- PROJECT CODE: O2-8298
- PROJECT TITLE: Engaging Citizens in Building a Digital Twin for the Immovable Cultural Heritage in the Old Town of Koper
- PROJECT TEAM: dr. Miklós Krész (leader), dr. Ana Slavec, Gertrud Fábián
- PERIOD: 1. 7. 2025 – 30. 9. 2026
- BUDGET: 27.991,27 EUR (13.972,27 EUR for InnoRenew)
- FINANCING: ARIS
- PROJECT COORDINATOR: Institute for the protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia
- PARTNERS: InnoRenew CoE, Institute for the protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia
The MonuPED project addresses the critical challenge of establishing Positive Energy Districts (PEDS) within Monument-Protected Areas (MPAs), acknowledging the inherent tensions between the urban energy transition, the economic interests of property owners, and the need to preserve cultural heritage (CH). The project seeks to identify and overcome the complex barriers to PED development in MPAs, which include intricate ownership structures, regulatory constraints, complex planning processes, investment challenges, and technical complexities.
A key partner in the project, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (IPCHS), will contribute its expertise to develop a digital twin-like tool to support the decarbonization of urban heritage areas. The focus is on the old town of Koper, a historically rich area with many buildings protected by CH regulations. These protections pose challenges for building owners, making it difficult to implement energy-efficient renovations, such as thermal insulation or the installation of solar panels. The project aims to overcome these challenges and contribute to improving the energy efficiency of these protected buildings.
While MonuPED primarily collects data from secondary sources, the proposed citizen science project will actively engage participants to provide first-hand information about their buildings. This citizen-driven data will enrich the existing dataset and enable the development of more sophisticated agent-based models. These models will be critical in minimizing the trade-offs between preserving cultural heritage and adopting sustainable energy practices, helping to identify solutions that balance both priorities.
In this citizen science initiative, IPCHS will collaborate with the InnoRenew CoE, a research institute renowned for its expertise in science communication. Together, they will design a plan for incorporating citizen science activities into the ongoing MonuPED research project. The project’s data management plan (DMP) will also be updated to incorporate data from citizen scientists, ensuring that it complies with legal and ethical standards.
To recruit building owners, the project will use a snowball sampling approach. Initial interviews will focus attitudes on cultural heritage, energy renovations, and awareness of available funding mechanisms. Selected participants will then be invited to focus group discussions that explore the challenges of retrofitting buildings in more detail. Educational materials will be prepared for owners, inviting them to participate in future project activities, thus becoming citizen scientists. Finally, a co-creation workshop will be organised, where data analysis results will be presented and jointly interpreted with participants and other stakeholders, serving as a platform for developing collaborative solutions that merge heritage protection with energy conservation measures.
