EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.1.2023
COM(2023) 24 final
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
New European Bauhaus Progress Report
EUR-Lex Access to European Union law
This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 52023DC0024
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS New European Bauhaus Progress Report
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS New European Bauhaus Progress Report
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS New European Bauhaus Progress Report
COM/2023/24 final
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.1.2023
COM(2023) 24 final
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
New European Bauhaus Progress Report
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. NEB funding
3. Implementation in Member States
4. NEB impact on the EU policy environment
4.1 NEB in EU policy making
4.2 The Commission walking the talk
5. Education and skills
6. Growing community of supporters and implementers
6.1 Partners
6.2 Friends
6.3 High-level Roundtable
6.4 National Contact Points
7. The NEB Lab
7.1 Commission-led projects
7.2 Community-led projects
8. The New European Bauhaus Prizes 2021 and 2022
9. Communication, public engagement, events
9.1 Communication and public engagement
9.2 NEB events
9.2.1 New European Bauhaus Festival 2022
9.2.2 Other NEB related events by the European Commission
9.2.3 NEB related events outside Europe
1.Executive Summary
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) was launched to translate the European Green Deal into tangible change on the ground that improves our daily life, in buildings, in public spaces, but also in fashion or furniture. The New European Bauhaus aims at creating a new lifestyle that matches sustainability with good design, that needs less carbon and that is inclusive and affordable for all, while respecting the diversity that we have in Europe and beyond.
Only two years after its launch, the NEB has become a catalyst for the European Green Deal transformation, ensuring social inclusion and participation. The initiative has grown into a movement with an active and growing community from all EU Member States and beyond.
At the same time, thanks to a broad funding from different EU programmes, the NEB has started to implement real change on the ground. In 2022, the first six NEB demonstrators were chosen and started to work. In 2023, the next 10 will follow. Although the NEB has no specific EU programme at its disposal, over 100 million Euros were already invested into NEB projects supported by different MFF programmes such as Horizon Europe, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), LIFE, the Single Market Programme and Digital Europe. The NEB put a special focus on the support of smaller initiatives and projects for example with the NEB Prizes that awarded already 38 projects.
2023
With 600 official partner organisations ranging from EU wide networks to local initiatives, the NEB reaches millions of citizens. The initiative managed to bring together people from various backgrounds - from art and design, cultural and creative industries, cultural heritage institutions, to educators, scientists and innovators, local and regional authorities and citizen initiatives, and they all play a crucial role in delivering the NEB. For example, the first friends (companies and public entities) support the initiative in many ways including private investments. The network of national contact points disseminates the NEB directly on the ground. You will find examples of the implementation in the Member States in the corresponding chapter.
On top of the actions, events and projects that the Commission initiated itself, the NEB has also encouraged and inspired a huge number of local, regional and national actors to create their own NEB initiatives. It is impossible to mention them all in the report, but most NEB projects and Communities are featured in the NEB dashboard 1 , an interactive map which will be evolving as the NEB Community continues to grow.
The NEB has not only created its own movement, but also inspired others to work together around the NEB values. For example, the European wood-based sector has launched Wood4Bauhaus 2 , an open platform to reach out to the construction industry and all involved stakeholders. The recently founded European Fashion Alliance 3 is another example of a cross-national initiative that took its inspiration from the NEB. The leading European creative fashion organisations formed an alliance with the aim of fostering a thriving, sustainable and inclusive European fashion ecosystem.
These are only a few examples of the impact of NEB to contribute to the transformation of our economy and societies and to reach our climate goals The NEB also supports and contributes to other policy initiatives of the Commission like the revision of the construction product regulation or the transformation pathways of several ecosystems. In 2023, the NEB will develop the NEB Academy as a contribution to the European Year of Skills and put in place trainings on sustainable construction, circularity and biobased materials to accelerate the transformation of the sector.
