The European Green Deal has set ambitious energy and climate goals, and the building sector is a key player in achieving them. Buildings are the biggest energy consumers in Europe, accounting for approximately 40% of EU energy usage and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, almost half of the structures in seismic regions of the EU are at risk due to their substandard seismic resistance, which poses a severe threat to the economy and life safety.
To reach the safe and clean building sector goals by 2050, the European Commission has launched the Renovation Wave initiative. This initiative aims to at least double the annual energy renovation rate by 2030 and promote deep renovation. Moreover, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive emphasizes that EU countries should address seismic risks when planning long-term building renovation strategies, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the interest in integrated retrofit solutions from authorities and stakeholders is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.
The NOTICE-EUB project proposed a unique, cost-effective approach to retrofitting buildings. The method combines seismic and energy efficiency improvements using engineered timber and advanced eco-friendly insulation. This innovative concept takes advantage of the superior structural performance of cross-laminated timber technology, which is becoming increasingly popular among researchers due to its sustainability credentials. Cross-laminated timber is a remarkable material that weighs only one-fifth of concrete. This property has significant implications for construction, lowering energy consumption in the production process, enabling quick and easy transportation and installation, leading to lower labour costs, and enhancing seismic safety by reducing the weight to be handled in an earthquake by 80% compared to concrete. Moreover, timber is a renewable resource, making it an eco-friendly option for building retrofit schemes.
The combination of cross-laminated timber systems and insulation materials provides excellent resistance to earthquake forces and superior thermal performance that reduces a building's energy needs. The hybrid protection system harmonizes the two components for their respective functions, resulting in a retrofit scheme that improves seismic safety and energy efficiency while minimizing downtime and labour costs.
NOTICE-EUB developed and validated an innovative retrofit solution for reinforced concrete buildings through experimental and analytical/numerical research activities. The project has four specific objectives:
• design a new system for the simultaneous energy and seismic upgrade of buildings, using eco-friendly insulation materials and cross-laminated panels,
• test the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid retrofit scheme experimentally,
• assess the benefit-cost ratio of the integrated retrofit approach through life-cycle assessment,
• provide preliminary design guidelines and recommendations for future research and standardization needs.
The highly innovative project NOTICE-EUB had an ambitious work plan involving a significant amount of laboratory work to validate the proposed hybrid retrofit solution experimentally. The successful outcomes of the experiments have provided a wealth of valuable research data that will be used to derive retrofit design guidelines and conduct a life-cycle assessment of the proposed integrated retrofit approach. This experimental and numerical data will be made publicly available soon as supplemental material to research articles in international scientific journals and conference proceedings in the form of open access. It is exciting to anticipate the future impact of this research, as it has the potential to revolutionize the field of building renovation.
