Design for adaptability, re-use and deconstruction of buildings, in line with the principles of circular economy (Built4People Partnership)
European Comission
ExpectedOutcome :
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Improved adaptability of buildings and building units to new uses.
- Increased reuse and recycling of building elements and products.
- Extended service life of buildings.
- Increased awareness on best practices for design for adaptability, reuse and deconstruction. Scope :
Based on the integration of innovative tools, products and techniques, to enable construction and renovation that embeds the principle of extending the service life of buildings, and facilitate adaptability to changing user needs (e.g. for optimal use of indoor space or to improve working and living conditions), reuse, and deconstruction, in a life-cycle optimisation and circular economy perspective.
Proposals are expected to address all of the following:
- Validate construction and renovation solutions based on the integration of innovative tools, products, techniques, processes and methods, that facilitate deconstruction and reuse, based on life-cycle approaches across the value chain.
- Ensure the solutions validated:
- Consider the adaptability and reversibility of buildings and building units to changing uses, and to other relevant factors (e.g. evolution of surroundings).
- Improve the ease of reuse of construction elements and products from existing buildings, also facilitating recycling when reuse is not possible.
- Develop building elements and products that can be disassembled and reused, including those made from CO2-storing materials such as sustainably sourced long-lived bio-based materials and products and, innovative lower emission materials /aggregates.
- Address all components of buildings, including structural elements, envelopes, interior fixtures and fittings, and technical building systems.
- Are rooted in local and regional value chains, based on participative approaches for social acceptability of innovation, in particular with regard to the workforce’s practices and skills.
- Can flexibly adapt to local / regional sourcing of innovative products and materials to increase replication.
- Address climate change mitigation, minimising emissions.
- Allow to minimise any negative impacts of pollution and biodiversity loss from renovation and construction works.
- Validation of the solutions in a relevant environment (real-life or close to real-life) that:
- Covers residential and non-residential projects, half of which at least should be renovation projects.
- Covers at least two different countries, with diverse climatic conditions.
- Involves local and regional values chains, in particular SMEs, based on participatory approaches to increase innovation buy-in from users.
- Results in clear and, where relevant, quantified and measurable indicators on the improvements due to the use of the solutions.
- Deliver guidance and recommendations for technology providers, regulatory authorities, certification and standardisation bodies, and define and implement ambitious dissemination actions, to promote the approaches demonstrated and support their replication.
- Where relevant, contribute through specific and targeted actions to standardisation and regulatory evolutions that can foster reuse and deconstruction of buildings materials and products.
- Contribute to the activities of the Built4People partners and to the Built4People network of innovation clusters.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric sustainable built environment’ (Built4People). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on results to the European Partnership ‘People-centric sustainable built environment’ (Built4People) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.
Selected proposal(s) could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). The JRC may provide support in research activities related to the design for adaptability, design-for-deconstruction and re-use of building elements for both new construction and renovation of buildings.
Specific Topic Conditions :
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
General conditions
- Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
- Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .
- Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
Evaluation and award:
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
- Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
- Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual