On December 3, 2025, SMILE CITY, in cooperation with Lazio Innova, held the launch workshop for the FABER SCHOOL URBAN LIVING LAB – “SMILE CITY” at the CNR premises in Rome.
This workshop was the start of an effort to involve architects, designers, students, researchers, and innovators in a process of co-design, collaboration, and international networking. The end goal is to generate and prototype concepts for an off-grid e-bike charging station, as set out in SMILE CITY’s project mission.
After an introduction into the SMILE CITY project for the 80+ participants in person and online, project partners COMSA, Ecosistemi, ENEA and the City of Lucca presented key aspects of urban design, eco-design and mobility needs of users and public authorities.
SMILE CITY partners Solum, PROTECH, MET, Little Energy and Polito then dove into the state of the art of charging stations and project innovations. Participants learned how charging stations work, how to meet their energy demand with solar power, what PV panels to use, how to incorporate second-life batteries, and many more.
Following a light lunch, representatives from Lazio Innova and FabLab Lazio presented technical details about the FABER SCHOOL URBAN LIVING LAB – “SMILE CITY”, such as how and where to apply, who can participate, and what the expected outputs will be.
The event was concluded by an open discussion about all topics discussed throughout the day, giving participants a great way to connect with the present experts.
Did you miss this event? No problem! The next FABER SCHOOL URBAN LIVING LAB – “SMILE CITY” event will happen at the Polytechnic University of Turin on 17 December, 2025, at 17:30 in the Aula Albenga – DISEG (door #1, second floor). Registrations are not necessary, but feel free to reach out to alessandro.fantilli@polito.it for any questions you may have.
Are you interested in participating in the FABER SCHOOL URBAN LIVING LAB – “SMILE CITY”? Apply here by January 10, 2026!
The ideal participants for this programme are:
- University and Technical Higher Education Students
- Recent Graduates, Scientists, Researchers
- Designers
- Digital artisans, technicians, and local innovators
- Professionals and companies interested in sustainable design, renewable energy, and the circular economy.