ConstrucThor
In Europe, and more specifically in Flanders, new and existing building stock must evolve to be climate neutral by 2050. Over the next 26 years, the challenge for owners, the building sector and governments will be enormous. Not only technical questions arise to meet this challenge, but also economic and legal ones.
To accelerate this transition process and address these questions early on, a new climate-neutral large-scale testing infrastructure is being built at the OpenThor Living Lab at the Thor Park in Genk: ConstrucThor.
Using a holistic approach, the ConstrucThor project brings together different research lines within KU Leuven to generate strategies and solutions to stimulate an evolution towards a climate-neutral patrimony and building industry in Flanders. The test infrastructure focuses on (a combination of) six themes: energy-neutral building, climate-neutral building materials and recycling, renovation strategies, water management, comfort and user interaction and digitalization (VR, BIM).
The test infrastructure will include several modules: a plot for new modular housing concepts, an office building with different levels of thermal inertia, a large modular test façade and three typologies ready for renovation: a block of flats, a terraced house and a three-fronted house. These modules are interconnected with a backbone to distribute and exchange a diverse mix of energy systems, water flows and storage systems (thermal, electrical, water).
Construction of the test infrastructure will start in late 2023 and last until mid-2025. The first tests can be carried out from 2026.
This project was made possible with the help of:
