CROstruction Exchange 2011

Merlin, Heiko and I were there from Karlsruhe. We arrived in Zagreb on Friday and spent the first day on a leisurely sightseeing tour with Filip, a member of the host LC Zagreb. We gradually met up with the other participants until we were complete and took the bus to our first stop in Varaždin.

This exchange is a special one: not only is it longer than usual, but it is also organized by three different Croatian LCs, so we are visiting three different cities!

We spend our first three days in charming Varaždin, about two hours' drive from the capital. As early as the first evening, we realize the "goldenness" of the city during a night walk: the streets in the city centre are paved and car-free. The buildings around the beautiful squares with fountains are no higher than two storeys and you feel like you're in a toy town.

In the morning, each of us receives a CROstruction package with a T-shirt, information about the city and a reader with all the topics to be discussed in this exchange characterized by sustainability.

This is followed by a lecture on air pollution caused by micro-particles from stone quarrying. After lunch in the canteen, which seems more like a cozy café, we visit a landfill site. Here we learn how the contaminated rainwater can be reused after it has passed through the mountain of garbage.

We spend Sunday at the Neanderthal and Natural History Museum in Krapina. With a detour to a lake with a view of a pretty castle, we can relax for a few more hours playing cards or volleyball.

On Monday we pack early for our departure to Rijeka. But there are still a few things to do before we leave: we are first shown the city's impressive cemetery. It is located near the university and is really worth a visit.

Then the head of the geotechnical faculty at the university awaits us for a short lecture. Equipped with our construction helmets, we are then taken to the first construction site:

It is the construction of a 2-storey underground parking garage in the middle of the city. The site manager is only slightly older than us and is a fellow student of a former IACES member from the LC Varaždin.

After a three-hour drive, we arrive in Rijeka, where we immediately start the cultural program with a guided tour of the port city. Only then do we reach our hostel, but later we still have time to spend the evening on the beach.

The first day in Rijeka promises a lot: we visit an old torpedo station right by the sea. The underwater bomb was developed in the building, which is now in acute danger of decay, during the Second World War. Today it is a ruin that cannot be entered due to the risk of collapse. However, the crumbling masonry allows us a good view of the ruined structure inside and the exposed reinforcement in the concrete columns of the hall.

After finding out about the city's most important architect, Emilio Ambrosini, from the Art Nouveau period in a museum, we attend a lecture by students from the University of Rijeka. They have been thinking for a long time about how to save the listed torpedo launching pad without having to completely demolish it. This is because the building, located directly by the sea, is exposed to much greater decay than was assumed during the construction phase. The fact that it has not been entered since 1960 explains its dilapidated condition. We think about how incredibly nice it would be to open a restaurant in the renovated building...

We spend the evening at an observatory that has been converted into a club with a view of Rijeka and the sea at night - simply fantastic.

On Wednesday, another construction site is on our agenda: appropriately enough, LC Rijeka has chosen to visit the reconstruction of the city's harbor. A huge breakwater is being built here to create a new section of harbor for loading industrial ships. We are allowed to visit the port area under the strictest security precautions.

Lunch is followed by further lessons at the university. Among other things, about the natural formation of beach bays.

On our last day in Rijeka, we visit a concrete manufacturer, who is also a sponsor of the exchange and has provided us with construction helmets. We are shown the shaft mixer and the aggregates used to make Croatia's concrete.

We have just enough time for one last visit to the beach before we leave for Zagreb. When we reach Zagreb in the evening, dinner has already been prepared. Then all that awaits us is the city's nightlife and our bed.

Our first day in Zagreb begins with a workshop on our responsibility as engineers to influence sustainable construction. We split into groups and each design a concept for a low-energy house.

We don't return to the hostel until the evening. But we soon set off again, as LC Zagreb has planned a night-time city tour for us. With kerosene lamps, we walk through the medieval upper part of Croatia's capital.

On our last day of the exchange, we have some time together to look for souvenirs, later enjoy our final dinner and go out partying again.

An eventful Exchange comes to an end and before morning we have to say goodbye to the first people who are starting their journey home.

I am fascinated by how much we all have in common and how easy it was to become part of this wonderful IACES community.

We are already looking forward to the next exchange, hoping to see everyone there again.