History
More than 50 years investing in people who makes cities work.
As part of the post-world war II reconstruction of The Netherlands a building centre of excellence called Bouwcentrum was founded in Rotterdam. In 1948 the so-called ‘round building’ was officially open. The mission of the Bouwcentrum was among other things to develop methodologies and technologies to foster fast production of affordable and adequate housing and to think about innovative approaches to give responses to severe housing shortage experienced by The Netherlands.
The birth of IHS is associated with the founding of the Bouwcentrum and the process of rebuilding Rotterdam, a city that was severely damaged by a bombardment during WWII. In response to an increasing international demand for the experiences of the Bouwcentrum, an international training wing was established in 1958 to provide international education and transfer knowledge and expertise to professionals from developing countries in search for solutions in the housing and construction sectors. Professionals from other European countries facing similar situation as post-war Netherlands were also interested in this training. This was called the Bouwcentrum International Education-BIE.