The NEB has developed into a credible and powerful narrative of a transformation that leaves no one behind. It communicates via different communication channels directly with the citizens. To engage even further, in 2023, the NEB will get its own LinkedIn account.
|
|
|
|
Website |
Other web platforms |
|
Newsletters |
298 200 visitors 792 500 page views in the last year [Since the launch: 624 000 visitors 1 881 400 page views] |
110 000 visits to the 2022 NEB prizes platform 49 910 unique visitors to the NEB festival platform in the two weeks around the event |
24 700 followers 37 900 interactions in the last year 272 average interactions per post |
27 300 subscribers to the monthly newsletter 1 000 recipients of weekly community updates |
To make the NEB tangible, clear criteria are needed to assess projects and initiatives. Together with this report, the Commission publishes the NEB Compass, a first evaluation tool that allows project developers to check the NEB level of their projects. It explains what the three NEB values, sustainability, inclusion and beauty, mean; how they can be integrated and combined with the working principles of participation and transdisciplinarity. Based on this Compass, more detailed assessment tools will be developed, starting with the built environment. First results should be available in 2024.
The Commission will keep working on removing barriers, including bureaucratic and legal ones, for people with local initiatives on the ground. In this context, the regulatory analysis of the NEB Lab will deliver first results in 2023 for example with a workshop on bio-based construction materials which will also link to the NEB Academy. The Commission will keep looking for solutions to new ways of funding smaller structures that find it difficult to access existing EU funding schemes via the NEB Lab project for Innovative Funding.
The NEB wants to be an inspiration to citizens, giving all the confidence to speak up and participate. One of the NEB’s important tasks therefore remains to more closely associate those regions and countries with little NEB activity thus far and to reach out to sectors underrepresented in the Community including the social economy and the younger generations. The NEB will also engage even more with the creative and cultural sectors because of their crucial role for the initiative, in particular as regards the integration of the value of beauty and the diffusion of new meanings.
The Commission will also continue working on mainstreaming the NEB in EU programmes, including under shared management in Cohesion Policy, and increasing the funding of the initiative; EUR 106.3 million of funding will be allocated to NEB dedicated calls under the Horizon Europe Mission and Clusters in 2023 and 2024. In the context of European Year of Skills 2023, the next edition of NEB Prizes will have a thematic focus on education, and it will expand the geographical coverage to the Western Balkans in addition to EU Member States.
The NEB will look more and more beyond borders and reach out to partners elsewhere in the world.
The European Commission will continue to drive and nurture the NEB, while counting on the enthusiasm of the NEB Community to grow and spread the movement organically, and on the engagement of the EU institutions and national authorities to support and facilitate its development, so that the New European Green Deal means an inclusive, beautiful and sustainable today and tomorrow for all.
2. NEB funding
One of the main challenges for the NEB initiative was to mobilise funds to support and incentivize innovative and transdisciplinary projects that embody NEB values and enable the Green Deal on the ground. A special focus has been put on innovation, the link between culture and technology and the funding of smaller initiatives and projects.
Several EU programmes joined forces for the implementation of the initiative. The two main pillars are Horizon Europe and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Single Market Programme, the Digital Europe Programme, and the LIFE Programme 4 also contribute. Through the successful mobilisation of the different EU programmes, a series of dedicated calls – adding up to €106.3 million – supported the NEB delivery in 2021 and 2022. The NEB initiative acted as a connector and promoter of the funding mechanisms and policy programmes that already exist. An overview of the calls can be found in the tables below grouped by area of transformation 5 .
As described in the Communication on the New European Bauhaus, the NEB aims for tangible change on the ground, on the enabling ecosystem for innovation, as well as on products and services, that improve quality of life of our citizens and at the same contributes to mind-set changes in the longer term, ambitions which are also reflected in the objectives of the first generation of dedicated calls. The six NEB lighthouse demonstrators, for instance, will be implemented in 14 locations (12 EU Member States – Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Slovenia– as well as Norway and Türkiye). They will cover building renovation, circularity, arts, cultural heritage, education, smart cities, coastal areas, urban and rural regeneration and more. By the time of their completion, the six demonstrators aim to deliver deep transformations through tangible results that can be adapted and used for learning in other contexts, leading to long-term benefits.
The second generation of demonstrators will follow under the European Urban Initiative under Cohesion Policy. The call that was opened in autumn 2022 will provide up to EUR 50 million from the European Regional Development Fund in support of innovative NEB solutions for urban challenges, including in the areas of: construction and renovation in a spirit of circularity and carbon neutrality, preservation and transformation of cultural heritage, adaptation and transformation of buildings for affordable housing solutions, and regeneration of urban spaces.
