Applying regenerative design to the built environment in neighbourhoods
HORIZON Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-REGEN-01
- Programme
- A research agenda for a beautiful, inclusive and sustainable transformation of neighbourhoods
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- May 6, 2025
- Deadline
- November 12, 2025
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €12,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €6,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €6,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 2
- Keywords
- HORIZON-NEB-2025-01-REGEN-01HORIZON-NEB-2025-01Architectural designBiodiversity conservationBuilding designCircular economyClimate change adaptationEcosystem managementHabitat and species restoration and rehabilitationHealthNature-based solutionsPublic and environmental healthRenovationResources efficiencySustainability, Research Infrastructures LandscapeSustainable development and climate actionWWS Water and waste systemsWaste water recyclingWaste water treatmentWellbeing
Description
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Tested and proven principles of regenerative design[1] in the design, construction and renovation of the built environment[1] are available to the actors from the construction ecosystem[1].
- Improved tools and technologies enable actors from the construction ecosystem to apply regenerative design to the built environment.
- The application of regenerative design to the built environment in neighbourhoods[1] contributes to the regeneration of natural ecosystems and biodiversity while benefiting human health and well-being.
Regenerative design[5] aims to actively restore, revitalise and enhance ecosystems, contributing to both human and planetary health, in line also with the ‘One Health’ approach[6]. Regenerative design thus contributes to creating sustainable[5], thriving environments for local communities and ecosystems. This involves principles such as circularity, waste reduction, resource and energy efficiency, promoting biodiversity, and the use of carbon-storing materials.
Regenerative design offers pathways to develop construction and renovation methods and designs that go beyond conventional approaches. However, the potential and application of regenerative design in the built environment is still under-explored due to the novelty of the solutions, the complexity of inter-related factors, the limited understanding of their impacts, and insufficient knowledge exchange and technology transfer.
Proposals are expected to address all of the following:
- Analyse in depth the success factors, challenges, and impacts of at least 10 existing examples of regenerative designs applied to constructed or renovated buildings. Measure the restoration of the environment as well as sustainability performance of the building, using existing sustainable building assessment methods such as Level(s), the Living Community Challenge and other third-party certification schemes or emerging methodologies such as the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) in buildings certification. The selected buildings are expected to:
- Be located in contexts as diverse as possible (geographical, environmental, climate, social or economic).
- Generate renewable energy to meet the buildings’ energy demand. The buildings can also employ, but are not limited to: nature-based solutions[1]; water collection, purification and reuse; water efficiency methods; building solutions achieving cleaner air; carbon-storing architecture and design; medium and long-term energy storage (e.g. using phase-change materials).
- Have used collaborative, inclusive approaches to engage local communities and inhabitants.
- Have overcome legislative and regulatory barriers, if any, thanks to active collaboration with different levels of government and public authorities.
- Develop and demonstrate at least one innovative solution (tool or technology) that facilitate the application of regenerative design to the built environment. The solution(s) is (are) expected to transform the construction and renovation processes at all stages, by adopting a lifecycle perspective, encouraging the use of natural resources, materials, products, processes and by considering the impact on people and nature. Proposers should reflect on the role of local/indigenous crafts and knowledge[1] in the construction and renovation processes.
- Demonstrate the innovative solution(s) in at least three neighbourhoods from urban, peri-urban and rural areas located in at least three Member States or Associated Countries.
The topic includes the possibility to provide financial support to third parties to provide direct support for the development and implementation of the demonstrator. A maximum of EUR 60 000 per third party might be granted.
Proposals are expected to follow a participatory and transdisciplinary approach[10] through the integration of different actors (such as public authorities, local actors from the targeted neighbourhoods, civil society, private owners, etc.) and disciplines (such as architecture, urban design, design, arts, (civil) engineering, health, etc.).
