The case study of Timisoara (Romania). IMM design lab for a more sustainable, liveable and responsible city. M. TADI 1 , S. VAHABZADEH MANESH 1 AMANDA DAYSH 2 , GIZEM KAHRAMAN 2 , ILINCA URSU 2 1 IMM Design Lab. ABC Department, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. 2 School of Building Engineering and Architecture, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Abstract. Energy consumption efficiency and sustainable development is definitely an urban issue. The IMM ® (Integrated Modification Methodology) theory considering the city as a complex adaptive system (CAS) explores the relationships between urban morphology and energy consumption. According to this theory, the city, studied as a complex adaptive system, is not solely a mere aggregation of disconnected energy consumers and the total energy consumption of the city is different from the sum of the whole building’s consumption. So the energy efficiency of every element has to be optimized by its form, in a way that improves the other elements of the energetic performance as well. However, a case study based on the re-development of an important part of Timisoara shows that morphology plays an essential role for any energy-saving policy, urban efficiency, quality of life and, generally, for any sustainable urban environment. This project based on the innovative IMM ® methodology applies a multi-layered design approach working in the areas of energy, water, urban green spaces, mobility, landscapes, natural resource management, participation and social cohesion. In terms of sustainability, the study defined the main catalyst for nowadays most profiting urban changes – transportation; emphasizing the transposition from “driving – in” or car dependent society to “green moving – in” concept of bicycle and public transport dependence. Furthermore applying this in a domino effect style the paper elaborates a thorough program for smaller scales such as district sustainable development. The research set the opportunity to incorporate a wide range of issues to improve the metabolism of the city as well as its livability, and energy performances. Keywords—Complex adaptive system, Energy efficiency, IMM (Integrated Modification Methodology), Sustainable urban form, mobility, landscape. I. INTRODUCTION Home to 80% of EU citizens and 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, urban areas play a key role in fighting climate change as well as energy consumption; but, cities' access to funding for green policies is proving a major stumbling block. “Although cities embody environmental damage, namely, increasing emissions due to transportation, energy consumption and other factors, policymakers and experts increasingly recognize the potential value of cities for long- term sustainability, after all, the majority of energy is consumed in cities. Therefore, it is an urban issue.” [1] The 20/20/20 goal of EU members in 2020 is 20% increase in energy efficiency, 20% reduction of CO2 emissions and 20% of energy produced from renewable energy resources (RES) [2]. In this term, a realistic strategy cannot ignore three main points: 1) Dependence on oil cannot be solved in short time; Resources are destined to exhaustion. 2) Our ability to use (RES) is quite limited at the moment. 3) No realistic forms of alternative energy for industrial, large-scale uses can be predicted in a short time. In consideration that the building sector represents 40% of the total primary energy demand in European Union countries and it is responsible for one third of the GHG emissions [nota], while this amount would be approximately 27% in Timisoara which consists of two sectors: residential by 20 % and institutional 7 % respectively [3], urban design principle can address the challenges in a comprehensive way, facilitating the conciliation between development and sustainability. Timisoara is currently the second largest city of Romania, after the capital Bucharest. With Its dynamic economy, focused especially on industry, services, and the current energy consumption is distributed as follows: tertiary sector 11%, residential 30%, transports 22%, industry 12% and in other sectors such as primary sector, energy, building and public works 25%. The consumption ratio per inhabitant was 15 MWh/inhabit and the structure of energy consumption is mainly based on firewood and biomass because of the traditional heating devices (like stoves). Also the installations based on natural gas are very popular (both for heating and cooking). Electricity consumption share within total consumption is low in comparison to European levels;