Moreover, in July 2022, the Commission and the European Investment Bank launched a model financial instrument: the ‘New European Bauhaus territorial development model’. This voluntary instrument will assist Managing Authorities of Cohesion Policy in EU Member States to set up financial instruments and mobilise cohesion programmes to leverage public and private resources in support of NEB projects.
With the call Support to New European Bauhaus Local Initiatives, Cohesion Policy is addressing the need to build the capacities of local authorities to facilitate local transformation processes through the NEB. This call is also focused on NEB transformations of physical spaces, including in rural areas. 20 smaller and medium-sized municipalities are now receiving tailored, multidisciplinary expert support on the ground to turn their NEB ideas into reality, with projects ranging from new art centres and creative working spaces to inclusion of the Roma to regeneration of abandoned industrial sites.
In addition to direct funding to NEB projects under Cohesion Policy, the Commission under the stewardship of Commissioner Ferreira has signed Partnership Agreements (PA) and programmes for the implementation of 2021-2027 Cohesion Funds, with all the 27 Member-States including specific references to the NEB at PA or programme level. This increased commitment of Member States to support the New European Bauhaus in Cohesion Policy programmes paves the way to mainstreaming its implementation at the regional and local level during the 2021-2027 period. Specific operational programmes already foresee support to NEB projects on the ground, such as the Just Transition Fund in one of Germany’s coal regions in Saxony-Anhalt.
Another important dimension for the transformation of our living spaces and lifestyles is related to industrial ecosystems. The NEB is also supporting innovation towards new products and services, including digital solutions for NEB. Harnessing digital solutions in support of NEB initiatives is becoming increasingly important and is the subject of the digiNEB.eu project which is seeking to foster bridges between the digital and NEB Communities and raises awareness around EU digital solutions for all NEB stakeholders, establishing a pan-European NEB digital ecosystem.
The NEB initiative is not only supporting innovation in the sense of new technical and technological developments but also explores combinations of new and traditional technologies and a new adaptation of local crafts and knowledge. For instance, the first call of the Worth Partnership Project II was dedicated to NEB and selected 65 businesses’ partnerships with new design-driven business ideas 6 . Another call, the 2021 EIT Community NEB Booster is providing 20 promising start-ups and scale-ups with support and funding worth EUR 50 000 each.
The NEB also supports citizens and communities to become active actors to accelerate the green transition in their local contexts. Through its participatory approach, the NEB is seeking to involve civil society and people of all ages and in all their diversity. Two NEB dedicated calls launched by the EIT Community NEB, for instance, focused on small-scale projects and had a strong focus on co-creating community solutions with citizens. Following the success of the initial pilot in 2021, the 2022 calls for New European Bauhaus Co-creation of Public Space and New European Bauhaus Citizen Engagement 18 Citizen Engagement projects from 14 countries were selected.
In addition to the NEB dedicated calls and actions, a series of contributing calls and actions also promote the initiative by including NEB as an element of context or a priority (with no specific budgetary allocation for NEB). This is the case, for example, of the recently launched call for tender on a peer-learning scheme on high quality architecture and the built environment or the future calls for artists’ residences under Culture Moves Europe.
Finally, there are several NEB actions that contributed to the European Year of Youth in 2022: For example, the Commission launched a NEB-route under the Erasmus+ Discover EU initiative 7 , to help 18-year-olds travel across Europe, in a green way.
