Italy

The UNIFI (Architecture Department) serves as the National Project Coordinator, bringing expertise in urban sustainability, bioclimatic design, NbS, energy efficiency, digital twins, IoT sensors, and participatory design processes to test floodable park designs and develop multi-actor co-creation approaches (MAA). It will lead WP5 and give the required documentation for the development of WP1, WP2, WP3 and WP4 and perform the needed experiments for their completion. It will also be part of the AQUAlive KH Council. UNIFI is expert on BeXLab (Building Environmental eXperience Laboratory) functions as an interdisciplinary Living Lab that enhances environmental experiences in built environments by combining building information modelling (BIM) technology with dynamic monitoring systems to create Digital Twins for sustainability scenarios. Its IoT sensor network collects real-time environmental data and user feedback, creating an interactive tool for intelligent building management while serving as an educational hub for students, researchers, and industry partners. The Service Design Lab is a research centre applying systemic and co-creative approaches to complex challenges such as sustainability transition, developing innovative service models that generate social, cultural, and economic value. It coordinates interdisciplinary collaboration, engaging diverse stakeholders to build distributed change capabilities and transform challenges into opportunities for a sustainable society.

The team PI Antonella Trombadore, focus her research on the intersection between innovation, construction techniques, and architectural quality, addressing interdisciplinary aspects of environmental sustainability in buildings and urban systems. She has significant expertise in Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), Green Buildings, Green Infrastructure, Resilient Cities, Adaptive Design, and Bioclimatic Strategies. Recently, her work has expanded to explore Digital Twin technology as a multidimensional cognitive and predictive modelling approach.

Debora Giorgi, President of the Textile and Fashion Design Bachelor program and Associate Professor in Design at the UNIFI. PhD in Political Sciences and expertise in cultural heritage preservation and eco-sustainable architecture, she has over 20 years of experience managing projects for major international organizations including UNESCO, EU, World Bank, and World Monument Fund. As head of the Service Design Lab, her work emphasizes sustainable local development through cultural heritage preservation, positioning design as a catalyst for sustainable behaviours and development models.