INHERIT: New technologies to boost sustainable, inclusive and resource-efficient cultural heritage

The new European funded project INHERIT aims at promoting sustainability of historic buildings while preserving their Cultural Heritage value by means of ICT and new technologies. INHERIT has just been launched in Athens.

On average, 21.6% of the building stock in the European Union was built before 1945, and a significant percentage of it has heritage value. This enriches communities and makes Europe a favoured cultural tourism destination. However, there are various challenges and dilemmas facing the preservation, restoration, use, reuse interpretation and management activities in heritage buildings.

INHERIT project was launched on 2 November 2023 in Athens, aimed at promoting energy and resource efficiency, sustainability, and inclusiveness of historic buildings. The project gathers 18 partners led by the Greek software integrator Singular Logic. For the next 42 months the team will seek to valorise Europe's cultural heritage, facing challenges related to energy, resources and circularity, as well as to climate resilience and accessibility of historic buildings.

The goal of INHERIT is to develop the next generation solutions for sustainable and resource-efficient buildings in need of differentiated renovation strategies. The team will create a systematic methodology, accompanied by leading-edge information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics. It will also use associated social/behavioural practices, towards sustainable, inclusive and resource-efficient solutions.

INHERIT will enable socially innovative and economically viable interventions at different urban levels, not only focussing on buildings, but also on neighbourhoods and cities. All relevant aspects of the heritage-built environment's life cycle will be covered: starting from design and renovation to management and monitoring, as well as preservation and maintenance. The solutions will be tested in 8 cultural heritage sites across EU.

"Our cultural heritage represents our cultural identity, and therefore it should be protected and passed from one generation to the other," said Stamatia Rizou, INHERIT Project Coordinator from SLG. "We are proud to launch INHERIT initiative, an ambitious project that aims to shape sustainable pathways for cultural heritage-built environment through social, scientific and technological innovations in line with the New European Bauhaus principles."

Within the project a capacity building programme will be created too, addressing heritage operators and stakeholders (large companies, SMEs, public authorities, research organisations and citizens) to support sustainable cultural heritage.

"Cultural heritage is a fundamental reservoir for identity preservation; it is a tool for the better understanding of previous generations and their habits, evidence of accurate history telling and sense of belonging. Cultural heritage sites are a non-relocatable capital whose sustainability, resource-efficient conservation and maintenance are an absolute need. INHERIT will address this need though pilots co-design, demonstrations, and ICT validations for more resilient cultural heritage," stated Ani Asatryan, Project Communication Manager.

INHERIT's team is looking forward to making cultural heritage even more impactful.

Contacts

Project coordinator:

Stamatia Rizou
srizou@singularlogic.eu

SingularLogic S.A.

Communication Manager:

Ani Asatryan
ani.asatryan@icons.it

Fondazione ICONS

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