01.06.2026
What if Europe’s housing crisis and climate crisis could be addressed at the same time?
That is exactly the ambition of the Invisible Buildings project, in which IRI UL – Institute for Innovation and Development of University of Ljubljana is a partner.
Across Europe, millions of homes and buildings remain vacant or underused, while affordable housing is becoming increasingly inaccessible and energy poverty continues to grow. The Invisible Buildings initiative aims to unlock this hidden potential by identifying, activating and renovating vacant spaces into affordable, energy-efficient homes.
At IRI UL, we are contributing to the development of data-driven approaches for identifying vacant and underused residential buildings, while supporting the Slovenian pilot in Ljubljana. Together with municipalities, researchers, energy agencies and European partners, we are exploring how existing building stock can become part of the solution to both housing affordability and the green transition. Read the latest project article HERE.
Next stop: New European Bauhaus Festival 2026 in Brussels (9–13 June), where the project consortium will engage visitors through interactive discussions on housing, vacancy, renovation and sustainable urban development. The event highlights a simple but powerful question: “Why build new when we can bring existing spaces back to life?”
Read more about our contribution at the festival HERE.