Timișoara reimagines schools with a Smart Green initiative

The first wave of schools will be renovated through the Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Plan

This week, authorities in Timișoara, Romania, presented their concept for Smart Green Schools. The idea aims to both renovate and decarbonise schools in the city as part of the Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The initial wave of the project will cover three schools, with the investment nearing 10 million euros, which will be used to renovate and, in some cases, restore the buildings, boost their energy efficiency and heat efficiency. 1,500 students will benefit from this initiative after work is completed.

Reimagining school infrastructure from the ground up

According to a statement by Timișoara Mayor, Dominic Fritz, the Romanian recovery plan gives the city a chance to imagine its school infrastructure from the ground up. Much of the buildings housing the schools are in a bad condition, a fact acknowledged by the mayor.

Thus, he explained, the local administration will look beyond the initial funding options provided by the recovery plan toward additional EU support. This is because the aged infrastructure issue is outside of the scope of the first wave of investment.

Nevertheless, the Smart Green School initiative will target three schools, the 1^st Gymnasium on Comănești Street, Technological High School of Food Industry and the "Henri Coandă" Technical College.

The 1^st Gymnasium on Comănești Street was one of Timișoara’s first schools, established back in 1762. At the same time, its current building was inaugurated in 1849 and is considered an architectural landmark in the city.

However, this also means that renovating the building would be particularly challenging, as its historical features need to be preserved in some form. Despite its history, the building needs to combine principles of energy efficiency and a comfortable environment for the students.

In terms of sustainability practices, the redevelopment of all three buildings will feature heat envelopes, helping to reduce both emissions and heat waste from water and the heating system. This goes hand in hand with cutting electricity consumption. Apart from being environmentally friendly, this would also reduce public expenses on these buildings, especially considering the energy crisis gripping Europe at this time.