Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MULTICLIMACT (MULTI-faceted CLIMate adaptation ACTions to improve resilience, preparedness and responsiveness of the built environment against multiple hazards at multiple scales)
Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2024-09-30
The MULTICLIMACT project addresses climate change and natural hazards impacting the built environment. Involving 25 institutions across Europe, it combines engineering, environmental, and social sciences to develop practical solutions for urban resilience and sustainability. MULTICLIMACT provides tools and frameworks to help stakeholders assess and improve the resilience of buildings, including cultural heritage sites, and urban areas. It emphasizes integrating resilience into every phase of the built environment’s life cycle, focusing on human well-being and quality of life.
The project uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining design, materials science, and digital tools to manage risks like flood, heatwaves, drought and earthquake. Its 18 innovative tools will be tested in four European pilot sites representing a range of geographic, climatic, and socio-economic contextsto ensure adaptability. MULTICLIMACT supports climate goals by aligning with policies for safer, greener communities. The methodology follows four key steps: Plan and Design, Develop, Test, and Deploy and Revise, organized into three phases for effective progress.
The expected impacts include reducing economic losses, improving energy efficiency and minimizing health risks. Tailored solutions for cultural heritage buildings will help protect these assets while preserving their value. Social sciences play a crucial role in ensuring strategies are community-focused, involving citizens and stakeholders in co-designing solutions. By connecting technical innovation with societal needs, MULTICLIMACT aims to create scalable, long-lasting solutions for a climate-resilient future.
The project uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining design, materials science, and digital tools to manage risks like flood, heatwaves, drought and earthquake. Its 18 innovative tools will be tested in four European pilot sites representing a range of geographic, climatic, and socio-economic contextsto ensure adaptability. MULTICLIMACT supports climate goals by aligning with policies for safer, greener communities. The methodology follows four key steps: Plan and Design, Develop, Test, and Deploy and Revise, organized into three phases for effective progress.
The expected impacts include reducing economic losses, improving energy efficiency and minimizing health risks. Tailored solutions for cultural heritage buildings will help protect these assets while preserving their value. Social sciences play a crucial role in ensuring strategies are community-focused, involving citizens and stakeholders in co-designing solutions. By connecting technical innovation with societal needs, MULTICLIMACT aims to create scalable, long-lasting solutions for a climate-resilient future.
The MULTICLIMACT project is structured into seventeen Work Packages, organized into three reporting periods and corresponding to the three phases of the project (Plan and Design, Develop, Test, Deploy and Revise). During the first year, spanning WP1 to WP6, the project successfully concluded and finalized its first phase, focused on design and planning MULTICLIMACT activities and solutions for enhancing climate resilience in the built environment. This phase serves as a crucial foundation for the subsequent development, testing, deployment, and refinement phases planned in the next reporting periods.
WP1 – Resilience Framework Plan & Design: Key accomplishments include the creation of the MULTICLIMACT resilience scorecard method, a flexible and shareable tool supporting multi-scale and multi-dimensional assessments of climate resilience. A KPI-based assessment framework was also finalized, adaptable to diverse geographic and hazard contexts. The conceptual framework of the CREMA tool was established, setting the stage for future development in WP7.
WP2 – Practices and methods for supporting natural hazards mitigation and sustainability: The project delivered a catalogue of 44 adaptation measures, integrating physical, technological, and nature-based solutions to enhance resilience at multiple scales. Guidelines for energy and water interventions were also developed to support climate-proofing efforts, focusing on self-sustainability and adaptation to regional conditions. Additionally, a multi-scale KPI-based framework for cultural heritage was created, integrating social, physical, and governance dimensions for resilience assessment.
WP3 – Advanced Materials and Technologies: Notable achievements include the design and initial validation of cooling pavement materials to mitigate urban heat-island effects and bioswales for reducing water runoff. For flood defense systems, finite element models were developed and complemented with functional prototypes of fiber optic monitoring systems. In building resilience, engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) and multifunctional mortars were designed, combining energy efficiency with pollutant-reduction properties for improved indoor environments.
WP4 – Digital Solutions for supporting the protective role of the built environment: Progress in WP4 focused on the deisgn of digital tools for real-time monitoring and decision-making. Highlights include the design of CIPCast enhancements for early-warning systems, the release of an alpha version of the LIS mobile app, and the conceptualization of a fiber-optics-based monitoring system for flood defenses. Additionally, the PlanHeat tool design was enhanced to support cost-effective energy retrofitting scenarios in urban areas.
WP6 – Project Coordination and Management: To ensure timely delivery of results, WP6 achieved the submission of 20 deliverables and achievement of two milestones. Tools and procedures for project monitoring were implemented, enabling efficient coordination of scientific, technical, and administrative activities.
