The building sector has traditionally been fragmented. Many different actors are involved at different stages, from the design to the performance monitoring stage.

EnginSoft , is an Italian consultancy specialised in computer-aided-engineering. It has experience of contributing to the development of low energy buildings, under the EU-funded DIRECTION research project.

Achieving nearly zero energy consuming cities: this is the goal of three large scale district renovation projects. They are currently being tested in Valladolid, Spain, Genoa, Italy and Kartal - Istanbul, Turkey.

To make a building sustainable, taking into account its climatic conditions is key. No better examples than the three showcase buildings under the EU funded  DIRECTION project.

Sustainable buildings partly depend on control strategies to be energy efficient.

Carlos Bárcena, head of R&D Projects at the Spanish construction Company  DRAGADOS .

A new Directive, dubbed the energy performance of buildings Directive (EPBD), brings the new concept of net -zero energy buildings (NZEB) meaning buildings with a zero energy balance that have a better level of energy performance than the standard energy efficiency requirements in current building codes.

Going from modern energy efficient houses to historic buildings must have been a big leap for you.

Window refurbishments stand out as a viable approach to dramatically reduce energy loss. As their first case of study, the project’s researchers chose to upgrade the windows of the ‘Waaghaus’ (Public Weighing House), a building located in Bolzano, Italy, that is over seven-century-old.

Europe's energy-intensive industries —like steel, cement, chemicals, or paper—are at a crossroads. These sectors once drove Europe's post-war recovery and industrial growth, cementing the region's position as a global economic powerhouse.

Seven new buildings, advanced technological solutions for energy savings, lower consumption, reduced utility bills, and increased property values—but above all, a new perspective for those living in the neighborhood.

“ There are too many fossil and non-renewable sources . There’s too much energy dirtied by injustice, wars, unjust labour relations and the concentration of enormous profits in a few hands.

Steel, cement, chemicals, glass and paper are among the so-called “energy-intensive industries” (EIIs) – these key sectors, together with refineries and minerals,  employ some 3.

Italian citizens burned their energy bills, huge crowds took the streets of several French cities and Spanish workers rallied for higher salaries.

Imagine living in a building that once leaked heat in the winter and baked in the summer, now retrofitted to be a haven of comfort and efficiency.

From homeless, anonymous guy to TV star, at least for one day. Alexandre has appeared on French media , sitting on a bridge in Lyon, while inviting passers-by to give him money by scanning a QR Code with their smartphone .

Bulgaria has not had the most auspicious of years in terms of its commitment to a green transition. In January 2023, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to backtrack on plans for an early phase-out of coal-fired power plants.

Primiero is a valley in the Dolomites, on the border between the Italian regions of Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto . Very green and crisscrossed by numerous watercourses, it is best known to tourists for the ski resorts and mountain trails of San Martino di Castrozza .

Where once there were tanks, today there is a residential centre for the disabled , an art laboratory for people with mental health problems, a training centre for immigrants and ex-convicts, a restaurant, a hall for cultural events and a co-working space.

Each year over 3.5 million tourists from all over the world visit Pompeii to admire the ruins left by the eruption of the Vesuvius that, in 79 AD, engulfed it together with the nearby city of Herculaneum.