oPEN Lab partners in Tartu have started collaboration with an Ukrainian University by sending an innovative prefabricated insulation system to be studied in Ukrainian climatic and building typology conditions of a dormitory at Zhytomyr State Polytechnic University. After traveling more than 1,570 km, the system is now contributing to essential renovation efforts in a country where rebuilding safer, more efficient buildings has become a vital necessity.
Apartment buildings across Ukraine face an urgent need for renovation as many structures approach the end of their designed service life. Improving energy performance, indoor climate, and overall living quality has become critical, especially amid the ongoing Russian aggression, which has caused widespread structural damage and created a growing demand for safe housing.
Prefabricated serial renovation: a faster, higher-quality renovation solution
Standardised renovation solution, as developed in the oPEN Lab project, present a unique opportunity for efficient, serial renovation using prefabricated insulation technologies. Such an approach enables faster construction processes, ensures higher and more consistent quality, reduces on-site labour, and minimises disturbance for residents.
A circular façade system designed for reuse
Within the oPEN Lab project, partners have developed a prefabricated, detachable façade insulation element designed specifically for circular renovation. The system allows the insulation modules to be installed, removed, and reinstalled on different buildings. This circular renovation concept was successfully demonstrated by transferring an insulation module from the Tartu Living Lab in Estonia and installing it on the external wall of a dormitory at Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University in Ukraine.
Picture: Installation of insulation in Zhytomyr, Ukraine
The study and demonstration were conducted in collaboration with Tallinn University of Technology, Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University, Estonian Centre for International Development , Estonian prefabricated timber frame house producers Matek and KMT Prefab, City of Tartu and Tartu Regional Energy Agency.