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
Proposals are expected to dedicate at least 0.2% of their total budget to share their intermediate and final results and findings with the Coordination and Support Action 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' (HORIZON-MISS-2024-NEB-01-03).
[1] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[2] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[3] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[4] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[5] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[6] Regenerative design and development: current theory and practice (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/09613218.2012.617516?needAccess=true); https://www.cdc.gov/one-health/about/index.html#:~:text=One%20Health%20is%20a%20collaborative,plants%2C%20and%20their%20shared%20environment.
[7] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[8] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[9] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[10] See definition on NEB working principles in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25
Destination & Scope
The development of a circular and regenerative European construction ecosystem[1] is key to support the sustainable competitiveness of the sector, and to achieve our climate, environmental and social ambitions. This implies more sustainable materials but also better use and re-purposing of existing buildings. However, this cannot be achieved without ensuring that people understand, accept and support the necessary transformations.
Although considerable research efforts are underway on this matter, there remain significant gaps. Innovation spreads slowly in the construction ecosystem in the context of construction materials, methods and approaches. For instance, renovations are still not correctly targeted, too expensive, too slow, and often of insufficient quality, resulting in renovation rates that are too low; buildings are inefficiently used and undermine people’s well-being; a lack of awareness of sustainable[1], circular and innovative approaches amongst the different actors of the construction ecosystem; and a market that remains very attached to low costs in the short-term.
In Work Programme 2025, this Destination contributes to the following expected impacts set out in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027:
- 2. Living and working in a health-promoting environment
- 15. Achieving global leadership in climate-neutral, circular and digitised industrial and digital value chains
- 28. Putting biodiversity on a path to recovery, and protecting and restoring ecosystems and their services
- 31. Sustainably developing rural, urban and coastal areas
The Destination aims to address certain gaps and make the construction ecosystem more sustainable, resilient, circular and regenerative, while also ensuring it is inclusive[1], accessible and contributes to the health and wellbeing of all living beings. The Destination aims to deliver on this objective by:
- Making buildings, building elements, construction materials and products more sustainable, adaptable, multi-purpose, durable and re-usable, increase their recycling rate and expand their lifespan, leading to a more circular construction ecosystem and a more efficient use of resources. This will contribute to limiting the extraction of new materials and waste generation in the construction ecosystem, thus strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy and contributing to the European Green Deal’s objectives, the EU’s Zero-Pollution vision for 2050, the new Circular Economy Action Plan, and intergenerational justice. Concepts and solutions that serve the above-mentioned objectives such as, among others, sufficiency[1], regenerative design[1], nature-based solutions[1] or circular bio-fabricated materials[1] should be explored.
- Improving the climate adaptability[8] and resilience of private or public buildings and common spaces[1] through, for instance, regenerative designs and nature-based solutions that contribute to longevity, resource and energy efficiency, natural ecosystem restoration and overall climate resilience in the face of the environmental evolution.
- Collecting, processing and using data and making use of technologies such as Artificial intelligence (AI) in combination with Building Information Modelling (BIM) and digital fabrication to significantly reduce costs, optimise resource utilisation, and enhance efficiency of renovation and construction processes and make construction and renovation more sustainable, circular, regenerative, affordable and culturally sensitive.
- Ensuring that the solutions developed are user-centred and place-based, connect with local cultural identity, historical knowledge and cultural heritage, and answer the needs of and are accepted by people on the ground - including minorities, vulnerable and underrepresented groups -, strengthening the sense of belonging and societal resilience.
This Destination considers neighbourhoods[1] in urban, peri-urban or rural environments.
[1] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[2] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[3] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[4] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[5] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[6] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[7] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[8] See EU-level technical guidance on adapting buildings to climate change. Best practice guidance, March 2023 (https://build-up.ec.europa.eu/en/resources-and-tools/publications/best-practice-guidance-buildings-adaptability-climate-change) .
[9] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
[10] See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP25.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 13. New European Bauhaus Facility (NEB)
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
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