This text highlights the key themes and advancements in energy efficiency within the building sector, as covered by the BUILD UP portal throughout 2024. It showcases significant insights, innovative solutions, and policy developments, emphasising the portal's pivotal role in driving knowledge exchange and fostering progress toward a more sustainable and energy-efficient built environment, in alignment with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
If you have expertise, best practices, or papers to share, don't hesitate to promote them through the BUILD UP portal and social media channels—it’s a simple process!
(Note: Opinions in the articles are of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the EU).
Overview Article: Decarbonisation of buildings' heating system with heat pump technologies: an overview of EU policies and projects.
Technical Article: Making sustainability part of the Design procurement, an article by James Harty, Lecturer at KEA, Eduardo Rebelo, Lecturer at Belfast Met, and Andrew Hamilton, Lecturer at Belfast Met.
Overview Article: The digital transformation of the built environment and Construction 4.0.
Technical Article: Integrating human-centric design with emerging technologies in construction, by Luis de Pedro, Infrastructure Director at NTT DATA, Jorge Luis Manzoni, Expert Sector Consultant | Infrastructure, Services & Real Estate at NTT DATA, and Luis Margarito Lira Aponte, Senior Sector Consultant | Hospitality & Logistics at NTT DATA.
Overview Article: Skills development in the EU building sector.
Technical Article: Skills as a currency in the construction sector, by Paul McCormack, Innovation Manager at Belfast Metropolitan College.
Technical Article: Developing the Italian Roadmap toward the skills needed for a Sustainable Built Environment, by Alexandre Patouillard, in-house consultant IBIMI, and Anna Moreno, International Affairs and Sustainability IBIMI.
Overview Article: Energy efficiency and affordability for households.
Technical Article: Encouraging social aspects and integration in the European built environment: the NEB initiative, an article by Valentina Đurek, PhD., Senior Project Manager, REGEA North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency; Bojan Milovanović, PhD., Associate Professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Civil Engineering; Luna Polić Barović, Senior Advisor for Local Development and European Union Funds, Dubrovnik Development Agency DURA; Petra Vučetić Osonjački, Senior Project Manager, REGEA North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency; Marina Zajec, M.Arch., licensed architect, Arhitektura E.L.I., and Marko Zlonoga, M.Arch., Head of Buildings Section, REGEA North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency.
Technical Article: Advancing justice in energy renovation for vulnerable neighbourhoods, by Diletta Ricci, Dept. of Management in the Built Environment, TU Delft, Thaleia Konstantinou, Dept. of Architectural Engineering and Technology, TU Delft, and BUILD UP Ambassador, and Henk Visscher, Dept. of Management in the Built Environment, TU Delft.
Overview Article: Circular construction and materials for a sustainable building sector.
Technical Article: Circ-Boost: A new action for circular construction in Europe, by Albert de la Fuente and Nikola Tošić, from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain.
Technical Article: Measuring and reducing embodied carbon in the building envelope, by Marco Capelli, Facade Engineer, BECxA, LEED AP BD+C, Open Project; Andrea Botti, Head of Sustainability, Open Project; Alice Garoni, Façade Engineer, BIM Specialist, Open Project, and Francesco Conserva, Vice President, Open Project.
Technical Article: Competitiveness of Integrated Photovoltaics: a case study on residential IPV applications, an article by Elina Bosch, Senior Analyst, Becquerel Institute, project partner in SEAMLESS PV; Philippe Macé, COO, Becquerel Institute, project partner in SEAMLESS PV; Ian Kenchington, Analyst, Becquerel Institute, project partner in SEAMLESS PV, and Delinke Demeter, Marketing & Communication Officer, Becquerel Institute, project partner in SEAMLESS PV.
Technical Article: Renovation strategy tool to achieve net zero neighbourhood, by Targo Kalamees, Professor at Tallinn University of Technology; Ergo Pikas, Professor at Tallinn University of Technology; Endrik Arumägi, Senior researcher at Tallinn University of Technology;
Jaanus Hallik, Researcher at Tallinn University of Technology; Innar Liiv, Professor at Tallinn University of Technology, and Einari Kisel, Head of Partnerships and Strategy at Tallinn University of Technology.
Overview Article: Passive cooling: can we cool buildings with low to no energy consumption?
Technical Article: LIFE SUPERHERO project: permeable and ventilated roofs for sustainable living, by Benedetta Ferrari, Centro Ceramico; Maria Chiara Bignozzi, Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Bologna University; Elisa Di Giuseppe, Department of Construction, Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICEA), Marche Polytechnic University; Alfonsina Di Fusco, Confindustria Ceramica, and Mario Cunial, Industrie Cotto Possagno S.p.A.
Technical Article: Decreasing temperatures at the urban and building scale: bioclimatic and low-tech strategies, by Francisca Pérez Rodríguez, Carmen Sánchez-Guevara, and Miguel Núñez Peiró, from the Department of Construction and Technology in Architecture, School of Architecture, Technical University of Madrid; Ana Sanz Fernández, Department of Urban Planning and Land Use, School of Architecture, Technical University of Madrid; Marta Gayoso Heredia, Department of Construction and Technology in Architecture, School of Architecture, Technical University of Madrid, and Daniel Torrego Gómez, Department of Graphic Expression, Composition, and Projects, University of Alicante.
Overview Article: Energy communities and citizen-led initiatives for sustainability in buildings
Technical Article: Pioneering high-rise apartment building renovations: lessons from the Annelinn+ pilot project, by Kaspar Alev, Head of Housing Policy at Ministry of Climate of Estonia, former climate specialist at City of Tartu and Annelinn+ project coordinator, Anni Martin, Ministry of Climate, LIFE IP Buildest project coordinator, and Annika Urbas, Tartu Regional Energy Agency, analyst, member of Annelinn+ living lab.
Technical Article: Funding building renovations: tackling challenges in the EU's plan for energy decarbonisation, by Evdokia BAIRAMPA Communication Manager at Three o'clock, and Mattia DE ROSA, Associate Professor at University of Genoa.
Technical Article: Energy renovations of historic homes: insights from the LIFE IP BuildEST Historic Building Renovation Living Lab, by Murel Truu, Tallinn University of Technology, Anni Martin, Estonian Ministry of Climate, and Targo Kalamees, Tallinn University of Technology.
Technical Article: How EPCs are shaping new developments in line with the EPBD recast, an article by Blanca Larraz Sancho-Tello, Eva Lucas Segarra, Ana Sanchis Huertas, and Miriam Navarro Escudero, from the Instituto Valenciano de la Edificación.
