Effective project implementation
Discover how practitioners across Europe made sure their renovation projects were financially viable and how they created synergies with local authorities to achieve a long-lasting impact:
In its pilot phase, the project aggregated separate district-level projects scattered across the Bottrop municipality in Germany. An overarching masterplan was the mechanism of aggregation, which aimed to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% in 2030. A wide range of stakeholders took part in delivering the masterplan, including policymakers, citizens, and counted with the interest of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as Technoboxx GmbH from the metal processing industry and Emschergenossenschaft, which established the world’s first hybrid power plant from sewage treatment.
Wir inHAUSer project can be described as remarkable in terms of its comprehensive (award-winning) concept to minimise carbon footprint through energy use, where the innovative mobility approach assumed a pioneering role. The aim was to reduce the use of private cars to a minimum through alternative means of transportation. Another feature was the management of temporary accommodation for tenants who had to move out for one and a half years during renovation works. The relocation process was facilitated by the cooperation of the five social housing providers in Salzburg who make available their stock for temporary needs. Tenants were given a say in the planning and the renovation investment was not reflected on a rent hike. The cost of the refurbishment was funded with the national social housing system in Austria, where rents are calculated based on the cost of the refurbishment.
Kleiburg is the last original honeycomb style apartment block in Amsterdam. A cornerstone of the Bijlmermeer district, a modernist enclave that slowly became a derelict and deprived no-go area of the Dutch capital. Given the high investment costs that a deep renovation would entail, the building owner at the time – the Rochdale social housing association – was left with no alternative but demolition. Consortium DeFlat – a team of private developers – saw an opportunity to preserve the original building structure and architectural character and promote an alternative business model. Reducing the investment costs to a minimum only allowed for the refurbishment of the main buildings structure and façades while apartments were sold unfinished at an affordable price for residents to re-design themselves. Since then, the Kleiburg has become a thriving neighbourhood and is widely recognised as the largest ‘DIY home’ project in the Netherlands.
The ‘OPENGELA’ project set-up two neighbourhood offices in the Basque Country as One-Stop-Shops (OSS) to give advice and support to the residents of the Otxarkoaga (Bilbao) and the Txonta (Eibar) districts about green energy renovation. ‘OPENGELA’ provided an interesting financing model for the region. Born out of the premise that the income and repayment capacity levels of a great share of the population was too low to access ordinary bank loans and could only access subsidies or high-interest rate credits, the ‘MAS OPENGELA’ mechanism (a mix of public and private funds) offers loans refundable in 15 years to help those low-income households cover the full investment needed for the renovation of their homes.
ÖrebroBostäder was the first public housing provider in Sweden to include as a condition in the procurement the obligation to hire jobless inhabitants as construction workers for a limited period. In addition, the planning of the intervention aimed at fostering social cohesion in the neighbourhood.
The Caserne de Reuilly is an urban regeneration project providing affordable housing in Paris’ city centre. It forms part of the City’s long-term vision of a sustainable city. Formerly owned by the Ministry of Defense, the Reuilly military barracks was transformed to increase the supply of social and affordable housing in Paris. Public housing company Paris Habitat, the municipality, the State and other local stakeholders delivered the renovation of the barracks, favouring circularity principles while keeping the architectural heritage and the site’s memory. In the context of a highly urbanized city, Reuilly now holds affordable and social dwellings, a student residence, a nursery, common gardens, and commercial activities. A new neighbourhood emerged out of this previously vacant area.
Sociale Energie Sprong is a renovation concept based on economies of scale to speed up the retrofit of social housing buildings, while maintaining the overall cost affordable. The pilot project in Hoeselt, Belgium, was based on the usage of industrially prefabricated external cladding and energy modules, attached externally to the buildings’ façades. This process allowed an extraordinary 9 days of renovation works onsite, allowing tenants to remain in the building throughout.
In the district, multi-ownership challenges were overcome through informative meetings and visits to best practices in the neighbourhood. The Tallinn University of Technology is developing different technologies to be used in renovations such as modular building and industrialised building systems, which have been tested on a pilot project in the district.
The Austrian NGO Hilfswerk International, in collaboration with the local Foundation for Local Democracy and local and national Bosnian authorities, built six residential buildings in six cities/towns with the purpose of giving a permanent roof to vulnerable people. In parallel, they undertook a comparative study on the local context and provided a set of policy recommendations to improve the policy framework. The construction of the buildings was a pilot effort with a larger ambition of envisaging a favourable policy and regulatory framework for social housing at the state level.
Aalborg East is a project derived from a long-term strategy underpinned on resident co-creation to ensure quality of life for the residents. Between 2011 and 2021, the social housing company Himmerland Boligforening (HB) led the district regeneration with the support of a broad set of actors aiming to undertake an integrated approach. HB provided administrative support, led the institutionalisation of cross-sector work (and investment) needed for an integrated solution, and led tenant involvement. East Aalborg, like many other public housing examples in Denmark, benefited from the effective financial structure in place at the national level to support large-scale renovation projects.
VILAWATT creation aimed to drive forward the energy transition in the Catalan city of Viladecans. The project set up a public-private-citizen partnership (PPCP), as the main governance structure to manage 4 key services: 100% renewable energy supply; fast renovation of private buildings; consulting services and learning communities (energy audits & contract optimisation, training and empowerment in energy culture, financing options); and efficiency incentives via the Vilawatt local currency. The project shows the potential of urban authorities to test high risk experimental ideas. Viladecans City Council was transformed into a lab where governance and energy models and services are tested and lessons learnt.
Two homeowners’ associations started a far-reaching district renovation of their stock with the collaboration of the municipality and funded by state grants. In the absence of established cooperation streams between homeowners’ association and the local government the project placed a strong emphasis on improving inter-institutional dialogue and trust. This was done by a bottom-up approach dedicated to ensure collaboration was achieved.
The project is a result of a regulatory sandbox to test renewable energy incorporation in the network and explore potential grid optimisation through the creation of the first Slovenian energy community. The project showed the benefits that arose by less strict Distribution System Operator (DSO) regulations. Changes in the national energy law are being introduced as a result of lessons learned, together with new subsidies for the installation of photovoltaic and storage batteries.
A typical building renovation in Norway, as in most other countries, deals with modest energy measures. This can result in lost opportunities for decades. Myhrerenga is the first apartment house renovation in Norway which uses Passive House components to reduce energy consumption, guarantee thermal conform and quality indoor climate to the residents of Myhrerenga Housing Cooperative. The success of the project laid in its ability to keep what could be a costly renovation cost-effective and cost-neutral to its residents.