Table 1: Dedicated calls and actions for transformation of places on the ground supporting the transformation of the built environment and lifestyles at local level
Call |
Programme |
Budget |
Support the deployment of lighthouse demonstrators for the New European Bauhaus initiative in the context of Horizon Europe missions |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 30 million |
Collaborative local governance models to accelerate the emblematic transformation of urban environment and contribute to the New European Bauhaus initiative and the objectives of the European Green Deal |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 2 million |
The New European Bauhaus – shaping a greener and fairer way of life in creative and inclusive societies through Architecture, Design and Arts |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 6 million |
Social and affordable housing district demonstrators |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 10 million |
Strengthening European coordination and exchange for innovation uptake towards sustainability, quality, circularity and social inclusion in the built environment as a contribution to the new European Bauhaus (Built4People) |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 1 million |
Call for Co-Creation of Public Space through citizen engagement |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 0.27 million |
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) |
EUR 50 million |
|
Technical assistance for public authorities: Support to New European Bauhaus Local Initiatives |
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) |
EUR 2.5 million |
Single Market Programme (SMP) |
EUR 1.2 million |
Table 2: Dedicated calls and actions aiming to transform the enabling environment for innovation, supporting innovation which aims to integrate sustainability, inclusion, and aesthetics in new solutions and products
Call |
Programme |
Budget |
Acceleration of the New European Bauhaus start-ups by the EIT – EIT Community Booster |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 0.7 million |
COSME programme, predecessor of the SMP |
Approximatively 1M EUR (the call is integrated in the overall contract of the total value of 3.5 M EUR) |
|
Big Buyers Collective Intelligence and Action Programme (Big Buyers 3 – BB3) |
Single Market Programme (SMP) |
no pre-established amount allocated to the NEB |
Digital Solutions in support of the New European Bauhaus initiative |
Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) |
EUR 1 million
|
Table 3: Calls and actions for the diffusion of new meanings, questioning our perspectives and mindset around the core values of aesthetics, sustainability and inclusion
Calls |
Programme |
Budget |
Citizen Engagement Activities – EIT Community New European Bauhaus |
Horizon Europe |
EUR 0.12 million |
Erasmus+ call for European Youth Together |
Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS) |
no pre-established amount allocated to the NEB |
Actions |
Programme |
European Innovative Teaching Award 2022 (NEB annual theme) |
Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS) |
eTwinning 2022 (NEB annual theme) |
Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS) |
DiscoverEU 2022 (NEB route) |
Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS) |
3. Implementation in Member States
More and more Member States integrate the NEB in their own activities and policies. This is partly done via the National Contact Points, but also via other ministries in the Member States as well as by NEB Partners and Friends. This chapter gives a few examples for specific Member State actions:
·In November 2022, the Government of Finland, in collaboration with the European Commission, the Government of Sweden, and the Government of Estonia, organised the high-level event New European Bauhaus Goes Into the Woods 8 in Espoo (Finland). The event focused on the sustainable management of European forests, as well as the potential of bio-based materials in leading the construction sector towards carbon neutrality. In the presence of the Prime Ministers of Finland and Estonia, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Commissioner Sinkevičius, President von der Leyen announced the launch of a New European Bauhaus Academy. In the context of the 2023 European Year of Skills, this initiative aims to foster green and digital skills in the construction sector.
·The Swedish Council for sustainable cities and six northern Swedish cities also initiated “Visions of the North” 9 involving 11 creative teams to work on the transition to climate-neutral and sustainable cities to develop NEB approaches, based on these six cities’ and towns’ unique starting points and processes.
·In Spain, the NEB was one of the factors that furthered the swift adoption of a new Law on High Quality Architecture 10 incorporating sustainability, quality, inclusion and accessibility values. The legislative process was prepared by a participatory process which ran in parallel with the co-design phase of the NEB and built on the synergies with the EU initiative.
·NEB is embedded in the new Irish National Policy on Architecture, Places for People 11 launched in May 2022.
·The NEB inspired the new Strategy for culture and creative industry of the Slovak Republic 2030 12 .
·The NEB provided the conceptual background for the Slovak-Austrian Year of Climate Care 2022 13 that took place under the auspices of the President of the Slovak Republic. Curated by Mária Beňačková Rišková of the NEB HLRT. The event consisted of a series of events focusing on climate change and its impact on communities, including the creative sectors.
·The Greek government recently launched a transdisciplinary working group on the NEB within the government. The multi-level group was established with members from both the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Culture, professors from all architectural schools in Greece, civil engineers, representatives of the Technical Chamber of Greece and the Hellenic Association of Architects as well as representatives of the Local Government.
