Posted in News, UWTSD Hub News on Oct 26, 2026.
At UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES, we are delighted to be part of a collaborative research project taking place across the Swansea Bay region. Building directly upon the foundational work of Project REPAIR: Retrofitting for the Future, the project examines how local residents experience low-carbon technologies and retrofitted net-zero housing. The initiative has secured £83,569 through the EPSRC Switch to Net Zero Buildings Place Based Impact Acceleration Account (PBIAA).
By placing human experience, local knowledge, and community wellbeing at the centre of technological transitions, the research embodies the BRIDGES ethos: bridging the gap between technical decarbonisation and ecological, social justice.
Building on Project REPAIR: The initiative expands upon the transdisciplinary frameworks, nature-based design principles, and community networks established by Project REPAIR. It addresses how biophilic housing and low-carbon technologies impact everyday living. Centring Lived Experience: The research focuses on how individuals and communities interact with, adapt to, and shape sustainable housing environments over time. Transdisciplinary Collaboration: Steered by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) the project brings together academic expertise from across UWTSD—including UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES where the UK Hub and International Programme Office (IPO) are based, and the Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC)—alongside regional key partners such as Codi Group and Hacer Developments. Insights from BRIDGES
Reflecting on the vital necessity of embedding socio-cultural understanding and empathy into climate adaptation, Luci Attala, Deputy Executive Director of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES global coalition, and Associate Professor of Anthropology at UWTSD, highlighted the deeper human dimensions of retrofitting:
Retrofitting is not merely a technical or architectural adjustment; it requires valuing human bonds, lived experiences, and what they teach us through empathy and active repair.
Read updates from UWTSD. and Project REPAIR on this initiative.
