RENOLAB

At the heart of all the government's strategic plans, the energy renovation of buildings, and in particular Wallonia's (old) building stock, represents a major industrial challenge for the construction sector. The traditional methods currently used on renovation sites are based on inefficient processes, high labor and material requirements, and lead times and levels of complexity that are incompatible with the wishes of renovation customers. Faced with this situation, we need to develop an industrial approach that incorporates new technological and digital possibilities.

RenoLab's objective is to develop an upscaling service center based on a digital expertise center (RenoLab Digital) and an industrial workshop (RenoLab Factory) to meet the evolving needs of companies in the renovation sector in terms of off-site industrialization. This service center will help structure, connect, train and equip a future Walloon prefabrication/industrialization sector to massify/accelerate the renovation of Wallonia's built environment. A strong partnership between the research centers (Buildwise and Sirris) of the two sectors concerned (construction and manufacturing) will enable the development of the product-process approach necessary for the sector, while integrating the principles of circularity as far as possible (design, dismantlability, reuse and recycling materials).

As the deployment of the District Cleantech site is spread over several years and phased in several stages, including the rehabilitation of the various buildings retained on the site (La Centrale and Les Vestiaires), a gradual launch of the RenoLab is planned and will be structured into 2 entities: The RenoLab Digital, active from 2026, will be dedicated to digital technologies and will bring together state-of-the-art expertise and equipment dedicated to energy renovation and off-site manufacturing for these renovations. It will make available all the next-generation technologies that will make possible new design processes, more advanced in terms of precision, speed and productivity, with a focus on design studies linked to the renovation of building complexes (massification of work):

Digital survey equipment and links with digital mock-ups;

Virtual reality equipment and an immersive room Software tools geared towards analysis of groups of buildings (neighborhoods, ...) and energy communities (in collaboration with the ILES project).

The RenoLab Factory, active from 2029, will include :

A workshop for the prefabrication of envelope elements (facade, roof) and special techniques (renewable energy production & storage, ventilation, solar protection, etc.), equipped with state-of-the-art robotic technologies and enabling the custom, full-scale manufacture of small and medium-sized productions;

A prototyping workshop; A platform for testing and validating prototypes;

A workshop to prepare for reuse.

The RenoLab project therefore aims to develop an offer for companies in response to an increase in demand for renovation of buildings of all types, stimulated in Wallonia in particular by the Reno+ (private buildings) and RenoWatt (public buildings and social housing) programs, as well as WalloReno (local renovation platforms). RenoLab also translates the objectives of the Walloon IIS ReNOW1 (aimed at structuring innovation around circular renovation) into a very concrete element connecting the world of construction with that of manufacturing and its MadeInWal IIS. Finally, through a strong partnership with Forem and its centers, RenoLab will also offer a unique training infrastructure for new renovation trades, with a focus on industrialization, circularity and IT for Green. The RenoLab project therefore aims to develop an offer for companies in response to an increase in demand for renovation of buildings of all types, stimulated in Wallonia in particular by the Reno+ (private buildings) and RenoWatt (public buildings and social housing) programs, as well as WalloReno (local renovation platforms). RenoLab also translates the objectives of the Walloon IIS ReNOW1 (aimed at structuring innovation around circular renovation) into a very concrete element connecting the world of construction with that of manufacturing and its MadeInWal IIS. Finally, through a strong partnership with Forem and its centers, RenoLab will also offer a unique training infrastructure for new renovation trades, with a focus on industrialization, circularity and IT for Green.