The URBEM (Urban Reference Buildings for Energy Modelling) research project, financed by the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) as a Project of Relevant National Interest (PRIN), was the protagonist of two important institutional meetings in Rome, organised by the researchers involved to share the progress and intermediate results achieved. Coordinated by Prof. Francesco Causone of the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano, URBEM aims to create a national database of reference buildings for urban energy models, useful for evaluating energy saving measures on an urban scale through dynamic simulations.

In the morning of Wednesday 30 October 2024, the URBEM team held a session at the Sala Caduti di Nassirya of the Senate of the Italian Republic, where the role of data-driven energy analysis as a lever for urban decarbonisation was explored. In the afternoon, a seminar at the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering of the Sapienza University explored the methodologies developed by the project to optimise the energy efficiency and climate resilience of Italy’s real estate assets. The day ended with a panel discussion attended by representatives of local and national authorities, discussing perspectives and strategies to replicate decarbonisation solutions for large-scale urban buildings.

These meetings have contributed to the promotion of policies aimed at sustainability and urban regeneration for the benefit of Italian cities, and facilitated collaboration between research and administrations to promote more sustainable and resilient urban development models.