OPEN CALL (Open call)
Opens (planned): 17.9.2024
Closes: 21.1.2025
WHO: Construction companies, demolition and refurbishment projects
Expected results:
The results of the project are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Better adaptability of buildings and building units to new uses.
- Increased reuse and recycling of building components and products.
- Extended lifetime of buildings.
- Increased awareness of best practice in design for adaptability, reuse and demolition.
Scope:
Based on the integration of innovative tools, products and technologies, enabling construction and renovation that incorporate the principle of extending the life of buildings and facilitate adaptation to changing user needs (e.g. optimal use of indoor space or improvement of working and living conditions), reuse and demolition from a life-cycle optimisation and circular economy perspective.
The proposals are expected to address:
- Validate construction and repair solutions based on the integration of innovative tools, products, technologies, processes and methods that facilitate dismantling and reuse through a life-cycle approach throughout the value chain.
Make sure that validated solutions:
- Consider the adaptability and recoverability of buildings and building units to changing uses and other relevant factors (e.g. environmental change).
- Improve the reusability of building components and products from existing buildings, also facilitating recycling where reuse is not possible.
- Develop building components and products that can be dismantled and reused, including CO2-binding materials such as sustainably sourced long-life biodegradable materials and products, and innovative low-emission materials/aggregates.
- Cover all parts of buildings, including structural elements, external cladding, internal fixtures and fittings and technical building systems.
- Rooted in local and regional value chains, based on participatory approaches to increase the social acceptability of innovation, especially in terms of labour practices and skills.
- Have the flexibility to adapt to local/regional sourcing of innovative products and materials to increase replicability.
- Address climate change mitigation by minimising emissions.
- Enable the minimisation of negative impacts of construction and renovation works in terms of pollution and biodiversity loss.
Validation of solutions in an appropriate environment (real or realistic) that:
- Covers residential and non-residential projects, at least half of which should be renovation projects.
- Covering at least two different countries with different climatic conditions.
- Involve local and regional value chains, in particular SMEs, through participatory approaches to empower users to innovate.
- Leading to clear and, where appropriate, measurable indicators of improvements in the use of solutions.
- Produce guidelines and recommendations for technology providers, regulators, certification and standardisation bodies, and define and implement ambitious awareness-raising activities to disseminate the approaches presented and support their replicability.
- Where relevant, engage in specific and targeted actions to develop standardisation and regulatory frameworks that can promote the re-use and dismantling of construction materials and products. Participate in Built4People partners and the Built4People innovation cluster network
