The STBA, which is hosted by the SDF, has been confirmed as a Horizon Europe funded project leader for a three year period, working to deliver support for people-centred approaches to historic renovation projects, which balance embodied and operational carbon improvements.
CALECHE (Coherent, Acceptable, Low Emission Cultural Heritage Efficient renovation) is a new project to develop a decision support system (DSS) for renovating historic buildings, emphasizing a people-centered, holistic, and digitalized approach. The DSS integrates specific protocols for initial evaluations, heritage, energy, structure, engagement, and monitoring, ensuring compliance with cultural value protection regulations. CALECHE focuses on improving key technologies like interior bio-insulation, window conservation, and BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics), demonstrating the link between innovation and heritage renovation. The work is showcased across four examples and accessible on the Historic Renovation HUB website.
The STBA will lead the coordination on:
- A literature review placing the approach in a theoretical context;
- A review of existing tools and methodologies placing the approach in a practical context;
- Stakeholder engagement capturing feedback on the identification and weighting of values and benefits as well as analysing trade-offs between various benefits and impacts;
- Bringing those threads together to define the key features and write the specification to this multi-criteria decision support system tool to be hosted on a Historic Renovation Hub.
I’m thrilled for STBA to be part of the CALECHE project. It is an exciting opportunity to be involved with developing a multi-faceted approach to aid the decision-making process, especially when it comes to identifying values and benefits for a range of possible outcomes. Health, comfort, and well-being of occupants will feature as primary values considered when retrofitting traditional and heritage buildings.
Michael Netter – Director, STBA