Liceul Sportiv Banatul is excited to announce a public event that will be held at the POLITEHNICA University of Timișoara on 30^th March, ‘Green and seismic safe schools for Timișoara’. Bringing together representatives from Liceul Sportiv Banatul, the City of Timișoara, the Romanian Association of Building Services Engineers, the West Regional Development Agency, the POLITEHNICA University of Timișoara, the University of Cantania, and Buildings Performance Institute Europe, the event will unveil renovation plans that will increase energy performance, comfort, and earthquake safety of the school.

Since last December, Liceul Sportiv Banatul students and teachers, together with the POLITEHNICA University of Timișoara, met weekly with the e-SAFE consortium, an EU-funded research project, in order to co-design actionable renovation plans for their school through a participatory process.

Students learned extensively of the health, safety and environmental benefits of building renovation, and collectively created a stepwise renovation plan, prioritizing deep energy renovations, as well as structural earthquake safety renovations that would safeguard the school from potential seismic threats. The plan represents significant energy and financial savings.

‘It has been a deeply enriching experience for the students to have worked with building experts to co-develop feasible plans to renovate their school’, says Prof. Ramona Roman, Director of the Liceul Sportiv Banatul.

‘We are hopeful to access financing in order to transform our students’ hard work into real building renovation, real energy savings, and increased comfort and safety for the school.’

The e-SAFE project developed a unique method combining energy performance renovations with structural seismic safety. Using 3D models, an energy audit, analysis and structural simulations of the building, the renovation plans are grounded in technical feasibility, with a strong focus on students’ and teachers’ everyday needs.

‘Increasing a building’s energy efficiency should go hand in hand with improving its seismic resilience. It is a holistic approach that I support.’ says Dr. Eng. Ioan Silviu DOBOSI, President of the Romanian Association of Building Services Engineers and representative of POLITEHNICA University of Timișoara.

Buildings cover approximately 45% of Romania’s total energy consumption, and schools are among the largest energy consumers[1], often facing uncomfortable conditions such as damp, mould, and poor ventilation. Romania also belongs to the nearly 50% of European territory that is earthquake-prone.

‘Our youth deserve to be educated in buildings which are safe, comfortable and suitable for the educational process.’ stresses Ioan DOBOSI. ‘Renovation is the keyword. It needs to start happening much more, much faster.’

The event will take place at the POLITEHNICA University Timisoara, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Amphitheater N110, floor 1, Mihai Viteazu Street, No. 1, 300222 Timisoara, Timis County, Romania of March 30 from 17:00-19:00 EET. It will feature presentations from the e-SAFE consortium and students, followed by an open discussion with the audience and reflections on how to finance the renovation plans and next steps.

About e-SAFE

e-SAFE is a 4-year EU-funded research project under the Horizon 2020 framework. The project aims to contribute to deep renovation of EU building stock by developing an innovative, market-ready system that combines decarbonization goals with earthquake resilience, indoor comfort, reduced implementation time and costs, affordable financing, reduced occupants’ disturbance, increased aesthetic and functional attractiveness. The project includes the demonstration of the e-SAFE system in one real and two virtual pilot buildings.

Media contact
Caroline Milne
Head of Communications
BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe)
caroline.milne@bpie.eu
+32 (0)4 87 54 39 07

[1] Among public buildings, schools are the largest energy consumer at 354 kWh/ m²/ year, compared to other sectors where energy consumption ranges from 200 to 250 kWh/ m² /year, according to the National Institute of Statistics.