Building retrofitting

[STUDY] Understand the decision-making process that leads co-owners to engage in renovation work

October 31, 2018

Since 2016, the GAEL laboratory, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Area, has been conducting an action-research project to understand the determinants of decision-making by co-owners registered in the Mur | Mur (campaign for the insulation and thermal renovation of buildings) scheme run by the Metropolitan Area. This study analyses the economic, financial and sociological aspects […]

Got big ideas to improve Preston? The City-zen Roadshow wants to hear them

October 24, 2018

International experts will help bring your ideas to life. People are being invited to share their ideas on how they’d like to change or improve Preston to make it a more sustainable and even better city to live and work in. The City-zen Roadshow is coming to Preston for five days from 12 to 16 […]

Rehabilitation of the Mistral Towers in Grenoble: urban and social renovation

July 3, 2018

Interview with Gilles Billion, head of the “rehabilitation service”, who discusses the urban renewal of this neighbourhood in difficulty. “Actis has been a social lessor involved in the energy transition for nearly 10 years*. We have rehabilitated or are rehabilitating more than 1,000 homes at BBC level, resulting in a significant reduction in charges for […]

All you need to know about energy efficiency: inspiring examples from all over the continent

March 20, 2018

For one afternoon, the Local Energy and Climate Agency (ALEC) exported its information meeting format (ALEC Thursdays) to open up to the wide public of the City-zen Days. The participants, European partners or simply curious, then came to discover the energy renovation operations at work in Grenoble and Amsterdam. During this Thursday of the ALEC […]

Energy transition and responsible housing at the heart of ACTIS’ rehabilitation project

February 21, 2018

Making the rehabilitation of buildings a social project in the service of the energy transition is the approach used by Actis, the leading landlord in the Grenoble area, through its rehabilitation project of the Tours Mistral in Grenoble. The company highlighted these objectives during a site visit organised as part of the City-zen Days. A […]

Let’s check: is the energy use of our renovated buildings really improving?

Insulation, solar panels, HR glazing and new installations. All over Europe the existing building stock gets updated to become NZEB, a (Nearly) Zero Energy Building. We’d like to know if these renovations live up to their expectations and which investments are the smartest. Therefore we monitor the energy performance of all buildings within the framework […]

A solar roof for my school: renewable energies are invited among the youngest!

February 9, 2018

The City-zen Days opened under a solar sign on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 with the inauguration of the newly built photovoltaic roof at the Jean Racine school in Grenoble. All the actors who contributed to its installation were present, as well as the pupils and their teachers. Energ’y Citoyennes is the initiator of these solar […]

Autoconsumption of solar energy: the local energy and climat agency paves the way in Grenoble’s metropolitan area

Facing the snow-covered mountains, the Grenoble Local Energy and Climate Agency presented its new innovative project on January 31, 2018: an installation of 55 photovoltaic panels with a power of 16.5 kWp whose electricity produced is self-consumed on site. After a presentation of the functioning, objectives and regulations of the project by Jérôme Buffière, project […]

What are your experiences with energy-saving measures? Have you taken energy-saving measures at home or not?

December 12, 2017

Let us learn from you so that we can reduce the energy consumption in Europe even further. More and more people are deciding to renovate their house in a sustainable manner: for example with insulation, double glazing or by installing solar panels. You might be one of them. But it is also possible that you […]

Grenoble’s energy master plan : less waste, more renewable

The real way to move forward in the energy transition is to consume less energy to heat, move, manufacture … The need is also to gradually replace fossil fuels such as gas, gasoline and fuel oil by renewable energies! To achieve this, the Grenoble metropolitan area has a demanding roadmap by 2030 : reduce all […]

This is what motivated Koos, Frank and Jan to renovate their Amsterdam homes in a highly energy efficient way.

November 28, 2017

About 5 years ago, ventilating the desire to eat less meat would have been frowned upon. Going vegan would have meant social suicide. Not today. Living a more sustainable lifestyle is on the rise. The number of people that separate waste or buy organic is growing. But when it comes to bigger investments, such as […]

Enery saving in progress! City-zen @ seminar Smart Buildings in a Smart City Prague.

