RenewLab sets up three renovation practice centres in South Tyrol, Tyrol and Veneto: real places where natural building materials are tested, renovations are documented and professionals are trained.
The building sector causes around 35 % of energy-related emissions in the EU and a large share of construction and demolition waste. At the same time, more and more buildings in the Alpine region stand empty. RenewLab starts right there.
Building on the Interreg projects SHELTER and SUSMAT, three renovation practice centres are being created in vacant buildings. They are workshop, showroom and learning space in one.
There, bio-based and recycled materials from the SUSMAT material database are installed under real conditions, measured in terms of building physics and compared with conventional solutions, both ecologically (LCA) and economically (LCC). What works is translated into training courses, guidelines and videos.
The project runs from January 2026 to March 2028 and is coordinated by BASIS Vinschgau Venosta as lead partner. It contributes to the goals of the European Green Deal, the Renovation Wave, the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the New European Bauhaus.
Reuse, design for disassembly and secondary materials instead of demolition and new construction. Embodied energy is preserved, land stays unsealed.
Wood, clay, hemp, lime: locally available, low-emission and compatible with heritage protection. Tested, measured, documented.
Hands-on training for crafts, planning, administration and vocational schools to counter the skills shortage in the construction and renovation sector.
The selection comes from the material database of the predecessor project SUSMAT. In the centres it is installed, measured and compared with conventional solutions.
Which materials are actually used is decided per site in work package 3, depending on the building fabric, heritage protection and regional availability.
Three vacant buildings in three regions become permanent places for testing, training and exchange, networked across the border and operated beyond the end of the project.
Rooms in the barracks' creative workshop are converted into the practice centre with bio-based insulation, new windows and doors and a partial roof renovation, in the middle of an active hub for culture, education and social innovation.
The ground floor with its natural stone masonry, formerly used as a stable, is being fitted out as a practice centre with regional materials and traditional craft techniques. Raumschmiede also coordinates the exchange between the three sites.
The ground floor and outdoor areas of the disused school become a training lab for courses with craft businesses, students and professionals from the province of Belluno.
Why are natural building materials not already used everywhere? RenewLab starts with this question and ends with built answers and people who carry them forward.
Literature review, online survey of clients, planners and companies, interviews with dealers and manufacturers, plus the knowledge of traditional crafts: a gap analysis shows what slows down the use of natural materials and derives concrete fields of action.
Selected materials from the SUSMAT database become renovation concepts for the three centres. Variants are assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC), measurement layouts for monitoring are defined and the material database is expanded.
The concepts are built: interior and exterior insulation with bio-based materials, windows, doors, roof. Eurac measures moisture, heat, airtightness and energy consumption. Photo and video documentation make the process traceable, and two CUBO prototypes test new ways of living in vacant space.
Online training series, on-site days at the centres, construction site tours, excursions, at least five instructional videos and a permanent training module with professional associations. In 2027 the "Week of Inner Development" takes place in South Tyrol.
Demographic change, land sealing and the demand for affordable, flexible housing meet vacant buildings. The CUBO is a modular living unit made of natural materials that is inserted into unused spaces: a room within a room.
BASIS and Raumschmiede build two prototypes in two different situations: an attic and a former dormitory. Materials, costs and adaptability are compared. The CUBO also serves as a living lab for artists in residence, temporary living and community uses.
For construction companies, architecture, crafts, planning and administration, for students and future professionals, and for private owners facing a renovation.
Two series each in 2026 and 2027 with four modules in total, in German and Italian: natural materials, energy efficiency, regulations, funding.
Two courses per centre, plus one on-site day per year with construction site tours and hands-on workshops.
Three between the centres, one of them as a joint closing excursion, and two to model projects outside the programme area.
Short, focused videos on using sustainable materials in renovation, permanently available as a digital learning resource.
From 2027/28, a permanent training module is being developed together with lvh, the Chamber of Architects, the Builders' College and the CasaClima Agency, and will remain on offer after the project ends.
In addition, an annual online exchange with the regional administrations covers new developments and funding opportunities. The "Week of Inner Development" 2027 in South Tyrol opens the centres to the general public.
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Research, crafts, planning, spatial planning and education work together in RenewLab, many of them since SHELTER and SUSMAT.
The seven partners start work. First steps: communication strategy, detailed planning and preparation of the barrier analysis.
A joint online event for Austria and Italy sets the project in context and gives the first networking impulses. Date to be announced.
The report on why natural materials are not used more often will be published here, with fields of action for practice, trade and policy.
Companies, planners, municipalities and schools that want to test materials, take part in training or visit the centres are welcome.
