FRAIMwork: Turning deep renovation into a plug-and-play upgrade for Europe’s small buildings

Status: Ongoing Energy Built environment

FRAIMwork, a project funded by Horizon Europe, develops a cost-effective prefabrication approach for deep renovation of non-serial, small-scale buildings in Europe. It combines a modular frame and adaptable prefabricated elements with a BIM-based digital backbone that connects design and delivery.

The project targets faster on-site work, lower costs and waste, and smoother execution by local contractors across diverse renovation scenarios. Demonstrations will take place in Belgium, Germany and France.

FRAIMwork projectoverview

FRAIMwork (preFabricated deep Renovation with a modulAr Intelligent fraMe driven by autOmated and stReamlined worKflows) focuses on deep renovation of non-serial, small-scale buildings, an area that is typically hard to industrialise. The project tackles bottlenecks such as reliance on scarce skilled labour, fragmented coordination between stakeholders, and limited design adaptability for small residential buildings.

The core innovation combines:

a digital FRAIMwork backbone, and
a prefab building envelope system.

Key innovations in FRAIMwork

Digital backbone: a BIM-based digital system connecting all renovation phases from design to end-of-life (EoL), including a multi-objective optimisation engine that leverages advanced mathematics to explore the near-optimum space, supporting decision-making by weighting criteria such as energy consumption, carbon impact, and investment cost, and helps bridge the as-designed versus as-built gap—building on concepts from the RENOMIZE project.
Modular prefabrication: circular prefabricated elements designed for disassembly, enabling easier installation by smaller enterprises and local contractors. This modular concept allows for phased implementation and is tailored for confined spaces (e.g. the back of terraced houses).
Installation support: visually guided installation using augmented reality (AR) or façade projections for real-time instructions and quality control, supporting faster installation and smoother human-robot collaboration.
Robotics: three automation solutions (augmented mini-crane, climbing robot and the Railbot) for precise subframe positioning and anchoring, aiming to reduce manual labor at height and the need for costly scaffolding.
Business models: at least three financing models, leveraging the growing role of energy communities and concepts such as façade leasing and energy performance contracts (building on approaches identified in EBENTO and LIFE Cosme Reno).

Demonstration sites

Two-floor terraced residential building - Leuven, Belgium
Four-floor residential detached house - Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Two-story residential multifamily building - Barbentane, France

VITO’s role in FRAIMwork

In FRAIMwork, VITO leads the building envelope system (subframe, prefabricated element and mounting mechanism), coordinating the design and development with a focus on flexible, modular and reversible installation mechanisms.

VITO also leads the technical development of the multi-objective assessment framework, evaluating the impact of renovation scenarios on metrics such as energy performance and installation time, extending lessons learnt from the RENOMIZE project.

VITO also contributes to robotic developments, including the conceptual and functional design of the Railbot, which autonomously fixes subframe segments without human intervention.

VITO's THOREAQ outdoor construction lab facilities support integration and validation testing of robotic and installation subsystems before deployment to the demonstration sites.

VITO builds on prior experience from the related projects RENOMIZE, INCREACE, oPEN Lab (coordination) and EXCESS.