A School as Living Lab for climate awareness-raising
Raising climate awareness among citizens requires a multi-faceted approach, with educational facilities playing a key role in sustainability education. At Oslo’s Voldsløkka school, Living Lab engagement activities target secondary school and cultural school pupils, their parents, and the wider neighbourhood community. The activities focus on the energy transition and circularity, including energy technologies and building […]
Timber-based construction, refurbishment and superelevation scenarios
Timber-based scenarios for new and existing buildings to enhance the use of wood as a circular construction-renovation material combined with forefront sustainable and energy saving technologies, nature-based solutions, and compound performance and comfort monitoring systems. The first scenario is the construction of a new wooden-based positive energy building located in in an area currently used […]
Architectural and aesthetic integration of BIPV/BAPV/PVT solutions
Technical systems such as solar thermal and photovoltaic solutions are integrated into the vertical building envelope. New solutions are tested alongside emerging European standards for integrated building envelopes, developed through research and collaboration between the PV industry and the glass sector. These developments have influenced architectural and aesthetic outcomes, contributing to a new generation of […]
System for fixing ‘Renew-Wall’ elements to existing wall
A new fixing system was developed for attaching Renew-Wall prefabricated energy renovation panels to existing building walls. Through on-site trials and lab testing, various options were evaluated for improved speed, safety, reversibility, and ease of installation, including steel brackets, threaded rods, and systems inspired by ventilated curtain walls. The final solution, used in the Povo […]
Climate-adapted design for surface water solutions
The school courtyard was redesigned as a park with varied vegetation heights and a combination of permeable and natural surfaces, covering at least 30% of the outdoor area. The design supports local surface water management by retaining and infiltrating rainwater on site, in line with the City of Oslo’s approach to reducing runoff impacts on […]
In-situ and stand-alone monitoring system for BIPV in buildings
The Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) monitoring system helps evaluate how different solar panel technologies perform once they are part of a building façade. It measures each panel’s voltage, current, power output, and surface temperature. Tracking temperature is key, as it shows how the panels might affect indoor comfort by heating up the façade. All sensor data […]
Comfort-driven ventilation system
One of the main challenges when it comes to designing energy efficient buildings is how to guarantee air renewal without heat losses. A possible solution is to use a variable flow ventilation method. Fresh air is preheated in an intermeadiate capturing space before introducing it into the dwellings. Through automatically regulated bioclimatic elements, it is […]
Forecasting and control of LowEx system
This solution explores the integration of a low-exergy ground-source heat pump with Thermally Activated Building Systems (TABS) to deliver efficient heating and cooling in buildings, focusing on a pilot site in Oslo. While TABS enhance energy efficiency by leveraging the thermal inertia of concrete structures, their slow response time currently leads to poor indoor comfort […]
Digital design for optimal life-cycle performance
BIM and Digital Twins are used to optimise building performance from environmental and economic perspectives. The approach enables a comprehensive evaluation across the building lifecycle, including environmental impact, costs, and energy use, as well as aspects such as community inclusivity, use of indoor and outdoor spaces, water management, noise and pollution, and architectural quality.
Off-site production methods for modern methods of construction
Analysis and catalogue of EU-funded projects related to Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) using dry and off-site techniques for building energy renovation. The standardized catalogue of modular solutions—covering materials, systems, and integration methods— aims to shift from traditional on-site processes to off-site, thereby reducing costs and time while enhancing quality. Despite each project’s unique features, […]
