European projects

Green INSTRUCT

Green Integrated Structural Elements for Retrofitting and New Construction of Buildings

Plants have numerous positive effects on humans and urban microclimate. Plants remove toxic or harmful substances like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the surrounding air, they therefore reduce air pollution and mitigate urban heat island effects. The integration of plants in buildingfronts will provide further benefits such as additional insulation of the builiding and noise reduction. The vertical green wall, which will be developed in the Green INSTRUCT project by alchemia-nova will add the service of greywater and stormwater management to the mentioned benefits. This new approach of using prefabricated structural elements for water recovery using almost only recycled materials will be investigated. The genereal phytotechnological feasibility of cleaning water in a vertical structure has been approved in the project demEAUmed. In Green INSTRUCT the water will be cleaned within a vertical flow, beding the plants in an anorganic substrate mixed with reclaimed fibres from construction and demolition waste (CDW).

GreenInstruct_House_Gianluca

CDW has become a serious problem due to the accompanying environmental pollution. In the EU, CDW accounts for approximately 25-30% of all waste generated. This holds a great potential for recycling and re-use. The Green INSTRUCT project will develop a structural prefabricated building block, which will consist of over 70% of CDW in weight. The CDW streams that will be exploited in the project are: concrete, gypsum, wood, polymers, bricks, tiles, clay, textiles, glass and aluminium. New value chains will be created. CO2 savings, energy savings and higher resource efficiency will ultimately contribute to a resource-efficient and climate change resilient economy.

GreenINSTRUCT_panel

Project coordination
Brunel University, UK

Project partner
IK4-CIDETEC Research Alliance, Spain
LEITAT, Spain
National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Center for Technology Research & Innovation, Cyprus
alchemia-nova GmbH, Austria
Exergy Ltd, UK
Consorzio STRESS, Italy
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Artia Nano Engineering and Consulting, Greece
NR-GIA BUDOWNICTWO Sp. z o.o., Poland
Collanti Concorde, Italy
Cool Haven, Portugal
Acciona Infraestructuras, Spain

Project status
Start 9/2016, duration 42 months
Project homepage: www.greeninstruct.eu
Call: EEB-04-2016 New technologies and strategies for the development of pre-fabricated elements through the reuse and recycling of construction materials and structures
Research & Innovation Action
Grant Agreement Number 723825
Total budget: € 4,996,626.25