The only Czech among 20 students from all over the world succeeded at the conference in The Hague

Sustainability, circular economy, urban planning, and the use of artificial intelligence were addressed at the World Workplace Europe conference on facility management in Europe. The conference also included a student competition, where Eliška Lukejová from FAV won 2nd place.

World Workplace Europe is one of Europe's most important facility management conferences. Eliska Lukejova, a second-year student of the Master's degree in Building Management and Operations Management at the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (FAV UWB), was selected by the expert jury as the only Czech student among 20 students from all over the world who headed to the conference in mid-March.

Together with her colleagues from the Netherlands from Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, they won 2nd place for their innovative student housing concept. In their project, Binckhive, the students focused on the modernization and sustainable development of a part of The Hague called Binckhorst. The idea combined affordable student housing with ecological principles and promoting community life. „On site, we were all divided into teams by lottery, given an assignment, and given about 24 hours to complete the task," said Eliška Lukejová.

„We presented three connected buildings that make efficient use of the available space and encourage interaction between students and the local community. The key elements of our concept are, among others, green roofs and facades, affordable and flexible student housing or smart technologies, and sustainable energy sources," said Eliška.

Why did the students choose a project focused on student housing? „There is a university right next door with no buildings suitable for student accommodation. They are forced to find accommodation in apartments far from the university. We also presented the project to the University of The Hague, which confirmed that if a similar concept were to be implemented, they would be willing to invest significantly to build these facilities," added Eliška.

According to the student, appropriate urban design is also an excellent concept for the Czech environment. „An interesting option could be the use of brownfields, which are all over the country and often have no use and are falling into disrepair. A good example is the Automatic Mills in Pardubice, where a new community space has been created to host events or teach children. It has breathed new life into a building that was not being used," she added.

First place at World Workplace Europe went to a team of five with an idea for a community center to be open to the general public as a meeting place, complete with a park and offering opportunities to use, for example, 3D printers.