On November 17, International Seminar on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Utilization, Parallel Session III of 2024 Beijing International Urban Design Forum was successfully held at BUCEA. The event was co-organized by the Ministry of Education’s International Joint Laboratory of Safety and Energy Conservation for Ancient Buildings, the Beijing International Innovation Center for Architectural Heritage Protection and Development in the Belt and Road Region, BUCEA’s Department of External Affairs, the School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

The event brought together over 50 participants, including experts, scholars, faculty and student representatives, and industry professionals from six countries—China, Italy, Serbia, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Switzerland. Representatives from seven partner universities and institutions such as the Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Administration of the Southern Marche Region (Italy), the University of Belgrade (Serbia), the University of Novi Sad (Serbia), Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy), the University of Manchester (UK), Marche Polytechnic University (Italy), and ETH Zurich (Switzerland) attended the forum.

ZHANG Dayu, President of BUCEA extended a warm welcome and expressed gratitude to all attendees. He provided a brief overview of the university’s recent developments, highlighting that BUCEA is the only university in China with a comprehensive talent cultivation system for architectural heritage conservation, spanning undergraduate to postdoctoral levels. He expressed his hope to engage in further substantive cooperation with international universities and organizations in the field of architectural heritage conservation.

Vice President YANG Jianwei of BUCEA introduced the university’s achievements, including the establishment of the Beijing International Innovation Center for Architectural Heritage Protection and Development in the Belt and Road Region and the International Joint Laboratory of Safety and Energy Conservation for Ancient Buildings.

Professor Darko Reba from the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Novi Sad, delivered a keynote presentation titled 21st Century City for the Happy People.

Associate Professor Cristina Tedeschi from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Polytechnic University of Milan presented on On-Site and Laboratory Diagnostic Investigations on Construction Materials and Cultural Heritage.

Arkadiusz Wiśniowski, Professor of Social Statistics & Demography and Head of Department at the Social Statistics Department at the University of Manchester, delivered a presentation titled Cycling Safety and Neighbourhood Characteristics: Ecological Modelling of Cyclist Accidents in Greater Manchester.

Professor Antonello Alici from the Department of Construction, Civil Engineering and Architecture at Marche Polytechnic University gave a keynote address on Urban Conservation Strategies in Post-earthquake Italy: the role of the Heritage Communities.

Professor Guillaume Habert from ETH Zurich presented Vegetarian Buildings: the Multiple Benefits of a Good Material Diet, summarizing the concepts, principles, and applications of zero-carbon building materials in the construction industry.

Professor LI Aiqun from the School of Civil and Transportation Engineering at BUCEA presented on BUCEA’s Research on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Utilization and Progress of the International Joint Laboratory, summarizing the achievements of the Ministry of Education’s International Joint Laboratory of Safety and Energy Conservation for Ancient Buildings over the past year since its approval.

During the discussion session, Giovanni Issini, Director of the Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Administration of the Southern Marche Region (Italy), and Vladimir Lojanica, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Belgrade, each delivered remarks.