Imagine visiting a hi-tech museum and being guided by an AI robot. No, you are not experiencing a remake of the “2001.

Each year over 3.5 million tourists from all over the world visit Pompeii to admire the ruins left by the eruption of the Vesuvius that, in 79 AD, engulfed it together with the nearby city of Herculaneum.

In the city, the famous Cabanyal district which had been home to a local fishing community for a long time, has recently been transformed into a testing ground for numerous energy efficiency techniques.

Maguy Soldevila is a former art teacher. Some years ago, she quit the frenzy and the pollution of the French city of Lyon to move into a typical house of the 1960s, in the small village of Sail-sous-Couzan.

If energy-saving measures came knocking at the door, wouldn't it be reassuring to have someone on hand to help you navigate the benefits and inconvenience, someone to help dispel your doubts? This is what is happening in Zaragoza, Spain, where social workers are helping the dwellers of a block of council flats.

In most EU countries, half of the residential stock was built before the introduction of thermal regulations. But building renovation is particularly challenging for multi-family dwellings , where socio-economic conditions often represent a barrier.

Today´s liberalised markets are focused on short-term return on capital, but energy infrastructure planning should be driven by the objective of climate protection.

Door locks that open with fingerprints, networked security cameras, smart light bulbs, smart washing machines: technology is transforming our homes, turning the tech dreams of yesterday into the reality of today.

Building with wood, straw, and hemp. Biobased materials are seeing ever more use in the construction sector, which needs to become more sustainable as it is one of the major sources of soil, air and water pollution.

Thirty-one apartment buildings comprising 140,000 m 2 of floor space: Europe’s most ambitious energy-saving renovation project is transforming Torrelago, a residential district of Valladolid in central Spain.

Spain is known as a land of sun and heat. But even here there are regions that have to face icy winter temperatures. In Valladolid , in the north of the country, many of the almost 300,000 inhabitants are in poorly isolated buildings built in the 1960s.

From 21 to 25  May the EU Green Week is exploring ways to accelerate sustainable urban transformation.

Bristol is at the forefront of high-tech innovation in the UK, named European green capital in 2015. But it is also the second least affordable major British city housing-wise only after London.

When temperatures are low, the temptation to take long, scalding showers and turn electric heaters to the maximum is high. And not knowing how much energy we spend, when we unthinkingly do these activities, makes it difficult for us to decrease our consumption.

From the frosty reaches of Umeå in eastern Sweden to the rolling hills of San Sebastian in Spain’s Basque Country, European cities have one refrain on their minds as the cold sets in: winter is coming and homes must be heated in a way that allows the EU to reach its goal of reducing energy consumption by 20% by the year 2020 .

Energy consumption in the construction sector is a key issue in the fight against climate change. It is often approached when planning new buildings, but there is little tendency to renovate the existing stock .

Smart buildings appear to respond to a range of energy challenges found in Europe today. Improved efficiency would help consumers reduce income spent on energy consumption, reduce greenhouse emissions and also help EU countries meet the goals of the 2030 energy strategy .

Buildings account for 36% of CO 2 emissions in Europe, and energy consumption in this sector has increased in recent decades.

Today, one of the new challenges for the construction industry is the use of textiles, coming from the clothing and footwear industries.

Suburbs are often spaces of poverty, unemployment and urban decay. But now many peripheral areas are becoming laboratories of innovation , hosting initiatives for a sustainable future.