·In Germany, the German Environment Agency (UBA) launched an in-house research project that aims to develop recommendations for urban spaces: “Advancing the New European Bauhaus: Sustainable Mobility and Resilient Urban Spaces for a Better Quality of Life (AdNEB)” 14 .
·In France a call “Committed to the Quality of Tomorrow’s Housing” 15 by the French Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Housing, distinguished 97 built projects with a seal of excellency for affordable and sustainable quality housing in line with the NEB principles and granted tailored support to 20 projects.
·At an informal conference of EU ministers responsible for Housing, organised under the French Presidency in March 2022, EU ministers of housing declared that they would promote the NEB and other Commission tools and initiatives (such as the Renovation Wave) that combat excessive land take and efforts towards an inclusive, accessible and suitable living environment 16 .
·In addition, in many Member States, the launch of 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programmes in 2022 featured high-level events with the participation of Commissioner Ferreira and representatives of government, regional and local authorities, highlighting, among others, NEB aspirations and ideas in the new programming period.
4. NEB impact on the EU policy environment
4.1 NEB in EU policy making
As outlined in the Communication on the New European Bauhaus, the initiative builds on a rich EU policy context. The main focus of the NEB is not regulation, but rather to inspire other Commission initiatives and to integrate the NEB values and principles in EU policymaking. This is done partly by the funding within a series of EU programmes and partly by close collaboration between the NEB team and other services across the Commission. To nurture this exchange, a Steering Committee brings together over 20 Directorates-General and representatives of the cabinets of 15 Commissioners.
As part of the follow-up to the EU industrial strategy, a number of transition pathways have been released or are in preparation with several references to the NEB:
·In November 2022, the transition pathway for proximity and social economy 17 was launched, setting out the path to make the EU's social economy and local businesses more resilient, green and digital. Overall, more than 400 ecosystem stakeholders participated during the co-creation process, including the NEB Community which contributed to the final document either individually or via a dedicated workshop organised in spring 2022. The transition pathway makes reference to the NEB as an initiative seeking to mobilise different communities at grassroots level for the development of sustainable, enriching and inclusive projects. Of particular note, when addressing the importance of investments in social infrastructure, the document refers to the Affordable Housing Initiative 18 which is a flagship of the NEB. Besides, the transition pathway stresses the importance of digital social innovation and Tech for Good 19 in supporting social-purpose driven projects following a bottom-up approach.
·The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles 20 , published in March 2022, proposes actions for the entire lifecycle of textiles products, while supporting the ecosystem in the green and digital transitions. The strategy refers to the NEB as translating the European Green Deal into tangible initiatives that promote sustainable lifestyles, including fashion while meeting demands related to aesthetics and inclusivity.
·The transition pathway for a more resilient, green and digital construction ecosystem 21 offers further opportunities to cooperate with NEB. A Staff Working Document to launch the co-creation process in December 2021 22 contains several references to the NEB, including links to accelerating the annual rate of deep renovation. The NEB Lab is referred to as one possible tool to create an enabling framework to support the resilience of construction, including dealing with strategic dependencies.
Further, among the new regulatory initiatives of the Commission in support of the green deal ambition, the Proposal for a revision of the Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings introduced a reference to the NEB as an element of context 23 and the NEB also accompanied closely the revision of the Construction Product regulation.
With the aim of developing a forward-looking research and innovation agenda for the NEB, the Commission organised a high-level workshop on ‘Research and Innovation for the New European Bauhaus’, which led to the publication of the ‘Horizon Europe-New European Bauhaus Nexus Report’ 24 in February 2022. The workshop brought together experts in architecture, built environment, design, climate and energy. The report’s recommendations and suggestions contribute to the development of Horizon Europe work programmes that support better the objectives of the NEB. Several calls in the Horizon work programme 2023/24 are inspired by this report.
At interinstitutional level, one of the main policy developments was the adoption in November 2021 of Council conclusions on ‘culture, high-quality architecture and built environment as key elements of the New European Bauhaus initiative’ 25 . The conclusions invite Member States to promote the mainstreaming of the initiative and the circular economy principles and approaches in the national socio-economic and territorial development strategies. In line with the Council conclusions and the report of the OMC group of EU Member States experts on investing in a high-quality architecture and living environment for everyone (2021), the recently adopted Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026 contains a specific action on the promotion of the NEB initiative via post-OMC expert network exchanges and regular meetings of the European Directors for Architectural Policies (EDAP) to consider possible initiatives to achieve a high-quality living environment for everyone, including those living in rural and remote areas, such as outermost regions.
