How can Europe accelerate innovation in façade and building envelope technologies? How can SMEs access testing facilities, funding, and partnerships to bring their sustainable solutions to market faster? These questions will take center stage on November 19, during “Building the Future: Launching Europe's Open Innovation Ecosystem for Construction”, hosted at the Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie in Brussels.

Organised by Metabuilding Labs and its partners, this event will gather European innovators, SMEs, researchers, and policymakers to explore how Open Innovation Test Beds (OITB) and the Metabuilding ecosystem are shaping the future of high-performance, sustainable building envelopes.

Morning: Insights and Challenges in the Building Envelope Sector

After a welcome coffee at 08:30, the day will open with welcoming words by Thomas Messervey (R2M Solution), President of Metabuilding ASBL, followed by an opening keynote on the European Vision for an Innovative and Clean Industrial Sector delivered by a representative from the European Commission. This will be a high-level address setting the policy context for the day, highlighting the role of Open Innovation Test Beds (OITBs) in delivering the EU's Clean Industrial Deal.

09:15-10:00 – The first-round table "From Lab to Market: Overcoming the Barriers for SME Innovation" will highlight:

• The upcoming Construction21 dossier on façade innovation,
• Key insights from Metabuilding Labs on innovation and market access,
• A testimony from an innovative technology developer.

Speakers include Stéphanie Decker (Nobatek), Marion Caillol (Arcora), and a representative from Coveris. This session will be moderated by Anne-Sophie Tardy (Construction21).

Late Morning: Supporting Innovation and Market Growth

10:45-11:45 – The session "The Engine for Growth: How the Metabuilding Ecosystem De-risks Innovation" will explore how Metabuilding ASBL supports SMEs throughout their innovation journey, from concept to market entry. This session will be a deep dive into the permanent services and infrastructure created by Metabuilding Labs project. It will showcase the digital platform, the network of testing facilities, and the business support services now available to the entire construction sector.

Speakers: 

• Germain Adell (Managing Director of Metabuilding ASBL) presenting the ecosystem, 
• Emre Yöntem (ECOWISE) on leveraging the digital services of Metabuilding for growth.

This session will be followed by an open Q&A.

Afternoon: Pilot Buildings as Living Labs and Future Infrastructure

13:15-14:15 – Panel Discussion: "The Human Dimension: How Co-Creation is Reshaping Renovation" will be a moderated session exploring the project's most critical social innovation: a proven methodology for genuine community engagement, applied in pilot sites testing new façade components across the EU.

Participants from Coveris, HormiPresa, Stress and Enoll will share their experience of participatory testing, feedback loops, and multi-stakeholder engagement.

14:30-15:15 - The Round Table "Establishing a Pan-European Innovation Support Infrastructure" will be a strategic discussion on the long-term vision for the ecosystem, its role within the Built4People Partnership, and its value in creating a resilient, competitive, and sustainable European construction industry.

• Moderator: Thomas Messervey (R2M Solution & MetaBuilding ASBL)
• Panellists: Alain Zarli (ECTP), Germain Adell (Metabuilding ASBL) & representatives from LIST and NOBATEK.

15:30-16:00 - The day will end by a dynamic session: "Joining the Movement – The Future of the Metabuilding Ecosystem" focused on action and future engagement.

• Official Pre-Launch: Unveiling the new Affiliate Membership tier, with a clear call to action for stakeholders to join the ecosystem. (Germain Adell)
• Remarks for the future: A forward-looking statement from R2M Solution on the importance of this new infrastructure network for the future of the European construction sector. (Thomas Messervey)

Towards a European Ecosystem for Façade Innovation

This event marks an important step in building a connected, pan-European network of innovation and testing infrastructures for the construction sector. It also serves as the conclusion to the just published Construction21 special dossier on façade innovation, which will showcase numerous insights and case studies from the Metabuilding ecosystem.

Join Metabuilding Labs and its partners in Brussels to connect with Europe’s building envelope innovation community and contribute to its sustainable future.

Register now!