Trial / Demo
Sustainable Places (SP25) once again proved to be one of Europe’s leading events for collaboration and innovation in the built environment. Bringing together researchers, industry experts, and policy makers, the conference provided a dynamic platform for exploring the technologies and strategies driving Europe’s journey to net zero.
Across the three days of the conference, IES connected with peers from across Europe to share ideas and showcase innovations driving the decarbonisation of the built environment, through paper sessions and thematic workshops.
Exploring Risk, Resilience and Community Action
At the workshop “From Risk to Resilience: Multi-hazard Strategies for Communities to the Built Environment,” Niall Buckley led an interactive session alongside five Horizon Europe projects, including the Minority Report project coordinated by IES. Using Miro boards, participants explored how digital technologies, retrofit design, policy, and community action can work together to strengthen resilience against multiple hazards—highlighting the power of collaboration in shaping safer, more adaptable built environments.
Unlocking Retrofit Potential through Digital Innovation
In “Energy Modelling and Data Analytics for Net-Zero Retrofit,” Giulia Barbano delivered a one-hour presentation on how advanced energy modelling, dynamic simulation, and data analytics can simplify retrofit decision-making. Drawing from real-world examples, Giulia demonstrated how IES’s digital design tools support targeted interventions to accelerate Europe’s transition to net-zero buildings, sparking an engaged and lively audience discussion.
Building Data Foundations for Decarbonisation
At the “Data & Tools for Decarbonisation of European Building Stock” workshop, Raphaelle Papa presented IES’s collaboration with the Irish Green Building Council on the Building Renovation Passport project. Her session showcased a prototype tool for commercial buildings in Ireland and invited thoughtful discussion on the evolving relationships between Digital Building Logbooks, Renovation Passports, and Energy Performance Certificates—key enablers for data-driven decarbonisation.
Driving Performance through Digital Twins
During the “Building Digitalisation & Smart Readiness” paper session, Marina Melero and Giulia Barbano presented IES’s contributions to the TwinAIR and STARGATE projects.
For TwinAIR, Marina showcased the creation of an Indoor Air Quality Building Digital Twin integrated with IES Live, giving users access to measured and simulated data, KPIs, and actionable recommendations. Audience questions explored the links between indoor and outdoor air quality—an area being further developed through ongoing health and human digital twin research.
For STARGATE, Giulia introduced IES’s physics-based digital twin for Brussels Airport, designed to help facility managers forecast comfort conditions and support net-zero objectives. The model feeds into the airport’s Intelligent Terminal Command Centre, offering actionable insights for proactive comfort management.
Supporting Clean Energy Transition Planning
Finally, as part of the closing thematic track “Clean Energy Transition: Capacity Building & Innovative Finance,” Giulia presented the Step-WISE Toolkit, developed within the project and sponsored by IES and Harley Dikkinson. The session, organised by R2M Solution and the European Mortgage Federation – European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC), brought together experts from LIFE CET projects including Scaling Super-Heero, DeliverEEM, Plan4CET, and OwnYourSecap. Together, they explored how finance, capacity building, and innovative tools can help local authorities and stakeholders bridge the gap between clean energy planning and implementation.
A Collaborative Path to Net Zero
SP25 once again highlighted the vital role of collaboration, innovation, and shared learning in achieving Europe’s decarbonisation goals. IES was proud to contribute to the discussions shaping the future of sustainable buildings—and we extend a huge thank-you to all who joined our sessions and conversations throughout the event.
