REtrofitting PUBLic spaces in Intelligent MEDiterranean Cities
Public buildings are considered as a key component towards the development of future smart cities for the following reasons: - The public sector must play a leading-by-example role in formulating energy efficient cities. - The efficiency of public services depends on workers' productivity which is directly affected by indoor comfort and air quality conditions. Measures to ensure the latter elevate productivity and improve services, within the context of a functional smart city. - Most public buildings are old therefore they are not harmonized with recent directives and legislations. - They possess a high energy-saving potential which can be achieved through technical solutions. - They represent reference components in establishing sustainable bridges to future Smart Cities. In addition, microclimatic and environmental conditions in public open spaces (squares and courtyards) affect pedestrians' comfort and hygiene, as well as indoor living conditions and energy consumption. However, current national design tools disregard external microclimate in assessing and suggesting measures to improve indoor conditions and energy performance, while national energy policies do not institute mandatory measures for open spaces. The REPUBLIC-MED project deals with retrofitting of public spaces by utilizing innovative methods for performing complete techno-economical studies. The concept of the approach is to identify inefficiencies of current national design tools and actively respond for the elimination of these drawbacks. The main steps of the project are summarized as follows: - In a first step, the current capabilities and drawbacks of technical studies will be assessed in combination with national policies implemented for retrofitting. - Secondly, innovative design methods (e.g. field models for predicting airflow pattern and for formulating bioclimatic maps) will be identified, that overcome the drawbacks recognized above. These methods will include microclimate, energy consumption indices, decision making strategies and smart financing schemes for choosing the best retrofitting solution in techno-economical terms. In this step, the methods will be organized so that a complete retrofitting methodology is produced. - In a third step, the methodology will be applied through pilot studies in various typologies of public spaces. An action plan agreed at transnational level will define the criteria for selecting the spaces. - The results of the aforementioned experimentation will be analysed and discussed in various capitalization workshops in order to reach a final set of conclusions. Training seminars will be organized in a national level for capacity building of technical personnel of public authorities and SMEs. - Local/regional action plans for incorporating the methodology in local/regional policies. - Finally, a strategic plan will be formulated aiming to the incorporation of the new methodology as a successful story into EU future policies.