Cenergie

The circular school, ready for 2050

In order to prepare the school patrimony of the Province of Antwerp for 2050 in a sustainable way, the traditional school concepts must be radically rethought. Maximum use must be made of space, there is a need for flexibility and the heritage must be given a broader social function. And these are just a few points of interest.

Cenergie wants to work on this. That is why it formed a multidisciplinary consortium with the Province of Antwerp and the University of Antwerp. The project partners have broad, complementary expertise:
- knowledge of the pedagogical and social side,
- a good view of what is technically possible, 
- the know-how to quantify advantages and disadvantages.

Within the project 'The Circular School' they will together draw up a long-term vision for the school patrimony of the Province of Antwerp. They will then test these ambitions against a case study in which the development of innovative HVAC concepts is central. Circularity and flexibility will be the starting points. The University of Antwerp will calculate the environmental impact (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) of possible future scenarios.

In addition, the project will also examine whether innovative earning models can play a role in the transition to a circular school heritage. Because although the initial investment in the technical installation may be higher, it will eventually pay for itself through future cash flows and/or energy savings.