H2020-Msca-Itn-956547-Lighten

Building construction industry is the largest anthropogenic source of pollution with massive energy consumption and vast CO2 emission. Novel fully recyclable and low-carbon structural membranes offer a green alternative to glass and other transparent cladding materials used in lightweight buildings, resulting in significant weight savings in the structures and drastically reducing the environmental impact. The remarkably incomplete scientific and technological understanding of the thermomechanical behaviour of such innovative structural skins requires the development of engineering models capable of predicting their performances and allowing their rational use in ultralightweight buildings with enhanced energy efficiency and resilience. The EU-funded LIGHTEN project aims to educate and train a new generation of highly qualified scientists and engineers to become experts in advanced design methods for sustainable construction. Experimental characterisation, modeling, computer simulation and structural design will constitute the education of the researchers within an integrated doctoral program supervised by industrial and academic partners.