During an information conference organized by the University of Florence (partner of the Med-EcoSuRe project) on April 7, 2021, a tool/toolbox to support the planning and design of university building renovations was presented to decision-makers and energy managers.

The “Design of Passive Solutions for the Renovation of Higher Education Buildings” toolbox is an interactive, participatory, and bottom-up training and education program (Living Lab) aimed at technicians, energy managers, and students on the energy renovation of university buildings. It offers a list of suggestions for management and experience sharing.

The University of Florence team presented the structure, the phases of creation of a first version of the toolbox, the model developed to predict building behavior, and the data platform collected from the project’s pilot buildings.

Figure 1: Presentation of the tool structure

The toolkit presented includes:

An overview of passive renovation solutions for Mediterranean buildings: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to examine the most recent architectural interventions in university buildings. Following a defined methodology, case studies were organized to highlight their innovative features, allowing for comparison and evaluation. The survey provided an overview of innovative solutions for the renovation of higher education buildings.

Based on a common methodology, the analysis of individual projects allowed for comparisons based on a list of identified energy performance indicators. A critical comparative analysis of the case studies for “Renovation” and “New Construction” projects was conducted based on the various indicators analyzed.

Using all the data, it was possible to define a final classification of the projects in terms of profitability, for both renovations and new constructions.

Innovative scenarios for the energy renovation of a higher education institution in the Mediterranean: The design of innovative scenarios and use cases began using data from the energy audit and monitoring of the pilot building, integrated into the digital model (BIM). Virtual simulations of the building’s energy performance were performed and compared with the audit data. Using the innovative solutions nomogram, several intervention scenarios were defined and tested in the virtual model.

Figure 2: Presentation of the Abacus of passive renovation solutions for existing and relevant Mediterranean buildings

To address this topic, the project team adopted a participatory design process, incorporating input from stakeholders involved in the local and cross-border Living Lab.

The development of this toolbox helped identify optimal passive renovation measures and their potential for replicability for higher education buildings in the Mediterranean.

An interactive session took place at the end of the event to calibrate and enrich the first version of the toolbox developed, with input from all participants.

Figure 3: Interactive session