BUILD UP

Every month BUILD UP highlights publications that cover specific topics. March’s Topic of the Month is ‘Low carbon construction materials’. The website is already available for contributions and BUILD UP’s editorial board is eager to receive your discussion papers, news, and articles.

Stijn Verbeke is a senior researcher at EnergyVille/VITO and the University of Antwerp. He is an expert on smart buildings and data-driven tools for improving the energy performance of buildings and districts. Stijn holds a PhD in applied engineering and lectures on building physics courses and on the energy performance of buildings for engineering students at the University of Antwerp.

The EXCESS project has set out to demonstrate how nearly-zero energy buildings can be successfully transformed into positive energy buildings (PEBs) across four different European Climatic Zones (Nordic, Continental, Mediterranean, and Coastal).

The European Commission has provided fresh funding to continue the work of the European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA) facility, implemented by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Under the new agreement, the initiative will support projects across its sustainable energy (€30 million) and sustainable transport (€5 million) portfolios.

re-MODULEES is a project funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, having as an overall aim the creation of the EU-wide retrofit market activation framework in the residential building sector. This excellent initiative is supported by digital and physical Renovation Hubs at member state and EU level.

SmartEn brought out this paper to set out its position on the need to quantify the Demand Side Flexibility of a building as a component of the local energy system’s carbon footprint. In this paper, SmartEn outlines the benefits of a building energy performance quantification metric that incorporates DSF and recommends an ideal format of expressing the Actual Performance Metric.

This report is the first output of the GlobalABC ‘adaptation’ working group. Launched at COP24 in Katowice, this was coordinated by the Green Building Observatory (OID, Paris) with the support of the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.

On the outskirts of Aarhus lies Lisbjerg Bakke, a 4,100m2 hybrid timber building and winner of the 2014 Sustainable Social Housing of the Future Competition. In a joint venture between the architects and engineers, the full lifecycle of the building has been taken into consideration from the outset, with a flexible design that allows for the reconfiguration of the building into new layouts or office space, and building components that can be easily upgraded.

Brinova Arena Karlskrona is a multi-functional venue suitable for large events and sports activities. It is built to the PHI Low Energy Standard and was completed in 2019. Heating from the district heating net is distributed using ceiling panels, underfloor heating in sanitary rooms and changing rooms, and ventilation air post heating and radiators.

Many more energy communities are being established across Europe, and an estimated 98 million more Europeans are expected to join them by 2050. The EU-funded REScoopVPP project will establish the most advanced community-driven smart building ecosystem for all energy communities.

To achieve the COP21 goal of nearly-zero energy, zero emission buildings MBLabs Labs strives to unleash the innovation potential of the SMEs of the Construction sector by lowering the entry barriers to test innovative solutions in a network of testing facilities in RTOs and Living Labs in 13 countries.

This indicator will allow for rating the smart readiness of buildings, i.e. the ability of buildings (or building units) to adapt their operation to the needs of the occupant, while also optimizing energy efficiency and the overall performance and to adapt their operation in reaction to signals from the grid (energy flexibility).

The European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) aims to improve urban life through sustainable solutions. IRIS project is committed to actively participate in the 6 ‘Action Clusters’ set by the EIP-SCC's, therefore all of the Action Cluster's objectives are targeted in the project, and the IRIS Lighthouse cities are all active participants in the Action Clusters.

This 10th webinar was focussed on building energy performance calculations for non-residential buildings. At this webinar we demonstrated how the EPB standards can be used to deal with various types of buildings and systems, considering different conditions of use (EN 16798-1) and various control strategies, for diverse climates.

The ‘Lightweight solutions for high insulating building envelopes – The EENSULATE project’ webinar raises awareness of the most innovative building renovation and energy saving solutions and presents the technologies developed by the EENSULATE project, which is co-funded by the European Commission in the framework of Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

This Calculator determines the carbon footprint of construction equipment over its entire lifecycle and is applicable to all types of equipment, from mini excavators and wheel loaders to generators, boom lifts and access platforms.

EFFECT4buildings is mapping and spreading knowledge on technology solutions for energy efficiency in buildings to achieve economic savings. Building managers gain from better knowledge on their profitability, performance and how to prioritise them to benefit from the highest possible value.

VEEP has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No: 723582 on 1 October 2016 to develop and demonstrate a series of technological solutions for the massive retrofitting of our built environment, aiming at cost-effectively reducing building energy consumption.

ISH will take the form of a purely digital event from 22 to 26 March 2021. Take advantage of the numerous digital business functions for greater interaction and networking.

Bio360 Expo attracts over 7,000 professionals and 450 exhibitors from across 35 countries and 5 continents. Its highly international character is further enhanced through a rich conference programme with simultaneous translation, a large panel of international speakers, and international B2B business meetings.

CITE 2021 provides the perfect platform to discuss the latest developments in the field of projects and innovations in new technologies applied to building, architecture, engineering, and research.