Imagine your apartment building could recycle its own water, turn food waste into energy, and reuse construction materials instead of dumping them in a landfill. That's what HOUSEFUL built — a package of 11 ready-to-use solutions that make buildings run in circles instead of straight lines. They tested everything in 4 real buildings in Austria and Spain, from social housing to renovations. They even built a software platform where building owners can measure how circular their property is and pick the right upgrades.
The housing sector devours 50% of all extracted materials, 40% of energy, 33% of water, and generates 33% of all waste in Europe. Building owners and managers face rising utility costs, tightening waste regulations, and growing pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility — but most buildings still operate on a take-make-dispose model with no practical path to circularity.
HOUSEFUL built and demonstrated 11 integrated circular solutions covering energy recovery, water reuse, bio-waste treatment, biogas production, and construction material reuse — all tested at 4 real building-scale demo-sites in Austria and Spain. They also delivered a SaaS platform with a Circularity Tool that measures a building's circular performance and recommends solutions, plus 36 deliverables including environmental, economic, and social assessments.
If you are a social housing provider dealing with rising utility costs and aging building stock — this project demonstrated 11 circular solutions across 4 real buildings in Austria and Spain that reduce water consumption, recover energy from waste, and reuse construction materials. The SaaS Circularity Tool lets you benchmark your buildings and pick the most cost-effective upgrades.
If you are a construction firm struggling with rising material costs and tightening waste regulations — HOUSEFUL developed tested methods for reusing building materials and treating construction waste on-site, demonstrated at building scale. With 33% of all produced waste coming from the housing sector, these solutions turn a cost center into recovered value.
If you are a facility manager responsible for water and energy bills across a residential portfolio — HOUSEFUL built water reuse and bio-waste treatment systems tested in real occupied buildings. The project's SaaS platform gives you a circularity score for each property and recommends which of the 11 solutions to implement first.
The project performed Life Cycle Cost (LCC) assessments for all 11 solutions across the 4 demo-sites in Austria and Spain. Specific cost figures would be available in the project's economic assessment deliverables. Contact the coordinator for pricing data relevant to your building type.
Yes. HOUSEFUL demonstrated all solutions at 4 full-scale demo-sites in Austria and Spain, including social housing buildings. Additionally, 10 EU Follower buildings were engaged to replicate the results across different contexts.
HOUSEFUL developed a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform integrating a Circularity Tool. With 9 SMEs and 9 industrial partners in the consortium, there are multiple potential licensing or service providers. Contact the coordinator for commercial access terms.
The solutions were designed specifically to address EU housing sector challenges: 50% of extracted materials, 40% of energy, 33% of water, and 33% of waste come from this sector. The project's environmental assessments (Life Cycle Assessment) provide compliance-ready data for EU circular economy directives.
The project ran demonstrations from 2018 to 2023, adapting solutions to different building types including new construction and renovation scenarios. Implementation timelines depend on which of the 11 solutions you select and your building's condition. The demo reports contain detailed implementation schedules.
The SaaS platform was designed as a central integration point, connecting circular solutions for energy, water, waste, and materials into one service. The Circularity Tool quantifies your building's current performance and maps applicable solutions.
The consortium includes 17 partners across 8 countries with 9 industrial companies that developed and tested the solutions. A Collaborative Community of Housing Experts was established to support replication. Contact the coordinator for current support options.
The HOUSEFUL consortium is unusually well-balanced for commercial follow-through: 17 partners across 8 countries, with 9 industrial companies (53% industry ratio) and 9 SMEs — meaning most of the work was done by companies that need to make money from the results, not just publish papers. There are zero universities in the consortium, which is rare and signals a strong execution focus. The coordinator ACONDICIONAMIENTO TARRASENSE (Spain) is a research association, providing technical backbone while the industrial majority drives market relevance. With partners spanning Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, and the Netherlands, the solutions have been validated across diverse European housing markets and regulatory environments.
Reach the coordinator (ACONDICIONAMIENTO TARRASENSE, Spain) through the CORDIS contact form or the project website. SciTransfer can facilitate a warm introduction.
Want to know which HOUSEFUL solutions fit your building portfolio? SciTransfer can arrange a briefing with the right consortium partner for your specific needs.
