HERIT4AGES has completed key installations at its Spanish demonstration sites in Canduela and Aguilar de Campoo. The new renovation solutions will now be monitored and tested to assess their performance in both controlled and real-use heritage environments.
Recent installations at the Romanesque Hermitage of Canduela and Posada Santa María la Real support the next phase of testing and monitoring sustainable retrofit solutions for historic buildings within the HERIT4AGES project.
Europe’s cultural heritage buildings are central to its identity, yet adapting them to modern energy, comfort and accessibility standards remains challenging. As Europe seeks to accelerate building renovation under the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the European Commission estimates that around 5–10% of the EU building stock is protected or likely to become protected in the near future. Across the wider building stock, 75% of EU buildings have poor energy performance, and the annual energy renovation rate remains around 1%. Protected buildings add another layer of complexity, as conservation requirements restrict invasive interventions and retrofit solutions must remain compatible with traditional materials and heritage values.
The HERIT4AGES project addresses this challenge by developing and validating technical and socially innovative solutions for more energy- and resource-efficient heritage renovation. Its approach combines reversible renovation solutions with environmental monitoring, a Digital Twin Ecosystem platform, a Smart Energy Router and co-creation methods.
The solutions are being tested at five demonstration sites representing different building uses, climates and conservation contexts. Two of these sites are located in northern Spain and coordinated by Fundación Santa María la Real del Patrimonio Histórico (FSMLR). With expertise in heritage restoration and preventive conservation, FSMLR develops the monitoring system integrated into the HBIM-based Digital Twin Platform, coordinates both Spanish case studies and oversees implementation across the project’s five demonstration sites.
The Romanesque Hermitage of Canduela serves as the HERIT4AGES Heritage Testing Lab. The 13th-century former church was restored and later adapted as an experimental centre for applied research in cultural heritage.
Unlike the project’s Heritage Living Labs, which operate under real-use conditions, Canduela provides a controlled environment with minimal human interference, enabling more precise before-and-after performance measurements.
During the recent installation activities, two wall areas and a significant section of the floor were equipped with HERIT4AGES panel solutions. The site is also being used to compare their performance with commercially available panels under the same environmental conditions, providing data for future performance evaluation.
The second Spanish demonstration site, Posada Santa María la Real in Aguilar de Campoo, is one of the HERIT4AGES Heritage Living Labs. The historic hotel was built on the remains of an 18th-century structure next to the Santa María la Real Monastery. As an actively used building, it provides a real operational environment for evaluating technical performance, installation constraints, and stakeholder acceptance.
Environmental monitoring began in January 2025, when FSMLR installed sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, air quality, and heating and ventilation before and after the implementation of the HERIT4AGES renovation panels. Installation activities required adaptations to the building’s complex historic structure. Ceiling panels were installed using wooden rails on a highly irregular and curved surface. The implementation of the floor solution involved additional curing time and technical adjustments, reflecting practical considerations associated with introducing new materials into an actively used historic building.
Technical and aesthetic aspects were discussed with stakeholders. The hotel management requested a unified white ceiling finish, while a local architect specialising in heritage preservation and intervention assessed the suitability of the panel weight for the existing ceiling structures and recommended refinements to panel joints. CETIM contributed technical input on possible commercial options for the ceiling finish. These decisions were taken collaboratively with project partners and local stakeholders, reflecting the HERIT4AGES co-creation approach. The monitoring team also repositioned the sensors for the next monitoring phase.
A short on-site video documents the installation activities at the Posada Santa María la Real Living Lab.
Together, the two Spanish sites provide complementary validation environments: controlled comparative testing in Canduela and real-use assessment at Posada Santa María la Real. Continued monitoring will provide data on solution performance and indoor environmental conditions, supporting the HERIT4AGES objective of developing reversible, resource-efficient, and heritage-compatible renovation solutions.