Moreover, in June 2022, the Council adopted Recommendation on Learning for Environmental Sustainability 26 . With explicit reference to the cultural and creative dimensions which the NEB brings to the European Green Deal, it recommends investment in green and sustainable equipment, resources and infrastructure (buildings, grounds and technology) for learning, socialising and recreation to ensure healthy and resilient learning environments.
In September 2022, the European Parliament adopted its report on the New European Bauhaus 27 . The Parliament’s report expresses support for the initiative and notably calls for stronger financing of the initiative. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) 28 as well as the Committee of the Regions (CoR) 29 also adopted positive opinions.
4.2 The Commission walking the talk
The European Commission is working towards the delivery of NEB initiatives also as part of its own real estate strategy and its responsibility as an important actor in the European quarter in Brussels. Since February 2021, the Commission is implementing a new, long-term real estate strategy. This strategy includes a Commission Communication and action plan on “Greening the Commission” 30 which incorporate the principles of the Green Deal as well as the experiences from the global pandemic resulting in the new hybrid ways of working. With the Communication, the Commission is laying out a roadmap for the institution to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.
The New European Bauhaus is part of this new strategy and provides a new channel of interaction in the relations of the Commission with the local partners in Brussels both at the level of the region and of the city, as participation is always at the centre of the NEB activities. For example, the NEB organised a workshop in the framework of the Brussels region’s development of a new plan for the European Quarter, to enquire what others in the neighbourhood expect from a public actor like the Commission.
The NEB also inspired the design of the new Visitors Centre of the Commission in the Charlemagne building where circular and sustainable materials were used and a more human centred design was implemented.
The new European Commission’s Joint Research Centre site in Seville sets out to be the first EC building entirely based, from its conception, on the NEB conceptual framework 31 . The European Commission selected through an international architectural competition the concept design for the future site. The construction will cover the entire JRC site with a cloud of solar canopies, sheltering the plaza, garden, and research building underneath, just like the ‘pergolas’ that are typical in Seville.
STREET VIEW © PLAYTIME
These examples are just the beginning of a new sustained approach. Given the current building stock and the ongoing projects targeting the European Quarter, the transformation will continue in the coming years.
5. Education and skills
During the co-creation phase of the NEB, it became very clear that skills and knowledge are key to accelerate the transformation of our societies and economy and enable those who drive the European Green Deal, both at Member State and EU level. The NEB developed several projects linked to skills and knowledge and the Commission will continue to put a focus on this sector – also in the framework of the European Year of Skills in 2023. As announced by President von der Leyen at the “Bauhaus into the woods” conference in November 2022, we will put in place the NEB Academy that will offer training and knowledge sharing with a focus on sustainable construction, biobased materials and circularity. The project will be supported with a grant of 1 Mio Euros by the Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertaking.
Already now, several education institutions are either proposing new curricula based on NEB values or hiring young researchers to advance projects linked to the NEB. The Delft University of Technology opened a position for a Junior Researcher to work on NEB lighthouse project NEB STAR. A dedicated PhD scholarship awarded by the Irish Research Council to a researcher at University College Dublin explores the potential of the NEB to promote a just low carbon transition as a desirable goal in Irish towns. Additional NEB based research projects at University College Dublin, partnering with local authorities and industry, address themes such as cultural heritage, adaptive reuse of vacant religious buildings, low carbon design and co-designing climate resilient neighbourhoods. Similarly, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology opened a position for a PhD in artistic research dedicated to the NEB. The European Association of Creative Industries is currently working on a European Master of Arts that would incarnate the NEB principles. Their aim is to bring the NEB ideas to big fashion companies and work on green and digital innovation. The NEB is now a topic of interest in eCAADe (Education and Research in Computer-Aided Architectural Design in Europe), which is the main education and research community in Europe focused on the digital transformation of architecture. This year’s annual conference was hosted by KU Leuven in Gent and was dedicated to the topic of “Co-creating the future: inclusion in and through design” and it included a dedicated session on the NEB 32 . The NEB is also becoming an increasingly integral part of the architectural education agenda in Europe. This year’s annual conference of the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE) under the title “Towards a New European Bauhaus” 33 in Madrid was fully dedicated to the movement. Fighting climate change and addressing the sustainable development goals are now framing the academic debate regarding education and the profession. Also, the Bauhaus goes South NEB Lab project works on developing a NEB curriculum in the universities.
