasised that education in traditional building, architecture and urbanism is a fast-growing field where historical failures of education systems to provide traditional building skills are being addressed with a huge array of new programmes driven by the INTBAU network and thousands of passionate students from around the world.

Aiming to bridge this gap in modern education, the Incubator programme aligns with three key strategies: encouraging more summer schools and other education initiatives, pursuing accreditation and certification, and strengthening connections between alumni and ongoing opportunities for study and work. The Incubator successfully created a platform for INTBAU Chapters to exchange best practices, discuss challenges, and explore solutions, helping expand INTBAU’s education offering worldwide.

Insights from Chapter delegates

Participating Chapters included those with rich experience running education programmes, such as INTBAU Australia and INTBAU Netherlands, and newcomers in Brazil, Mexico, Romania and Finland. Representatives from these chapters shared valuable insights gained from the experience, engaging in focused workshops on essential topics such as curriculum design, budget management, marketing, and logistics.

Isabelle from INTBAU Brazil highlighted the importance of understanding what a successful summer school entails: ‘In Brazil, we are still in the process of developing a prototype. Seeing how established programmes operate, particularly in Utrecht and Bruges, has provided us with a blueprint to follow. The immersive nature of these schools is something we plan to replicate.’

The programme also shed light on common challenges faced by chapters when starting their own summer schools. Funding, partnership with academic institutions, and a solid support network were identified as essential aspects of initiating a programme. The Incubator Programme addressed these issues by showcasing how successful chapters have overcome such challenges, thereby empowering newer chapters to develop robust and impactful education programmes.

The INTBAU Summer Schools Incubator was not just a programme—it was a milestone in INTBAU’s ongoing efforts to expand and enhance educational opportunities in traditional building, architecture, and urbanism. By bringing together chapter leaders from around the world, the Incubator has strengthened the global network and paved the way for more impactful and widely accessible educational programmes. As the chapters move forward with their newfound knowledge and collaborations, the future of INTBAU’s educational initiatives looks brighter than ever.

Stay tuned as we continue to share updates on the development of these ground-breaking education programmes and the ongoing impact of the Summer Schools Incubator.

Photo Gallery

The Incubator Programme featured immersive experiences in the Summer Schools organised by INTBAU Netherlands and INTBAU Belgium, held in Utrecht and Bruges. Participants joined experts and instructors on site visits, gaining valuable insights into how these immersive experiences enhance students’ understanding of local architecture and urbanism— key elements in fostering a deeper understanding for traditional building practices.
Participants engaged in discussions on the critical aspects of initiating a programme, supplemented by knowledge-sharing sessions. They learned from the experience of well-established Summer Schools in Australia, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as from new programmes in Mexico and France.
Through their interactions with students at the ongoing summer schools in Utrecht and Bruges, participants of the Incubator Programme observed how hands-on experiences significantly enhance the learning process. This hands-on approach, a distinctive feature of programmes run by INTBAU chapters, offers students unique experiences that complement their academic and professional development.
The Incubator Programme concluded with the Great Estival Celebration, an annual event organised by INTBAU Belgium to mark the end of the Bruges Summer School of Traditional Architecture and Building Crafts. At this celebration, students present their final projects to an international jury.
The event was followed by the opening of “The Ark,” an exhibition featuring the final works of students from this year’s summer schools organised by INTBAU chapters globally, from Portugal to Pakistan.

Visit our Education page to learn more about how education is central to our mission and explore our programme offerings around the world.