It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the first issue of HOUSEFUL’s newsletter, a series that will keep you up to date with our project.
I am often asked to explain what HOUSEFUL is. When trying to answer, I realise how difficult it is to embrace all its peculiar aspects with just one answer. But what I always say is that to me, HOUSEFUL is more than the sum of sixteen partners from eight countries and designing twelve innovative solutions for the management of waste, water, energy and material resources along the entire housing value chain. More than a European project whose results are being demonstrated in two of the continent’s most important cities, namely Barcelona and Vienna. To me, it is the possibility to foster the global adoption of the circular approach in one of the most environmentally harmful aspects of our society: buildings, edifices and our own homes. To me, it is a concrete chance to protect our planet.
HOUSEFUL is still young. Less than a year has passed since we met to kick it off in May 2018. But the first months have been very fruitful, with many good news to report!
Work has been done to identify and map HOUSEFUL’s main stakeholder groups, in order to understand their needs and take them into account throughout the whole project. We have also worked on the development of a set of indicators for the analysis of the building’s circularity, as well as on 3D Building Information Modelling and material passports. Last but not least, we have performed many lab tests, such as those on grey- and blackwater treatment for water reuse and energy valorisation. And new results are coming soon!
Before you dive into our stories, let me conclude by inviting you to follow us on Twitter to stay tuned on our journey and to check our project video.
And now it is time to sit back, relax and have a glimpse of our collection of news, which you are welcome to share with all your relatives, friends and colleagues.
Enjoy your reading!
Sergio Martinez HOUSEFUL project coordinator LEITAT Technological Center
HOUSEFUL VIDEO
Watch the HOUSEFUL video and discover our innovative interventions for efficient management of materials, waste, water and energy along the entire housing value chain
HOUSEFUL LEAFLET
At EU level, the housing sector is responsible for 9% of GDP. However, it also uses 50% of the extracted materials, 40% and 30% of available energy and water resources, produces 30% of total waste and emits 35% of green-house gasses. No doubt that new, radical actions are needed.
Sergio Martinez is Principal Researcher at the LEITAT Technological Center in Terrassa (Spain) and coordinator of the EU-funded HOUSEFUL project. In this interview he explains the harmful environmental impact of the housing sector and why initiatives such as HOUSEFUL are needed to reverse the tide.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 776708. The information reflects only the author’s view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Our privacy policyhas been updated in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation, no. 679/2016, to this regard. If you would like to unsubscribe click here
