Research for Better Quality of Urban Life: the Build4People Project
The Build4People project aims to research and promote the use of sustainable buildings and sustainable urbanization through re-configuring the urban transformation pathway of Phnom Penh. Thereby, it focuses on people’s aspirations and their behaviour. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
Our project promotes sustainable buildings and sustainable urban development from a people-centred perspective. We aim at lowered greenhouse gas, pollutant emissions, a better indoor environment, an increase of urban green, a healthier urban climate. Read more.
The trans-disciplinary Build4People project connects scientific-conceptional and analytical aspects. The superior normative bracket is always the urban quality of life. We align people’s needs and aspirations with tools to benefit their living. Read more.
Cambodia’s traditional architecture took climate conditions into account. Today dynamic economic growth affects the way buildings are built and operated which is not energy-efficient nor tropical climate adapted. Reasons enough for B4P. Read more.
10 partners across continents join forces to implement 7 work packages: from Behaviour Change, Sustainable Buildings and Neighbourhoods, to Urban Green, Urban Climate to Sustainable Urban Transformation and Coordination. Read more.
Project Approach
The Build4People project considers sustainable, people-centred urban development as a crosscutting task. A genuinely people-centred planning system can neither be expected to “evolve by itself” nor is it feasible through legal regulations only. Our diverse team includes Cambodian and German partners which cooperate on a trans-disciplinary basis. Together they will develop innovative concepts aimed at urban sustainability that are based on scientific and regional expertise. The integrating link of our scientific-conceptional, analytical and normative dimension is the urban quality of life, which we consider to be the general foundation for our people-driven approach. The research consortium will carry out field research together with the most renowned local universities. Based on these insights, context-specific interventions will be implemented together with a number of core actors most important of all the Phnom Penh Capital Hall and the developer company Peng Huoth Group. Locally established multipliers such as the European Chamber of Commerce or the Center for Khmer Studies will support the dissemination of our approaches.
A strong partnership to deliver research results
Academic Quality We gathered a team with a proven record of academic excellence, extensive regional expertise and solid project experience.
Transdisciplinary Approach We draw from expertise and methods from Human Geography, Architecture, Urban Planning, Enviromental Psychology, Civil Engineering, Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics and Climate Research.
Cross-border cooperation German Universities and private sector actors collaborate with Cambodia partners from the academic arena, the municial setting and responsible ministrial offices.
The work package teams cooperate together, share their findings and develop joint deliverables as part of action research processes. Tools and products systematically build upon each other. Learning curves and feedback loops are incorporated into the project design.
It has been a great honour for the whole Build4People team to get invited for a lunch meeting at the residence of the German Ambassador, H.E. Stefan Messerer, in Phnom Penh.
Together with our local cooperation partners from Phnom Penh City Hall, Peng Huoth Group, OCIC, the Cambodian Institute for Urban Studies, the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia, and the Royal University of Phnom Penh we were able to explain about the aims of our recently started Implementation Phase in the context of the Funding Priority of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, SURE Sustainable Development of Urban Regions.
In this context, H.E. Stefan Messerer and the Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Development Cooperation Christof Weigelmeier offered their kind support to connect us with their local network to foster implementation of our outcomes, most important all, the B4P Transformation Toolbox and its related Neighbourhood Evaluation Criteria as well as its related Planning & Design Guidelines.
Build4People is thrilled to announce the publication of the Planning and Design Guideline “Climate Protection & Energy Flows“ in Khmer language. It is a key element of the B4P Transformation Toolbox, the central output product of Build4People’s Research and Development Phase (2021–2025).
Translation into Khmer has been done by the Cambodian Institute of Urban Studies (CIUS), a team led by its General Director, Dr. Tep Makathy. The Cambodian Institute for Urban Studies is also a co-publisher of this guideline and major stakeholder of its local dissemination.
The guideline’s suggestions to adopt more sustainable building practices go therefore beyond mere energy efficiency but include holistic strategies that integrate passive design, renewable energy solutions, and careful material selection. While operational carbon (emissions from building use) must be minimized, embodied carbon (emissions from construction materials) also plays a decisive role. As buildings move toward net-zero energy operation, their ecological impact increasingly depends on resource-efficient materials and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies.
In this way, our guideline provides actionable recommendations for practitioners and local authorities in Phnom Penh, supporting Cambodia’s sustainable energy transition. By combining energy-efficient design, renewable energy integration and low-carbon materials, these measures contribute to a resilient, climate-neutral urban future. Through collaboration and policy alignment, Phnom Penh can advance its sustainability goals while fostering healthier, more adaptive living environments for its residents.
Build4People would like to express its deep gratitude to the two lead authors of the planning and design guideline “Climate Protection & Energy Flows“, Julie Robles, regional manager of the Asia Low Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) project at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in Cambodia, and Dr. Kimnenh TAING, researcher at LUCID, University of Liège, and lecturer at the Institute of Technology Cambodia (ITC).
In this new episode, Dr. Blöbaum shares inspiring insights about her role as lead author of the B4P Transformation Toolbox Guideline: “Governance and Participation”, showing how inclusive governance, digital tools, and community participation can help make Cambodia’s cities more sustainable and people-friendly!
The B4P Transformation Toolbox is a practical guide to help local governments, planners, and communities work together for better urban development – focusing on collaboration, transparency, and local empowerment as the key to transformation.
Dr. Blöbaum is a leading environmental and social psychologist with years of experience in sustainable behavior and community engagement. Her research explores how trust, governance, and social norms can drive positive change toward a greener future.
We would like to kindly thank Dr. Anke Blöbaum as well as the whole OVGU for their valuable contribution to the B4P Transformation Toolbox and look very much forward to fostering people-centered urban development in the urban landscape of Phnom Penh.
To translate publications into the local language greatly enhances accessibility and therefore hopefully also fosters its transformative impacts.
Therefore, Build4People is very happy to announce the publication of the Planning and Design Guideline “ Social Inclusion & Local Economy“, in Khmer language, a key element of the B4P Transformation Toolbox, the central output product of Build4People’s Research and Development Phase (2021–2025). Co-publisher is the Cambodian Institute for Urban Studies (CIUS).
Our sincere gratitude particularly goes to Prof. Dr. Tep Makathy, General Director of CIUS, Kul Socheata and to their team of supporting students, who accomplished all of the valuable translation work.
