REcube: REthink, REvive, REuse - Transmitting the knowledge for the green regeneration of the European Concrete Heritage

Erasmus Projesi, 2021 - 2024

According to the EU Renovation Wave Strategy and Action Plan, only 11% of building stock in the EU undergoes some

level of renovation each year, and of it only a fraction is conducted in a sustainable and climate-friendly way. Overall,

buildings are responsible for about the 40% of the EU’s total energy consumption, and for 36% of its greenhouse gas

emissions derived from energy. On the other hand, for many European countries by 2050, 80% of architecture will be of

building stock of which 97% will need to be renovated and possibly repurposed. It is time to act, especially now that the

pandemic has set a more onerous economic and social challenge on the building and renovation sector. Within the

objectives of the new European Green Bauhaus project, part of the Next Generation EU Programme financed by the

European Union, the renewal of our modern built heritage in a more aware and green manner represents a leading and

pressing issue. Conservation, renovation and recovery strategies will have to consider that these buildings contain both

complex and heterogeneous implications: not only historical cultural values but also economic and environmental

inefficiencies (CO2 emissions). These conditions require an approach with high cultural sensitivity to define design

strategies: deep knowledge of places and artefacts, understanding and dissemination of new cultures of renewal and

recovery, innovation in the use of appropriate materials and technologies, inclusion and social involvement of citizens in

decision-making processes and circular practices capable of triggering positive effects from a social and environmental

point of view. The REcube project will address all these challenges with a new educational offer, fostering development of

competences, enhancing career prospects and engaging participants in building knowledge skills and expertise. To work

on the regeneration of post war concrete architectures is an enriching experience, which combines the creative aspects of

conceiving a new life for the building with the in-depth research required to understand in full its history and its context.

The REcube will continue to evolve, becoming the steppingstone for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree, which

will reunite the higher education members of the partnership in another engaging and challenging transnational academic

experience, together with more partners emanating from the field of Sustainable Conservation and Regeneration of the

Modern Concrete Heritage. In conclusion, REcube will empower a new knowledge community focused on Modern

Concrete Heritage Conservation and Regeneration, enabling the exchange of expertise and practices while fostering the

development of professional alliances and networks.