What

Is A

Living lab?

A Living Lab is a real-world innovation platform where circular solutions for the built environment are developed, tested, and refined in collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

Rather than working in isolation, Living Labs bring together public, private, academic, and community partners to co-create solutions in actual urban and spatial contexts—such as buildings, districts, and infrastructure systems.

By operating within real settings, Living Labs help accelerate the transition to circular and regenerative practices in construction, planning, and design.

They serve as both testing grounds and knowledge hubs, generating practical insights that inform policy, industry standards, and future projects.

Real-World Pilots

Innovations are tested in live environments—such as retrofits, new builds, or urban redevelopment—providing valuable data, feedback, and performance insights.

Collaborative Research & Co-creation

Stakeholders from across sectors—design, construction, academia, government, and community—collaborate to design and implement solutions, ensuring they are grounded, feasible, and scalable.

Open Innovation

Ideas, data, and methodologies are shared openly to foster transparency, cross-disciplinary learning, and rapid iteration, enabling breakthroughs that no single organization could achieve alone.

What is a Living Lab?

“Living Labs are dynamic, open innovation ecosystems where innovation unfolds in real-life, operational environments...they integrate research and innovation activities across communities, involving citizens and end-users at the centre of the innovation process... creat(ing) solutions that are deeply rooted in real-world needs.

Living Labs are particularly well-suited for addressing “wicked problems”—complex and multifaceted challenges that are difficult to define...includ(ing) climate change, urbanisation, and social inequality, among others... Through their multi-stakeholder and user-centred design, Living Labs offer a structured environment for tackling such challenges in a way that integrates diverse perspectives and adapts to evolving needs”

Excerpt from "Living Lab origins, developments, and future perspectives"
European Network of Living Labs

Learn more about our approach.