In spring 2022, the NEB Lab launched a call around the Transformation of Places of Learning. The call aims to promote new ways of living together without further damaging our environment, make small projects more visible as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative and to create a transnational network of like-minded project promoters and potential partners. This requires not only teaching the next generations to respect and protect biodiversity, but also being ready to unlearn harmful behaviours and change our own mind-sets. Our educational institutions play a major role in this respect. The call aims to connect initiatives making a difference in where and how people learn - from classrooms to streets, playgrounds, and libraries 34 . The call was launched together with the Education for Climate Coalition in February 2022 and closed at the end of 2022 35 . It mobilised more than 190 participants coming from across and beyond the EU, including from Mexico, Türkiye and Ukraine. The projects are very diverse in scale and nature, from universities looking to involve students in the renovation of their campus to artists setting up workshops on climate education for children.
One of the projects submitted to the call, “The school for the refugees” is part of the „Otwieramy szkoły” Polish project (EN: We are opening the schools) – a series of social actions aimed at solving current educational problems through design 36 . Their aim is to give Ukrainian refugee children back the sense of security and belonging. In October 2022, the school was visited by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, and was awarded at the exhibition of the Association of Polish Architects as a project that responds to crisis challenges, alongside solutions such as the Paper Partition System by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban (also see NEB Lab on “Actions for Ukraine”).
6.Growing community of supporters and implementers
With a reach of several million people across the Union, the NEB has developed into a movement that still has a huge potential to grow. The role of this community has not only been to amplify messages around NEB, but also to transfer knowledge into the community and to develop solutions together. Local and international organisations across Europe, in fields such as culture, education, architecture, heritage, forestry, construction and housing, or fashion, among many others, come together to present their work and explore ways to combine efforts. A network of like-minded organisations from different fields, origins and sizes can move an agenda forward faster than separate entities alone.
600+ |
80+ |
19 |
99 |
27 |
100+ |
6.1Partners
Partners are non-profit organisations and include NGOs, foundations, and education and research entities such as universities and schools for higher education. From the start, Partners have been acting as sounding boards and ambassadors for the initiative. They have been privileged actors in the co-creation process of the NEB. Over time, they have been invited to contribute to the shaping of important tools of the initiative, such as the NEB Lab where Partners are leading on several NEB projects with different thematic priorities. They have also been involved in designing the NEB Compass (see Annex) and in important events like the NEB Festival.
Partner organisations come from all Member States and reach millions of people. Several entities from non-EU countries, such as Ukraine, the United States and Türkiye also joined the network. Some of the Partners represent big networks, others are grassroots initiatives. Since the publication of the Communication on the New European Bauhaus in September 2021, the number of Partners has more than doubled.
Number of NEB Partners 37
In countries like Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Italy, the network of NEB partner organisations has expanded more quickly than in other regions of Europe. Many Partners based in Belgium are European networks.
The NEB sees it as one of its important tasks to increase presence in regions and countries, including rural areas 38 , where we see only little NEB Partner activity thus far. Having fewer Partners does not automatically mean less NEB activity. There are also Member States where NEB is very popular, but we only have a few partner organisations, like Estonia.
Countries of origin of NEB Partners (09/10/2022)
The NEB has not only created its own movement, but also inspired others to work together around the NEB values. For example, the European wood-based sector has launched Wood4Bauhaus 39 , an open platform to reach out to the construction industry and all involved stakeholders. The recently founded European Fashion Alliance 40 is another example of a cross-national initiative that took its inspiration from the NEB. During a two-day fashion summit in Germany in March 2022, NEB Partner Fashion Council Germany brought together the leading European fashion organisations to form a coalition of change for the future of European fashion with a focus on sustainability and creativity. 25 European fashion organisations joined the alliance with the aim of fostering a thriving, sustainable and inclusive European fashion ecosystem.
