Waldo Galle: knowledge connector and architect of transition thinking

Academic focus: transition to circular construction economy 

When he started his Architectural Engineering studies, Waldo Galle aspired to a job as an architect. 'But gradually I recognised how damaging the construction industry is to the planet, and my interest shifted to the circular construction economy.' For his doctorate, he studied its financial viability. 'The basis of circular construction is the smart use of building materials, allowing them to be infinitely reused,' Galle says. 'The solutions are well-known: replace polluting materials with more sustainable alternatives and make them multifunctional and dismountable. But a real transition failed to materialise, because affordability was always in question. During my doctorate, I developed a method to calculate the life cycle cost of a building, and I demonstrated that in the long run, the savings can be as much as 10 to 20 percent.'

Since the beginning of his research, general awareness around sustainability has greatly increased, and more and more policy makers and construction partners are convinced of its importance as well. 'Now, the main challenge is to move faster so we can meet the 2050 energy targets.' Today, as a part-time professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Waldo continues to work on that shift to a circular construction economy, around which he has built a small team.  

VITO Nexus: a match in ambitions 

The focus on transitions and an integrated approach to such issues explains why Waldo is also working at VITO Nexus today. 'The Nexus team supports colleagues and partners not only in the area of sustainable construction, but for all sustainability issues we are working on at VITO.' As a liaison for transformational capacity building, Waldo is building the learning platform https://nexuslearn.vito.be and designing various training and coaching programmes. 

'The methods of systems thinking and transition management are versatile and can be used in many ways. By capturing what we learn, turning this into actions and innovating methodologically, VITO Nexus's mission is to increase our personal and organisational capacity to accelerate sustainability transitions.'  

Concerned about how to organise our society within the limits of the planet, Waldo and his colleagues at VITO Nexus are pushing for a circular construction economy, affordable housing policies, resilient urban and agricultural environments, and so on. The number of challenges is huge. 'Sustainable development is central to VITO's mission and is a natural match for my ambitions,' Waldo says. 'But above all, it is the conviction that things can be done differently, the will to change structurally, and not just optimise some things, that makes me feel at home. Radical thinking can be done here.'  

Familiarising everyone with transition thinking  

'Trained as an architectural engineer, I feel comfortable jumping from the scale level of a water molecule to that of a river basin and back. Being a coach in personal or group learning is my favourite role. Today, I am a part-time professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and a part-time researcher at VITO. For me, this combination is ideal: as a scientist, I can weigh in on the debate, but thanks to my work for VITO, I stay close to the field. I think that is very important. I want to be a knowledge connector, not a professor behind a desk. And familiarising all colleagues and partners with transition thinking and doing through a variety of collaborations inside and outside VITO is what I secretly dream of.'