BIP Pavia

erasmus+ blended intensive programme
Designing new sustainable streets through Nature-Based Solutions in medium-sized cities 

actividad virtual BIP : sesión online 29 junio 2026
activitat presencial BIP : taller en Pavia (Italia) del 6 al 11 julio 2026
profs. ETSAB: Javier Zaldívar (coordinador), Mario Suñer

Participantes:  
Università di Pavia, Italia (organizador)
National Technical University of Athens, Grecia
Universidade de Lisboa , Portugal
Politechnika Opolska, Poland
Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona - UPC 

In recent decades, cities have faced various challenges, including mitigating the effects of climate change, evident in the form of heat islands and intense rainfall (“water bombs”), and the need to create sustainable and healthy quality spaces. One possible response to the challenges related to climate change effect is the use of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for designing ecological public spaces. These solutions can reactivate spaces by reintroducing nature into the urban environment and providing citizens with healthy places that enhance well-being in terms of micro-scale temperature and humidity, while also reducing stress on stormwater management.
International projects and best practices based on NBS mainly focus on large cities, often proving unsuitable for other urban contexts. Particularly under-researched contexts for the application of NBS in public space design are the historic centers of medium-sized cities, which are very common in the Italian and European context. In medium-sized cities, urban scale issues are compounded by purely architectural problems, including the relationship not only between buildings and open space but also between the historic fabric and new interventions.
The goal of the Summer School is to address the design of public spaces through the use of NBS in contexts with a strong historical and architectural charactercharacter, specifically in the city of Pavia (as an example of a medium-sized city).

What is a BIP?

Blended Intensive Programme | Programa Intensivo Combinado

BIPs are a type of Erasmus+ programme that combines a short face-to-face activity with a virtual learning component.
These are short, intensive programmes co-organised by several universities, which use innovative forms of learning and teaching and encourage the use of online cooperation by forming transnational teams of students and academic staff.

It is an elective subject

BIPs are offered as an elective subject in the student's study programme at ETSAB and, therefore, the activity is evaluated, receives a mark and forms part of their academic record. Before the activity, participants will enrol in the 3 ECTS BIP module.

It is a mobility stay

When the face-to-face BIP activity takes place outside the student's home university, it is carried out as an Erasmus+ Short-Term Mobility stay, which will be managed by the ETSAB International Relations Office.

It has financial support

This mobility programme has specific financial grants. If they meet the requirements, participants in this BIP will be eligible to apply for the Erasmus+ BIP grant in the calls managed by the UPC's International Relations Office.
 (these are competitive calls, subject to budget availability, so funding is not guaranteed).

Link to the current UPC Erasmus+ BIP grants call