June 6, 2017

“Save water: share your shower” / “This designer bag is yours to use during your stay (and much cooler than disposable plastic bags)” These were just some of the nudges in my room at the Mosaic House in Prague, a former office building that has been turned into a BREEAM excellent hotel, where I was invited […]

Renovation of co-owned apartment complexes: dream first, then decide

April 18, 2017

To refurbish apartment complexes, the majority of voting co-owners must be in favor of renovation activities. Collective decision-making is never easy. And if it involves money, well, it is even harder. To cater for that difficulty, the Local Energy and Climate Agency of Grenoble metropolitan area – ALEC, created a participatory workshop called “Refurbish my […]

In Grenoble’s Presqu’ile Ecodistrict, 800 dwellings will be heated and cooled with geothermal energy

April 10, 2017

Awarded by the government “Investments for the future”, Grenoble is making sustainable building a priority, in particular in the Presqu’ile area. For this purpose, the city relies on new technologies and innovations. City-zen takes part in this ambitious project. In addition to being a university and research campus, the Presqu’ile area will host many new […]

Mur | Mur 2 : Insulation campaign 2016-2020 in Grenoble

December 6, 2016

A first Mur | Mur insulation campaign was carried out between 2010 and 2014. It targeted only condominiums constructed between 1945 and 1975. It enabled the energy renovation of nearly 4,500 dwellings.  A new Mur | Mur 2 campaign is operational in the Grenoble Metropolis for the thermal renovation of condominiums, as well as individual […]

How to make a monumental post war building futureproof? Housing cooperation Eigen Haard took up the challenge successfully

How to make a monumental post war building futureproof ? Dutch housing cooperation Eigen Haard took up the challenge successfully: their model is now widely adopted by others. Between 1949 and 1965, 10.000 Nemavo-Airey dwellings were constructed in the Netherlands, half of them in Amsterdam. As the small apartments (40-60m2) and the poor insulation do […]

An interview with Marjolein Cazemier. Together with 9 other couples they transformed a former school building into family homes.

May 19, 2016

“We live in a hyper-modern and energy efficient house, but with the character and atmosphere of a nineteenth century school”. Marjolein and her husband, along with nine other couples, bought an old school building in Amsterdam, Oud-West. Together with their son they now live in a former classroom that has been converted into large house. […]

City-zen funding for retrofitting projects in Amsterdam – energy efficient home renovations

March 10, 2016

The European Commission provides funding through City-zen for energy efficient home renovations. Amsterdam Smart City is looking for inspiring and innovative projects in Amsterdam. Some residents have already taken this step, like Wigger Verschoor from Amsterdam North, who has almost completed his home energy efficient home renovation. Wigger Verschoor alongside his energy-efficient heating system. Photo […]

Ambitious residential retrofit projects for City-zen in Amsterdam.

February 8, 2016

Homeowners can apply again for European support. At the end of 2015, homeowners of ambitious residential energy retrofit projects in Amsterdam were able to apply for European support via City-zen. Amsterdam Smart City selected projects with in total 475 dwellings. Not only housing corporations and property investors, but also homeowners and co-owners applied. For the […]

Three lessons from City-zen in Amsterdam New West – Column by Mirko Van Vliet

November 19, 2015

The district Amsterdam New-West is a ‘small giant’ by itself with its own specific set of challenges and opportunities. Characterized by cultural diversity, contrasting neighborhoods and citizens with a drive to innovate. After one and a half year of project experience in the district, what lessons can City-zen share with cities across Europe? What challenges […]

Amsterdam Smart City launches a call to identify suitable retrofit projects for City-zen.

October 23, 2015

Owners of ambitious energy retrofit projects in Amsterdam can apply for European support via City-zen until November 30th, 2015. The available support of 2,6 million euro will be distributed to the most ambitious projects, with the largest reduction in CO2 emission reduction. Not only housing corporations and property investors can apply but also home-owners and […]

First demo in Amsterdam ready : school benefits from Comfort Cooling with cold from the IJ river

May 22, 2015

Last September, the newly built elementary schools Het Meervoud and De Houthaven in the Houthaven district in Amsterdam opened its doors to their pupils and staff. As these buildings are connected to the Comfort Cooling network, this means the first part of the first demonstration in Amsterdam is ready! Just as the other parts of […]

Words from local coordinators

November 27, 2014

Amsterdam Smart City Annelies Van der Stoep, local coordinator Municipality of Grenoble Perrine Flouret, local coordinator Why are you part of the project ? “Amsterdam Smart City (ASC) is a unique partnership between companies, governments, knowledge institutions and the people of Amsterdam. In five years, ASC has grown into a platform with over 100 […]

TU Delft scores with world’s most sustainable terraced house

October 2, 2014

With their concept Prêt-à-Loger, Home with a Skin, the TU Delft student team won first prize in the Sustainability category at the Solar Decathlon 2014 in Versailles. The terraced house sets an example for improving the sustainability of existing buildings in Europe. The student team opted to improve the sustainability of a terraced house dating […]

Posts Tagged ‘Building retrofitting’