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Mimicking nature to valorise earth as a building resource

Objective

The earth below our feet may be the solution to decarbonise the building sector. This idea underpins the NAT-BUILD project, whose goal is to devise nature-inspired earth-based technologies to minimise the environmental impact of dwellings throughout their life cycle from construction to operation and end-of-life. Earth-based building technologies can reduce (i) depletion of raw natural resources, (ii) embodied energy for manufacture and transportation of materials, (iii) operational energy for indoor air conditioning and (iv) end-of life energy for disposal of demolition waste. In changing climatic environments, the adaptive water storage capacity of earth can also be exploited to design flexible green roofs and urban drainage systems. Despite their potential, earth technologies are not widely used in mainstream construction because of mechanical and durability concerns and because of the lack of robust methodologies for quantifying natural resources and carbon savings. NAT-BUILD will overcome these technical barriers and unlock the transformative potential of earth-based technologies as a sustainable building asset. This will be achieved through a nature-mimicking approach, combining experimental, numerical and analytical techniques in a multidisciplinary and intersectoral environment. As sustainable building practices gain momentum across Europe, there is a pressing demand for skilled professionals capable of addressing future challenges in civil engineering. To meet this need, NAT-BUILD will train a cohort of 15 Doctoral Candidates (DCs), each enrolled in a 3-year doctoral programme. The research work is divided into 15 interlinked activities corresponding to the PhD projects of each DC. The DCs will acquire a wide portfolio of skills, including research, transferable, innovation, outreach and inclusivity skills, through a unique integrated training programme.

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Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI GENOVA
Net EU contribution
€ 1 127 020,32
Address
VIA BALBI 5
16126 GENOVA
Italy
Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (10)

Partners (9)