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Since September 2023, the European BIRTUOSS project has been developing the Opengela model, created in a previous project (HIROSS4all, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme), which delves deeper into social, economic and environmental aspects. It also explores ways to scale up building renovation to urban regeneration in each neighbourhood.
In fact, in recent years, this model, led by the Basque Government’s Department of Housing and Urban Agenda, has grown to be implemented in 25 neighbourhoods in 21 municipalities in the Basque Country and is enabling the improvement of up to 2,800 homes. And, at the same time as the network of offices is being extended to municipalities throughout the autonomous community, BIRTUOSS is developing a “living lab” in TorreUrizar, in Bilbao, which is being used as a pilot site to experiment with the advances of this European project.
This new video, led by journalist Gonzalo Loza, shows the progress of the works in the neighbourhood and in the homes, as well as the value of the one-stop shop for the neighbourhood. It also features testimonials from a TorreUrizar resident; the head of the neighbourhood’s one-stop shop, Marina Hornazabal; Bilbao City Council’s Councillor for Housing, Yolanda Díez; and the Basque Government’s Director of Neighbourhood Regeneration and Urban Agenda, Ana Telleria.
Together with the Basque Government, the EU-funded project is being promoted by a public-private consortium made up of the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), Bilbao Municipal Housing (VVMM), the Environment (Aclima), Construction (Build:Inn) and Knowledge and Technology (GAIA) clusters, the CAVIAR research group at the University of the Basque Country (EHU), EDE Fundazioa, Ciclica cooperative (specialising in decarbonisation strategies), as well as companies with expertise in financing (GNE Finance), communication (Gabineteseis) and European affairs (Zabala Innovation), and also two European bodies such as Fedarene (European Federation of Agencies and Regions for Energy and Environment) and the Spanish Green Building Council (GBCe).
