From Heritage to Energy Transition: Passive and Active Solutions for Historic Buildings
FuturHist is a research project involving academics and practitioners from leading universities and organisations across Europe, including Eurac Research, University of Innsbruck, Aalborg University, Uppsala University, Kraków University of Technology, Edinburgh World Heritage, and ICOMOS. Co-funded by the European Union and UKRI, the project demonstrates how energy efficiency and heritage preservation are not mutually exclusive, but can be successfully combined through well-adapted retrofit strategies.
As a partner of FuturHist, INTBAU supports the translation of research into real-world practice, contributing to the energy transition of historic buildings while retaining their cultural value and meeting contemporary performance requirements. Through this shared commitment, FuturHist provides knowledge, methodologies, and tested solutions that support INTBAU’s global network of practitioners in Europe and beyond in advancing traditional building, architecture, and urbanism within today’s built environment.
Both sessions were moderated by Tomasz Jeleński (Kraków University of Technology / INTBAU Trustee) and featured contributions from Marjo Uotila, Chair of the INTBAU International Council of Chapters.
From Research to Practice: Further Training Opportunities
The webinar series brought together nearly 200 practitioners from across Europe working across architecture, conservation, and sustainability. The strong level of engagement supported the continuation of the programme through further capacity-building opportunities developed by FuturHist to bridge research and real-life application.
These include a structured e-learning course taking place in April, designed to deepen technical knowledge, followed by an in-person summer school in Kraków in September, enabling participants to explore practical approaches to the energy retrofit of historic buildings within an interdisciplinary learning environment. Learn more about the online FuturHist Retrofit Academy here.
Recordings of both webinars will be available soon.
First webinar: Passive Retrofit Strategies for Heritage Buildings
17 March 2026, 11:00–12:30 CET
This session explored examples of passive solutions in historic buildings, with a focus on insulation systems and window interventions. FuturHist experts Marianna Muchorowska (University of Innsbruck) and Alexandra Troi (Eurac Research), shared their knowledge and experience gathered in the deliverable Conservation compatible passive retrofit solutions.
- 11:00 – Welcome & Introduction
- 11:05 – INTBAU: Respecting the Historic Buildings’ character for Future-Proof Sustainability, by Marjo Uotila, Chair of the INTBAU International Council of Chapters
- 11:25 – Tailored Intervention Solutions for Future-Proofing Historic Buildings: FuturHist Typology Approach, by Daniel Herrera, Eurac Research
- 11:35 – Passive Retrofit Strategies for Heritage Buildings: Insulation Systems, with Marianna Muchorowska, University of Innsbruck
- 11:55 – Passive Retrofit Strategies for Heritage Buildings: Window Solutions, with Alexandra Troi, Eurac Research
- 12:15 – Q&A and Discussion
- 12:25 – Closing Words
Second webinar: How Active Systems Can Support Heritage Buildings
24 March 2026, 11:00–12:30 CET
This webinar examined active solutions for historic buildings. FuturHist experts Federico Trentin (Eurac Research) and Marianna Muchorowska (University of Innsbruck) shared the key learnings from the deliverable Conservation compatible solutions for HVAC and RES integration in Historic Buildings.
- 11:00 – Welcome & Introduction
- 11:05 – INTBAU: Balancing Historic Character and Future Sustainability, with Marjo Uotila, Chair of the INTBAU International Council of Chapters
- 11:20 – FuturHist: Active Systems Supporting Heritage Buildings, by Federico Trentin, Eurac Research
- 11:40 – FuturHist: Overview of Active Solutions for the Energy Retrofit of Heritage Buildings, with Marianna Muchorowska, University of Innsbruck
- 12:00 – HeriTACE: R²ES-based Energy Supply Concepts for Heritage Buildings in Historical Neighborhoods, with Nicolas De Vriendt, Sweco Belgium
- 12:15 – Q&A and Discussion
- 12:25 – Closing Words
About FuturHist
FuturHist researches and tests energy-efficient retrofit interventions tailored to historic building typologies.
The project implements these solutions in real-life demonstration cases in Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
It focuses on innovative approaches including bio-based materials, internal insulation systems, window retrofits, HVAC, and RES integration.
FuturHist is a research project Co-funded by the European Union and the UK Research and Innovation.
Learn more: https://futurhist.eu/