Background Buildings expend huge amounts of energy during their life span and roughly half of the energy consumed in Europe is used to maintain buildings. A considerable amount of work on sustainable building design has been carried out in Northern Europe to address this issue. Major environmental improvements can be made in Mediterranean cities by implementing modern approaches to sustainable building design incorporating cooling and energy efficiency strategies. The rehabilitation of existing public buildings is also a high priority for many municipal authorities throughout Europe. Objectives The main aim of this LIFE-Environment project was to identify, adapt and apply best practice in European sustainable building design methods for multi-functional community facilities, such as schools. Partners from two French Mediterranean Regions (Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur and the Languedoc-Roussillon) teamed up with German urban colleagues from Berlin’s Pankow Municipality and Greek Municipalities in Athens, Volos and Ileia to review sustainable building concepts and practices in their respective countries. Three different test sites were selected in Greece to pilot new best practice approaches. Public participation strategies were planned to form a central theme within the project’s sustainable development methodology which also aimed to generate positive environmental impacts in terms of energy, health and other quality of life factors. Results The project succeeded in developing a methodology on sustainable school buildings which has been tailored to the particular needs of Mediterranean countries. Conclusions from the transnational best practice research were incorporated within a methodology for sustainable building techniques which integrates principles, criteria, suggested interventions and best practices. The LIFE approach presented a common understanding about sustainability concepts for existing building stock in the Mediterranean region. This differs from many conventional sustainable building approaches, which tend to concentrate on new builds. The methodology was tested on data collected via surveys and resource audits at kindergartens in 20 Greek municipalities and primary schools in 22 Greek municipalities. Results provided correlations between energy consumption, architectural typology and buildings’ construction classification. Data was also collected on interior comfort conditions and quality of life variations between different seasons and school buildings’ operation hours. Results from the applied analysis identified a series of opportunities for technical interventions on existing school buildings, such as playground remodelling and energy efficiency measures. Benefits noted from the LIFE project works included: reduced energy consumption and improved energy efficiency, using renewable energy sources and shading south-facing aspects; eco-construction by means of appropriate materials, green spaces and alternative cooling techniques; enhanced comfort within buildings via thermal, acoustic and olfactory interventions; and environmental health gains from improved indoor air quality. Cost estimates for energy efficiency savings following the new sustainable building works range between 35-50% for the heating period and 25-30% for the cooling period. Scope exists to strengthen the methodology and build on the project’s practical outcomes, such as the technical reports and good practice guide that were produced. The latter presented useful tips for creating sustainable buildings. These were widely disseminated during the LIFE project’s operations. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).