How another EU project is tackling the same challenge we face: improving energy performance in heritage buildings without compromising their cultural value.

Upgrading historic buildings for the climate transition is a delicate balancing act. Like SMARTeeSTORY, the FuturHist project takes on this challenge head‑on: designing retrofit solutions that respect heritage while delivering measurable energy and comfort gains. Below, we introduce FuturHist and highlight where our approaches align, opening the door to shared learning and future collaboration.

What is FuturHist?

FuturHist is an EU-funded project developing scalable energy-efficient retrofit solutions for historic buildings while preserving their heritage value. It tests approaches in four real demo cases across Europe: in Edinburgh (SVR Lodge and Lister) in Scotland, Linköping in Sweden, Kraków in Poland, and Córdoba in Spain. In Córdoba, the demonstrator is a 17th-century heritage residential building at Plaza de la Corredera managed by the Agencia de la Vivienda y Rehabilitación de Andalucía.

FuturHist uses a typology approach, grouping historic buildings with similar features to create retrofit solutions that can be scaled and replicated across Europe.

Where FuturHist and SMARTeeSTORY align

While each project has its own scope and demonstrators, several common threads stand out:

Both projects treat cultural value as non-negotiable, designing energy upgrades that respect protected elements, original materials, and the visual character of façades and interiors.

We share a commitment to replication: documenting what works, why it works, and how it can be adapted elsewhere, moving beyond bespoke works to transferable solutions and guidance.

A focus on measured performance and user comfort underpins design choices, ensuring that efficiency gains are real, sustained, and balanced with occupant needs.

Multiple climate zones and regulatory contexts help stress-test retrofit packages and generate robust lessons for policymakers, owners, facility managers, and conservation authorities.

Both projects emphasise early and continuous coordination with residents, building owners/managers, and heritage bodies to ensure feasibility, acceptance, and long-term maintainability.

SMARTeeSTORY will continue to follow FuturHist’s progress and share insights that can accelerate safe, effective, and culturally respectful energy upgrades in Europe’s historic building stock. If you’re working on similar challenges or would like to exchange practices, get in touch! We’re keen to build bridges across projects.