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SIMPLIFY – Building more simply and in a more resource-efficient way

Enabling innovative construction methods – even outside existing standards

Resource-efficient and circular construction is becoming increasingly important. In practice, however, innovative solutions often run up against limits: existing norms and standards, complex approval procedures, liability issues and administrative requirements make them difficult to implement.

This is exactly where the Interreg Alpine Space project SIMPLIFY – Building Outside Standards comes in. Its aim is to make it easier to put innovative, resource-efficient construction methods into practice. Rather than creating new standards, it does so by making better use of existing legal and administrative leeway and by making successful solutions transferable.

The starting point is pioneering projects that have already been completed or are underway, as well as approaches such as Germany’s “Building Type E” (Gebäudetyp E) and the “Hamburg Standard”. SIMPLIFY examines the technical, economic and legal conditions under which such approaches work and how they can be transferred to other regions in the Alpine region.

Image Simplify

From successful individual projects to transferable solutions

Many innovative building projects already show that simpler, more resource-efficient construction is possible. What is often missing, however, are clearly documented and legally sound pathways for wider application.

SIMPLIFY therefore analyses specific building projects in terms of their technical solutions, approval routes, costs, CO₂ emissions and circularity. From this, practical “copy-paste solutions” are developed: proven approaches that planners, construction companies, building owners and authorities can use as guidance for further projects.

The entire life cycle is taken into account, from new construction and renovation to the reuse and recycling of materials.

The project focuses on three key areas:

1. Pooling knowledge and making it accessible
A transnational Circular Construction Knowledge Map brings together existing projects, innovative approaches and experience from across the Alpine region. It is complemented by a network of experts that supports exchange between practice, research and public administration.

2. Developing “copy-paste solutions” for practice
Successful approaches are analysed and compared from technical, economic and regulatory perspectives. The result is the SIMPLIFY Toolbox with validated solutions and step-by-step guidance on how to apply them. The aim is to turn individual pilot projects into scalable, economically viable solutions.

3. Reducing legal and administrative barriers
Together with authorities, legal experts and other stakeholders, SIMPLIFY examines how approval processes and legal frameworks can be adapted, or how existing leeway can be used more effectively. To this end, modular legal and procedural building blocks are being developed that can serve as templates for future regulations and procedures.

ZAB’s contribution to the project

ZAB Zukunftsagentur Bau is the Lead Partner of SIMPLIFY and is responsible for the overall coordination of the international project consortium.

ZAB also leads the development of the Circular Construction Knowledge Map and the transnational network of experts. In addition, it coordinates the international Advisory Board and, together with the project partners, ensures that companies, planners, public clients, authorities and other decision-makers are involved in the project’s development from an early stage.

A particular focus is on transferring the project results to the Austrian construction and legal framework. Here, ZAB contributes its close ties to domestic construction companies as well as its experience at the interface between research, construction practice and regulatory frameworks.

What does SIMPLIFY offer the construction industry?

SIMPLIFY aims to ensure that innovative, resource-efficient solutions are not limited to individual showcase projects, but can be applied more easily in other building projects.

For construction companies, planners and building owners, this means above all: clearer guidance on solutions outside established standards, transparent information on costs and CO₂ impacts, and greater certainty in planning and approval. At the same time, public clients and authorities gain proven approaches for taking resource-efficient solutions into account in approval, procurement and regulatory processes.

In the long term, the solutions developed are intended to help reduce bureaucracy, increase planning certainty and bring circular construction in the Alpine region into widespread use more quickly.

The SIMPLIFY project as a whole

SIMPLIFY – Building Outside Standards – Enabling Innovative Resource-Efficient Circular Construction in the Alps is a transnational project within the Interreg Alpine Space programme.

The project was initiated in the context of the Austrian-Liechtenstein EUSALP Presidency 2025. A joint approach is particularly important because the countries of the Alpine region face similar challenges, yet their standards, approval processes and legal frameworks differ. This makes it possible to compare and adapt successful solutions across borders and make them usable for other regions.

Project partners

Lead Partner: ZAB Zukunftsagentur Bau, Austria

Further project partners come from Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, France and Switzerland. The consortium includes the University of Innsbruck, Bayern Innovativ, Buildsystems, Technology Park Ljubljana, Habitech, Innovation Salzburg, Eurac Research, CIRIDD, iiSBE Italia R&D, the University of Nova Gorica and Lucerne University, among others.

Project duration and funding

Project duration: 36 months
Total project budget: € 2,319,279.60
EU/ERDF funding: € 1,694,467.20

ZAB’s share of the project budget amounts to €343,550.00, of which €257,662.50 is financed from ERDF funds.

Funding

Funding program: Interreg Alpine Space 2021–2027
Priority: Carbon neutral and resource sensitive Alpine region
spezific goal SO 2.2: Förderung des Übergangs zu einer kreislauforientierten und ressourceneffizienten Wirtschaft
Projectcode: ASP0700559

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