The completion of the design and planning phase in this first year represents a key milestone in the MULTICLIMACT project. It has laid the groundwork for the subsequent phases, which will focus on the development of innovative solutions, field testing, and large-scale deployment. These forthcoming activities will leverage the robust framework established in the initial phase to enhance climate resilience across multiple scales of the built environment.
WP1 – Resilience Framework Plan & Design: Key accomplishments include the creation of the MULTICLIMACT resilience scorecard method, a flexible and shareable tool supporting multi-scale and multi-dimensional assessments of climate resilience. A KPI-based assessment framework was also finalized, adaptable to diverse geographic and hazard contexts. The conceptual framework of the CREMA tool was established, setting the stage for future development in WP7.
WP2 – Practices and methods for supporting natural hazards mitigation and sustainability: The project delivered a catalogue of 44 adaptation measures, integrating physical, technological, and nature-based solutions to enhance resilience at multiple scales. Guidelines for energy and water interventions were also developed to support climate-proofing efforts, focusing on self-sustainability and adaptation to regional conditions. Additionally, a multi-scale KPI-based framework for cultural heritage was created, integrating social, physical, and governance dimensions for resilience assessment.
WP3 – Advanced Materials and Technologies: Notable achievements include the design and initial validation of cooling pavement materials to mitigate urban heat-island effects and bioswales for reducing water runoff. For flood defense systems, finite element models were developed and complemented with functional prototypes of fiber optic monitoring systems. In building resilience, engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) and multifunctional mortars were designed, combining energy efficiency with pollutant-reduction properties for improved indoor environments.
WP4 – Digital Solutions for supporting the protective role of the built environment: Progress in WP4 focused on the deisgn of digital tools for real-time monitoring and decision-making. Highlights include the design of CIPCast enhancements for early-warning systems, the release of an alpha version of the LIS mobile app, and the conceptualization of a fiber-optics-based monitoring system for flood defenses. Additionally, the PlanHeat tool design was enhanced to support cost-effective energy retrofitting scenarios in urban areas.
WP6 – Project Coordination and Management: To ensure timely delivery of results, WP6 achieved the submission of 20 deliverables and achievement of two milestones. Tools and procedures for project monitoring were implemented, enabling efficient coordination of scientific, technical, and administrative activities.
The completion of the design and planning phase in this first year represents a key milestone in the MULTICLIMACT project. It has laid the groundwork for the subsequent phases, which will focus on the development of innovative solutions, field testing, and large-scale deployment. These forthcoming activities will leverage the robust framework established in the initial phase to enhance climate resilience across multiple scales of the built environment.
The MULTICLIMACT project has advanced climate adaptation for the built environment, creating a multi-hazard framework that integrates resilience scorecards, innovative materials, and digital tools. Key innovations include:
- MULTICLIMACT Climate REsilience Maturity Assessment (CREMA) Tool: a decision making support tool to evaluate different assets of the built environment (buildings, infrastructures and urban spaces)
against multiple hazards, by implementing a new human-built environment integrated approach to resilience, as well as a quantitative framework for evaluating the impact of design and planning methods, materials, technologies and digital solutions (the MULTICLIMACT toolkit).
- Innovative Planning: New methodologies for energy retrofitting and supply chain resilience that combine climate adaptation and mitigation.
- Advanced Digital Solutions: Early-warning systems and predictive tools for climate-proof urban planning, enhancing preparedness for extreme events.
- Natural Resilience Materials: Eco-friendly, adaptable materials, such as porous asphalt with recycled content, that reduce heat islands and flood risks.
Future needs include refining tools, large-scale testing, market access, regulatory support, and fostering public-private partnerships that will be adressed in the second and third phase of the project. Social innovation and community engagement will ensure sustainable, long-term adoption and impact.
- MULTICLIMACT Climate REsilience Maturity Assessment (CREMA) Tool: a decision making support tool to evaluate different assets of the built environment (buildings, infrastructures and urban spaces)
against multiple hazards, by implementing a new human-built environment integrated approach to resilience, as well as a quantitative framework for evaluating the impact of design and planning methods, materials, technologies and digital solutions (the MULTICLIMACT toolkit).
- Innovative Planning: New methodologies for energy retrofitting and supply chain resilience that combine climate adaptation and mitigation.
- Advanced Digital Solutions: Early-warning systems and predictive tools for climate-proof urban planning, enhancing preparedness for extreme events.
- Natural Resilience Materials: Eco-friendly, adaptable materials, such as porous asphalt with recycled content, that reduce heat islands and flood risks.
Future needs include refining tools, large-scale testing, market access, regulatory support, and fostering public-private partnerships that will be adressed in the second and third phase of the project. Social innovation and community engagement will ensure sustainable, long-term adoption and impact.