Concept and approach

To achieve the objectives as mentioned it is necessary to come to:

-Product innovation,

-Process innovation

-Within a well considered process of cost, environmental and quality optimisation,

-Focused on NZE concepts and the needs and perception of the end-user.

• Product innovation

Product innovation includes the selection of sustainable materials and sustainable detailing based on LCA, including recycling of materials, biobased materials, flexible, disassemble, and the use of secondary materials. The technologies and components, necessary to come to a NZEB renovation will be combined and integrated as much as possible in multifunctional elements. Low embodied energy will be a criterion in the design and development.

• Process innovation

These multifunctional elements will be produced and offered as tailor-made solutions for individuals as well as for housing companies, in mass production with the possibility of ‘n is 1 series’. This needs a process innovation. This process innovation will be achieved by three steps:

-The use of advanced geomatics to make inventories and gauging of buildings and buildings stock.

-Web-based and/or digital decision tools will link building characteristics, building (energy) potentials, end-users demands to program requirements, technical solutions, component combinations in concepts, production automation.

-This will be processed in BIM systems for the steering of industrial processes and for enhanced quality assurance.

This will lead to a transition of existing production facilities of building envelope elements to automated- and computer controlled production and assembly process.

In an innovative design process interdisciplinary teams will focus on systemic solutions aimed at combining/integrating the involved systems and systems levels like building and energy-installation as well as production and product-design.

• Cost optimisation

Cost optimisation will be achieved by:

-Integration of several technical components, at all systems levels ranging from placeholders to ventilation system or wall or roof, corresponding with the function of the element in multifunctional elements.

-Integration of systems leads to integration of components

-Re-design of components and renovation concepts for industrial assembling the component for reducing the amount of materials, time and costs

-Development of smart Plug & Play connectors for quick and easy installing

-Re-design to a integrated product, industrial, cost efficient, sustainable and demand driven produced

-Scale advantages due to mass production in an extremely automated line production process

-Minimizing interior works in apartment (ventilation ductwork for example)

Business models and advanced energy services will be developed for each geo-cluster.

• Quality optimization

Quality optimization is achieved on two levels:

-On process and production level by quality enhanced control of the production process.

-On application level by remote diagnostics of the performances of the prefab elements. 

Shortened renovation process is not so weather dependent, which provide more moisture safe solutions.

• Performance optimization

Performance optimization, ‘get more for the same or less money’ by:

-Systemic approach of for example building physics versus energy installations

-Systemic approach using production accuracy to reach buildings/installation performances almost without extra effort and reaching better performance at the same time

• Different solutions for geo-clusters but using one common platform for the production lines

In European countries, climate conditions, building technologies, building traditions and culture can differ to a large extent. Therefore MORE-CONNECT project is focusing and working in different geo-clusters. Following geo-cluster are addressed:

Geo-cluster 1: Northern. This cluster is focusing on solutions for the Scandinavian market (cold climate), There will be a special focus on NZE renovation concepts for post-war multifamily dwellings in Denmark.

Geo-cluster 2: Continental Northern East. This cluster is focusing on collaboration between two Baltic States (Estonia and Latvia). There will be a focus on the possibility of application of prefabricated products (wood construction) for typical post-war Soviet multifamily buildings; this typical building typology has a very high level of replicability, not only in Baltic countries but also in other former East-European countries as well as a very high energy saving potential. Next to it, as the Baltic industrial partners are also active in the Scandinavia countries a further implementation is envisaged on the Scandinavian market (with similar cold climates).

Geo-cluster 3: Continental Centre. This cluster focuses on Czech Republic and is focusing on solutions for continental climates. There is a special attention for the application of advanced prefabricated solutions and cost optimization and life cycle approach.

Geo-cluster 5: Mediterranean. This cluster is focusing on solutions for mild and warmer climates, with a pilot for the Portuguese market. There will be specific emphasis on summer comfort, the (avoiding of) energy use for cooling, by smart passive and responsive building element solutions and technologies, as well as the integration of renewables in the concepts.

Geo-cluster 6: Western Central. This cluster focuses on the Dutch/Belgium markets. There will be a special focus on NZE renovation solutions for large-scale single-family post-war dwellings projects from the 60’s and 70’s in the Netherlands, characterized by poor building physical and thermal performances. These projects are typically built in concrete bearing tunnel structure with easy to fully remove and replace facades and roofs.

Although the product-market-combinations will differ in the addressed geoclusters, the platforms for the automated production lines will be basically the same (as comparable with the production platforms world-wide car industry).

• The approach: a multi-disciplinary consortium

The development and application of prefabricated modular multifunctional renovation elements for large scale retrofitting requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Moreover, the project should be typically ‘business driven’, i.e., bottom-up, driven and led by the demands from the market and not top-down by knowledge and research institutes. The MORE-CONNECT consortium is composed by SME’s, supported in each geo-clusters by a ‘knowledge provider’ (university) and, if applicable, specialized consultants with direct connection to the market. Universities and consultants cover all the necessary knowledge fields. For the companies, a composition is made of SME manufacturers and installers/builders.