An ambitious multi-million-pound project aimed at overhauling how old, energy-inefficient buildings are updated and repurposed across Europe has been launched by a major European consortium involving Kingston University.

The REMADE (Renovation Management for Adaptability and Disassembly Enhancement) project, led by City St Georges, University of London, will use cultural, sustainable and inclusive design to support the EU’s sustainable growth strategy.

The three-year initiative, backed by the Horizon Europe framework, aims to transform how building renovation is conceived, delivered and financed across the continent through a new neighbourhood-centred model, Renovation-as-a-Service (RaaS). The model will combine design for adaptability and disassembly, advanced digital tools and co-created interventions – ensuring buildings are upgraded to be energy efficient.

The project will be delivered by a consortium of 16 EU academic and business partners, with Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering Dr Sahand Hosouli leading Kingston University’s part of the scheme, as the University plays a central role in advancing the project’s environmental intelligence and implementation pathways.

The University will lead the development of a cloud-based Life Cycle Assessment framework, enabling real-time environmental performance tracking of renovation technologies and supporting data-driven decision-making throughout the renovation lifecycle. Kingston will also contribute to the development of business models, financial structures and partnership strategies to support scalability, market adoption and long-term project sustainability.

Central to the project is the creation of prefabricated, modular elements for building facades and internal walls. Built with integrated energy-efficient technologies, these modular units can be rapidly snapped into place, reconfigured or uninstalled with minimal disturbance to residents.

To manage these physical components, REMADE will use a cutting-edge digital ecosystem combining an AI-enabled platform which will leverage building information modelling and digital twin technology to plan and monitor renovations in real time, smart sensors to monitor indoor and post-renovation energy consumption and automated lifecycle analysis to track materials and log building changes in a cloud repository to ensure materials can be disassembled and reused decades later.

The consortium will deploy and evaluate its methodology across four demonstration sites in Slovenia, Türkiye and Spain to bring together local municipalities, social housing providers, residents, small businesses and cultural organisations to co-design and validate the interventions.

To make the transition economically viable, REMADE will introduce novel circular financing models, including allowing building owners to lease modules rather than buy raw materials outright, creating local registries of reusable construction elements and mitigating financial risks for investors, insurers and public authorities using verified, real-time building data.

Dr Hosouli said the project could provide a blueprint for the EU Renovation Wave, an initiative to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030. “This is an exciting project which can help cut construction waste, reduce embodied carbon emissions and lower energy costs while preserving local architectural heritage. This also supports the EU’s New European Bauhaus mission to marry sustainable design with community-driven urban development – making built environments enjoyable, attractive and affordable for all.”