The Hague, 11 September 2025. Deerns is redefining energy management and sustainability in Italy with pioneering work on high impact projects like Turin’s “To Dream”.
As Italy moves toward a decarbonised future, Deerns is delivering the expertise and innovation needed to transform buildings into energy smart, sustainable infrastructure. In the city of Turin, Deerns is a driving force in “To Dream”, an urban regeneration project reshaping Italy’s approach to energy management, brownfield redevelopment and future ready construction.
Regenerative Development
“To Dream” is Italy’s largest mixed-use redevelopment project currently underway, reclaiming 270,000m2 of the former Michelin industrial site in Turin. As a national benchmark in energy conscious urban renewal, it embodies the potential of sustainable transformation.
Deerns has provided high-end consultancy on sustainability frameworks and energy performance, guiding the project toward superior environmental standards. By applying the ITACA protocol and the voluntary BREEAM certification scheme, Deerns has ensured measurable environmental outcomes at every stage. From materials to mobility, every element has been planned with lifecycle efficiency in mind. in mind.
“To Dream” exemplifies how Deerns enables real estate developers to futureproof their assets while maximising energy performance and compliance with the EU’s evolving Energy Performance of Buildings Directives (EPBD),” says Federico Lucchi, Senior Building Physics Specialist at Deerns.
“As EPBD IV redefines the parameters of compliance, we’re seeing a fundamental shift,” he adds. “It’s no longer just about meeting efficiency standards – it is about embedding intelligent, circular design into the core of building strategy. That’s the leap from reducing impact to creating long term value.”
Key sustainable features include:
- Integration of renewable energy systems
- Smart building automation
- Dedicated spaces for electric mobility and bike infrastructure
- Low carbon design strategies to mitigate the urban heat island effect
- Full redevelopment of a brownfield site without additional land consumption.
Engineering the Future of Energy Management
As energy costs soar and regulation tightens, Deerns is addressing the growing demand for intelligent energy strategies in the commercial and logistics sectors.
Italy’s industrial and commercial landscape is energy intensive, particularly in large scale retail and distribution. Deerns is helping reshape this environment by designing systems that reduce consumption, recover waste heat and integrate on site energy generation.
Four Highlights of Deerns’ energy management approach are:
- Implementation of smart HVAC systems based on the EPBD III requirement for class B Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS)
- Adoption of Smart Readiness Indicators (SRI) aligned with EPBD IV
- Deployment of hydronic loop systems and Water Loop Heat Pump (WLHP) networks for multi-use retail environments
- Support for district energy networks in logistics hubs, maximising shared efficiencies across buildings.
" Deerns’ integrated strategies do more than reduce emissions. They lower operating costs, increase resilience to grid disruptions and enhance long term asset value.
Circular Design Meets Smart Infrastructure
At the core of Deerns’ philosophy is systemic energy thinking. This includes whole life carbon assessment through VICA (Value Integrated Carbon Assessment), which evaluates embodied and operational emissions across the entire building lifecycle.
This approach is vital as Italy moves from near zero, to zero emission building standards under the fourth revision of the EPBD.
" By integrating circular economy principles, such as thermal energy recovery from refrigeration systems and the reuse of grey water, Deerns’ engineering solutions deliver results across multiple vectors – environmental, financial and regulatory.
In logistics centres with high cold storage demands, Deerns designs systems that re-purpose waste heat across zones or even across facilities, supporting broader sustainability and grid independence.
“Infrastructure today can’t be passive,” notes Lucchi. “In a context where energy is both a cost driver and a constraint, buildings must evolve into intelligent systems. The goal is smarter operation through adaptive design and predictive control.”
Preparing for Transition 5.0 and Beyond
Italy’s regulatory momentum, bolstered by incentives under the Transition 5.0 Plan and the upcoming FerX support package, is pushing the commercial and logistics sectors toward energy independence. Deerns’ solutions are not only compliant but also compatible with future evolving standards and subsidy programmes.
Crucially, Deerns also supports digital energy transformation, enabling predictive and self-adaptive management through integration ready infrastructure. These technologies, aligned with smart grid potential, set the foundation for energy communities, net zero buildings and participation in decentralised energy markets.
“The buildings of the future will need to be carbon accountable from design through to decommissioning,” Lucchi emphasises. “With innovative tools and integrated energy
systems, we can track and optimise performance across the full life cycle. That’s how sustainability becomes a strategic asset, not just a regulatory requirement.”
A Strategic Role in Italy’s Energy Roadmap
From the reuse of industrial brownfields to decentralised energy systems, Deerns is proving how strategic design can unlock environmental, economic and social value. Projects like “To Dream” signal a paradigm shift in how we build for tomorrow, where each site becomes an energy efficient, resilient and enduring asset.
For Deerns, energy management is where engineering leverages transformation. By integrating intelligence, circularity and sustainability into the built environment, Deerns is helping Italy meet its energy goals while building smarter cities and stronger communities.
