ICONS at NEXTBUILT 2026: Advancing inclusive and circular renovation

ICONS will be present at NEXTBUILT 2026 conference on the built environment, on 4–5 June 2026 at Palazzo Magnani in Bologna.

NEXTBUILT 2026 is an international conference exploring the future of housing, architecture, urban transformation and sustainability through interdisciplinary viewpoints. At the conference ICONS will combine two complementary perspectives that reflect its work at the intersection of social and business innovation.

Through contributions linked to Horizon Europe projects, ICONS will highlight how sustainable transformation requires not only technological and material innovation, but also stakeholder engagement, governance innovation and new collaborative models across the renovation value chain.

Inclusive renovation through stakeholder engagement
On 5 June at 11:00 am (Room Carracci), Chiara Fonio, Head of Social Innovation at ICONS, will present the paper How Can Inclusive Renovation Benefit from Effective Stakeholder Engagement? Evidence, Best Practices and Challenges from Two European-Funded Projects. The contribution explores how renovation processes become more effective and inclusive when technical interventions are combined with participation, local governance and attention to vulnerable groups.

Co-authored by ICONS, Trinity College Dublin and Università Roma Tre, the paper draws on evidence from the Horizon Europe projects EHHUR and Minority Report, showing how co-design and stakeholder engagement can support broader territorial regeneration processes.

Circular renovation through systemic innovation
On 5 June at 3:00 pm (Room Oro), Giovanni Amigoni, Business Innovation Officer at ICONS, will look at how circular renovation is reshaping processes and stakeholder interactions across the built environment sector. Starting from the limits of fragmented and linear construction and renovation models, the contribution highlights the need to reconfigure value chains, workflows, stakeholder roles and coordination mechanisms to scale circular practices beyond isolated pilots. Drawing on desk research, survey activities and evidence from several Horizon Europe initiatives, including the RECONSTRUCT project, the presentation will address evolving circular value chains, material and waste-flow management, interoperability, data exchange and governance mechanisms. It will also look at the emergence of new actors and functions needed to make circular approaches operational and scalable across the renovation sector.

Co-authors of the presentation: Alessia Elia, Business Innovation Senior Officer at ICONS, and Mathilde Paquet, Business Innovation Senior Officer at ICONS.

Find out more about NEXTBUILT 2026 on the conference website. The full programme and registration page are available online.

Featured image by Marco Cassé from Pexels.