Modularity in Construction as a Path to Increased Resilience

The Built4People Stakeholder Forum underscored the importance of bringing together research organizations and companies from the construction sector on a single platform. At this year’s fifth Stakeholder Forum, held on October 7 in Brussels, UCEEB—alongside partners from Built4People and the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform)—discussed the needs of the European construction sector for the 2028+ programming period. The agenda was framed by the theme "Building a Resilient Future for Europe." A NATO representative reiterated seven fundamental resilience requirements designed to ensure the continued functioning of the state, critical infrastructure, and essential public services—even during crises or armed conflict:

• Ensuring the continuity of state administration and key government services
• Resilience of energy supplies
• The capacity to manage both controlled and uncontrolled population movements
• Resilience of food and water supplies
• Resilience of the healthcare system in the face of mass casualties and severe health crises
• Resilience of civil communication systems
• Resilience of civil transport systems

The resilience of the built environment—specifically buildings—is a prerequisite for meeting these requirements. The construction sector must prepare for the emergence of modular solutions. Consequently, and informed by this discussion, UCEEB will continue to focus on the development of prefabricated and modular technologies, which will facilitate the maintenance, retrofitting, and repair of buildings. Regarding other topics related to resilience, the discussion also focused on the people within buildings. For instance, we discussed strengthening cooperation with our Finnish partners in the field of assistive technologies.

More information about the event: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/news-events/events/built4people-partnership-stakeholders-forum-2026-2026-10-07_en