Croatian civil engineering faculty specializing in sustainable construction materials, nZEB building retrofits, and transport infrastructure safety across European consortia.
The Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Zagreb is Croatia's leading academic institution for structural engineering, construction materials, and built environment research. Their H2020 work focuses on two pillars: transport infrastructure safety (rail and road networks) and energy-efficient buildings (near-zero energy buildings, BIM for energy performance, green building elements). They bring strong expertise in durable construction materials — particularly alkali-activated materials as sustainable alternatives to Portland cement — and in training the construction workforce for the energy transition.
DuRSAAM was their largest project (EUR 474,734), a PhD training network on durable structures with alkali-activated binders, covering LCA, multi-scale modelling, and durability.
Three consecutive projects — Fit-to-nZEB, The nZEB Roadshow, and BUS-GoCircular — focus on training for energy-efficient building retrofits, VET schemes, and circular construction skills.
DESTinationRAIL, GoSAFE RAIL, and SAFE-10-T addressed decision support, safety management, and structural monitoring for rail and road transport networks.
Net-UBIEP applied BIM to increase building energy performance, while INCEPTION used 3D semantic modelling for cultural heritage.
BUS-GoCircular and DuRSAAM both address circularity — through green building elements and industrial by-products as cement replacements, respectively.
Their early H2020 involvement (2015–2018) centred on transport infrastructure — rail safety, decision support tools, and structural assessment of TEN-T networks. From 2017 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward energy-efficient construction: nZEB retrofitting, BIM for energy performance, and workforce training for the green building transition. Their most recent projects (2020–2024) combine energy efficiency with circular economy principles, reflecting the EU's push toward sustainable and circular construction.
Moving firmly toward circular and green construction — expect future work combining sustainable materials, energy-efficient design, and workforce upskilling for the building renovation wave.
UNIZAG GF operates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for a mid-sized faculty contributing specialist civil engineering knowledge to larger European projects. With 91 unique partners across 25 countries, they are well-networked and comfortable in diverse consortia. Their participation spans both small coordination-and-support actions (4 CSA projects) and larger research efforts, suggesting flexibility in adapting to different project structures and roles.
Broadly connected across Europe with 91 unique partners in 25 countries, indicating they are a trusted contributor sought out by diverse consortia rather than locked into a narrow regional cluster.
UNIZAG GF sits at a rare intersection of structural engineering, sustainable materials, and construction workforce training — most civil engineering faculties focus on either research or training, not both. Their combination of deep materials science (alkali-activated binders, durability modelling) with practical VET and demonstration activities makes them a strong partner for projects that need to bridge lab research and real-world building practice. As Croatia's top civil engineering faculty, they also provide a gateway to Southeast European construction markets and regulatory contexts.
