The Yakacik district of Kartal Municipality takes centre-stage in R2CITIES, a 4-year project co-financed by the European Research Programme 7. In this district, low efficiency lighting systems and appliances are in operation, and there are major issues relating to insufficient insulation, meaning much room of improvement. R2CITIES will involve refurbishment of the area with emphasis on passive design strategies, heating and cooling sources, and the integration of renewables for building envelopes. As such, the Yakacik will serve as a demonstration platform for replication purposes elsewhere.
Turkish partners ITU, Ode and Ezinc will pool their respective competencies to carry out the local interventions which include commissioning energy efficiency measurements, assessment of energy performance and savings on the retrofitted areas, economic analysis and also social acceptance. This will result in lower maintenance costs, enhanced occupant health and overall a more convenient and enjoyable use of dwellings.
This experience will then be drawn upon to elaborate replicable strategies for designing, constructing and managing large scale district renovation projects with a view to achieving nearly zero energy cities.
This project is a collaborative endeavor to which 16 partners from 6 countries will be contributing over the next four years. Kartal Municipality will be working in close co-operation with the two other demonstration sites in Spain and Italy, to learn from the findings and to input the knowledge and expertise from Turkey’s partners.
R2CITES is coordinated by Fundación CARTIF (Boecillo-Valladolid) and developed in cooperation with 15 other partners: Sociedad Municipal de Suelo y Vivienda de Valladolid SL, Acciona Infraestructuras SA, and Onyx Solar Energy SL, Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum of the Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH, D’Appolonia SPA, Municipality of Genoa, University of Genoa, ABB SPA, Officinae Verdi SPA, Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Ode AS, Municipality of Kartal, Ezinc Metal AS, Exergy Ltd, youris.com GEIE
R2CITIES is co-financed by the EU within Framework Programme 7 (FP7)