From 09th to 11th of June 2026, the World Congress on Green Buildings (https://www.bugg-worldcongress2026.com) took place in Berlin, which was hosted by the Bundesverband GebäudeGrün e.V. (BuGG) with the support of international and national partners. The team of the Institute of Engineering Biology and Landscaping (IBLB) did not miss the opportunity to take part in the three-day event on building greening and travelled environmentally friendly with the night train from Vienna to Berlin.

At the congress, future-oriented topics such as urban climate, rainwater management and sustainability were discussed. The congress captivated with numerous speakers from different countries, a large number of cooperation and media partnerships (including associations and organisations), a wide range of exhibitors in the parallel trade exhibition, the presentation of best practice examples, the opportunity for networking and also the cross-thematic exchange of experiences between a wide variety of interest groups.

In the course of the congress, the IBLB team gave 2 lectures and presented a total of 5 posters. The following research projects could be addressed:

• GAIA – Water Demand of Blue-Green Infrastructure and its Medium and Long-Term Effects on Drinking Water Supply: VT&GI, https://forschung.boku.ac.at/de/projects/15894

• MARGRET: Metrological recording of green and non-greened objects for the development of test methods and adapted calculation models, https://forschung.boku.ac.at/de/projects/15541

• EDIBLE BALCONY GARDENS FOR RETROFIT – Vertical greening technology for the city, https://forschung.boku.ac.at/de/projects/14789

• HEDWIG: Collection of comparable measurement data for the impact assessment of façade and roof greening for the building and for the adjacent urban space, https://forschung.boku.ac.at/de/projects/15016

• GLASGgrün: Regulation of climate, energy demand and well-being in GLASinstalled by structurally integrated, vertical GREEN, https://forschung.boku.ac.at/de/projects/14192

Furthermore, two posters showed current master's theses on the topics of green roof substrates with topsoil substitutions and drought stress of climbing trees.

In addition to the lectures and discussion rounds, excursions to exciting implementation projects in Berlin were offered on the third day of the congress – an opportunity that was obviously taken up by the IBLB team. This made it possible to visit the PV green roof on the IMoS of the TU Berlin, the headquarters of Berlin Hyp with various roof terraces and indoor greening, the AERA office building with roof garden, the office building ‘Gneisenau 103’ and the ‘Living Tree Interior Greening’ property and to discuss them extensively. 

It was a pleasure to participate in the congress and the excursions and to gain an insight into other (research) projects. The IBLB would like to thank the congress organizers for the exciting program and is already looking forward to the congresses in the upcoming years!