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.
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.
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.
Stay up-to-date with our latest activities
The festive season is upon us, and we at Build4People are also getting ready
for the holidays. We will be taking a short break over the coming days
to enjoy this special time with our loved ones.
🌟 Here’s to a successful and peaceful New Year! 🌟
Stay healthy and enjoy the festive season. We look forward to starting
the New Year with fresh energy and many new creative ideas.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Feel warmly invited to have a look at the most recent Build4People video clips documenting select key activities of our Build4People team during our mission to Phnom Penh, Cambodia 🇰🇭 in December 2025.
Documentation of Build4People Transformation Workshop “Citizen Science Tools”, RUPP, 02 Dec 2025: https://youtu.be/QL4d5sdAvW8 🚀
Build4People lecture and training about digital urban planning and participation tools, 03 Dec 2025: https://youtu.be/YRNxqeiDr8g 🚀
Documentation of B4P Implementation Phase Kick-off Conference at PP Smart City Hub, 04 December 2025: https://youtu.be/Tfoo3fxZqyI 🚀
We regard the transparent dissemination about Build4People’s activities via our YouTube Channel 🫂 as key component of our science communication and outreach strategy. We also consider this a sign of good scientific practice.
If you want know more about our transformative approaches to support sustainable urban development, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Your kind interest is very much appreciated. 🙏 💛 🙏
#Build4People #BMFTR_SUREregion #sciencecommunication #sciencesocietytransfer #goodscientificpractice #scientifictransparency #scientificoutreach
On 12 December 2025, Dr. Tep Makathy, Director of the Cambodian Institute of Urban Studies (CIUS) got invited to represent Build4People at the recent 1st National Policy Workshop on Nature-based Solutions in Cambodia at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC), Phnom Penh.
During a session moderated by Ms Asih Budiati, Team Leader, EU Regional Project to ASEAN, Tep Makathy gave a presentation jointly prepared by Michael Waibel and himself about the Build4People Transformation Toolbox and the respective Neighbourhood Evaluation Criteria (co-developed by the DGNB German Sustainable Building Council) as well as supporting Planning and Design Guidelines.
He illustrated their practical implementation by introducing examples at neighborhood level from the Build4People Ecocity Transition Lab 2024 focussing on Koh Norea in cooperation with Phnom Penh City Hall and one of the leading Cambodian Property Developer Companies OCIC Group.
In his conclusion Tep Makathy highlighted about potential synergies between the Build4People project and the EU-TAF project focussing on nature-based solutions and mentioned the need to mainstream the Build4People sustainability criteria and guidelines into policies and formal regulations.
After his presentation, Tep Makathy got the opportunity to hand-over the complete set of Build4People Transformation Toolbox Neighbourhood Evaluation Criteria and Planning and Design Guidelines to HE the Secretary of State of the MLMUPC.
The event provided further valuable opportunities for networking, among others to Koen Everaert, First Secretary of the Delegation of the European Union to the Kingdom of Cambodia, or to Ben Furmage, CEO of the Water Sensitive Cities project led by Monash University Sustainable Development Institute, Australia.
All in all, it has been an inspiring event to advocate for Build4People’s approaches and the identification of manifold promising synergies to the national policy level, in particular.
Finally, Build4People would like to express its sincere gratitude to the EU TAF project on Nature-based Solutions, particularly to the consultant Harvey Rich, to invite us to this meaningful conference.
#Build4People #BMFTR_SUREregions
On 04 December 2025, there was the official launching of the Build4People Implementation phase (2025-2027). This took place at the newly founded Phnom Penh Smart City Hub within the compound of Cambodia’s capital city most historical and iconic landmark, Wat Phnom.
The Phnom Penh Smart City Hub is managed by Phnom Penh Capital Hall and its foundation got inspired by a delegation visit organized by Build4People to CityLAB Berlin in 2024.
Now, we are very proud that CityLAB Berlin has become one of our new digitalization partners of the Implementation phase. CityLAB Berlin will consult Phnom Penh Smart City Hub. Another new digitalization partner specialized in the implementation of digital urban planning and participation tools is the Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture at Technische Universität Dresden.
Together with our established team members from Eble Messerschmidt Partner, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg and Stiftung Universität Hildesheim we will tackle the so called Twin Transformation bringing together smart and green city strategies to foster sustainable urban neighbourhood development of Phnom Penh.
Thereby, one core objective of the Implementation phase will be the digitalization of the B4P Transformation Toolbox as inter-active information-, public participation-, knowledge-, technology-, and learning platform supporting evidence-based data-driven decisions as well as scenario building towards sustainability and enhanced quality of life in urban Cambodia.
We were very happy that partners from Cambodia’s major universities (Royal University of Phnom Penh, Royal University of Fine Arts, Paññasastra University of Cambodia (PUC), Norton University, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Western University, the private sector housing sector (OCIC, Peng Huoth Group, Chip Mong Group, and Ly Hour Group), the Cambodian Institute for Urban Studies, professionals, students, and other interested groups joined this meaningful event.
Last but not least, we would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Christof Weigelmeier of the German Embassy in Cambodia for providing an inspiring greeting address.
#Build4People #BMFTR_SUREregions
