Sustainable and climate-resilient cities and construction

Cities face growing pressures from climate change, pollution, and rapid urban growth, demanding a fundamental shift in how we design, build, and manage the built environment. To create urban spaces that are both sustainable and resilient, society needs cleaner materials, smarter infrastructure, and data-driven planning tools that reduce environmental impacts while improving quality of life.

LIST is accelerating this transition by developing and demonstrating innovative design and planning concepts, next-generation building materials, advanced sensor systems, and cutting-edge digital technologies. We also create robust, application-aware digital infrastructures that support more efficient construction and empower cities to operate sustainably, adapt to climate risks, and thrive in the decades ahead.

Our fields of action

We develop sustainable, high-performance construction materials, from lightweight fibre-reinforced composites to self-healing bio-based solutions. Our innovations integrate advanced manufacturing, smart sensors, and real-time structural health monitoring, enhancing durability, efficiency, and safety while reducing environmental impact.

We design materials and technologies for energy-efficient, climate-resilient buildings, including high-performance insulation, reflective coatings, and smart glass. At the city level, we combine urban heat mapping, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and decision-support tools to guide green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and long-term climate adaptation planning.

We create building- and city-scale Digital Twins to make construction and urban planning smarter and more sustainable. By combining Building information modeling (BIM), Geographic Information System (GIS), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), we help manage energy, materials, and waste more efficiently, support circular construction, and plan cities that are resilient to climate change. GeoAI tools and citizen participation ensure urban development meets the needs of people and the planet.

We build the next generation of smart city digital infrastructure, tackling future 6G networks, cybersecurity and energy challenges. Through autonomous networks, AI-driven orchestration, and distributed Digital Twins, we optimize urban connectivity, monitor crowds and mobility, and detect environmental anomalies. Our work also focuses on secure, fault-tolerant systems, energy-efficient sensors, and sustainable AI to create resilient, climate-ready digital cities.

We create low-cost, AI-enabled gas sensors to detect harmful indoor pollutants and integrate seamlessly into smart building networks. We also craft advanced simulation methods to assess indoor performance and apply social LCA to measure impacts on occupant well-being—supporting healthier, smarter, and more sustainable indoor spaces.

We advance tools and guidance to boost material reuse and manage legacy contaminants in construction, including enhancements to dedicated platforms and new online resources and training. Together with Uni Kassel, we also create life-cycle models for plastics in buildings to support better policies and more sustainable industry practices.

Our solutions

We accelerate the development of smart, connected and climate-resilient cities through the future 6G network, AI-enabled urban systems, and smart materials. Our secure, energy-efficient digital infrastructures optimise connectivity, mobility and real-time city monitoring, while construction-focused digital twins and modelling tools enhance building design and circular resource use.