The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment is an educational charity which exists to improve the quality of people’s lives by teaching and practising timeless and ecological ways of planning, designing and building.  They offer an Executive Education programme that is expertly served through the Poundbury Series as well as offering a range of customised executive education courses, from half-day lectures to two-day sessions including site visits and workshops.

The Poundbury Series is a programme of seven tours and lectures covering a range of aspects affecting the built environment including highway design, transportation and low-carbon communities. It is pitched at all those involved in the built environment from all sectors, including key decision-makers, highways engineers, transportation professionals, local politicians and council members. Teams covering all relevant areas of expertise are encouraged to come together, particularly from local authorities, so that they can view an exemplar building project and be encouraged to communicate so that they can achieve comparable outcomes.

The seminars primarily use Poundbury, the urban extension to Dorchester, as a focal point due to its internationally recognised status as one of the most advanced solutions to urban settlement.  However, alternative locations are used, such as Upton (Northamptonshire) and Shoreditch (London), as The Foundation recognises the importance of using a range of examples and developing partnerships with those involved and other appropriate organisations.
 
Last year they had speakers from the Department for Transport and CABE Space and are currently working on developing collaborative relationships for this year and beyond.

The 2010 year’s schedule is:

Valuing Sustainable Urbanism - 10 February
Structuring Settlements    - 24 March
Removing the Roadblocks    - 12 May
Transport Oriented Development - 22 June
Zero Carbon Communities - 28 July
Mixed Use - 15 September
Getting the Details Right - 3 November

In general the seminars take place between 10 am and 4 pm. The morning session comprises talks and accompanied site tours, an informal lunch followed by a keynote talk and an expert panel discussion with questions from the floor.  Each seminar can be booked individually, or the entire series can be booked at a reduced rate.

For more information on The Foundation and how to book a place on the Poundbury Series please visit the website or contact Bettina Bungay-Balwah on:

t: 0207 613 8566
e: Bettina.Bungay-Balwah@Princes-Foundation.org