NEB Partners are effecting tangible transformations on the ground in more local settings, too. The Centre of Engineering and Development launched the NEBbyAYR movement 41 in the city of Matosinhos (Portugal). The Centre is involving the young generations in the early conception to the design, prototyping and deployment of innovative urban solutions, and won the 2021 NEB prize.
In Spain, the Galician Health Service uses the NEB narrative and their status of official NEB Partner to become a leader of a region-wide project that envisions the health sector as a driving force for cultural and social transformation based on sustainability. In France, the Unisson(s) movement 42 aims to set in motion a new interdisciplinary architectural current in the spirit of NEB with the aim to spark a collective desire to change practices towards a Low-Carbon and Organic Architecture. Several Dutch NEB Partners, together with Ukrainian designers in the Netherlands, have initiated a spatial design network for the rebuilding of Ukraine 43 . The network focuses on capacity building, in the form of job matching for Ukrainians, lectures, conferences, meet-ups and studio visits.
6.2 Friends
Once the basis of the community was established, it became very clear, that the NEB would benefit from involving more actively also business and public authorities, namely in the regions and cities. Therefore, in spring 2022, a new permanent call was opened for Friends of the New European Bauhaus. Over 80 Friends have joined the network since then. In the community, Friends play vital roles. They can offer themselves as hosts or sponsors for NEB projects: they either finance or welcome projects in their city or region and help the projects with implementation.
The design collective Arup, for instance, has offered assistance to NEB Partner Concomitentes for work on a project on artistic and cultural practices focused on sustainability and citizen participation. Drees&Sommers, a major player in the real estate sector, launched the “Re-Building Europe” initiative that involves a large business community. In a series of workshops, a mix of corporates, investors, property companies, architects, engineers, municipalities and residents explore solutions that position Europe as leader and innovator in the fields of sustainability, digitisation and preparedness.
Friends also take initiative to gather and activate the local communities of stakeholders, for instance through breakfast meetings, such as those organised by Finnish NEB Friend Maptionnaire to create a platform for Finnish NEB stakeholders to exchange on practices of community engagement 44 .
NEB has the ambition to generate tangible change on the ground and much of this change is happening in local and regional settings. Therefore, rural areas, cities and regions play a central role when it comes to making the NEB more accessible and involving citizens in the transformation process. Some of the public entities that joined the NEB Community as Friends include the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, project coordinator of the NEB of the Mountains NEB Lab project as well as the Hauts-de-France Region, implementing the European Urban Initiative (EUI) 45 under Cohesion Policy. More regions and local public actors becoming Friends is crucial for the dissemination of local NEB projects across Europe and thriving local NEB communities.
The geographical spread of Friends is similar to that of Partners. Half of all Friends are based in four Member States (Germany, Spain, France and Italy). Many Friends are active in architecture, design and urban development. Diversifying the geographical spread of Friends and enlarging the community to include more entities at the local and regional level as well as those engaged with youth, inclusion, arts and culture is a challenge to tackle in the near future. The NEB will also develop formats for more active exchange and networking among the community members.
6.3High-level Roundtable
Since its conception and all the way through to the delivery phase, the initiative has strongly benefitted from the input of the 19 members of the high-level roundtable (HLRT) whose objective is to advance the initiative beyond the reach of EU policy instruments 46 . Their diverse cultural and geographical pathways from Europe, Asia and Africa add valuable perspectives to the NEB. The Members fulfil diverse roles and tasks: as a group, they contributed with a report to the co-creation phase of the NEB and played also an important role in the drafting of the Communication on the New European Bauhaus of September 2021. They act as sounding board for the Commission President and the Commissioners to test ideas and move the initiative forward.
As individuals, the Members act as NEB Ambassadors in their countries and communities and participate in NEB activities and events such as the 2022 NEB Festival, with many members actively involved as speakers or in the organisation of side events. HLRT Members also participate actively in NEB Lab projects. More recently, they started to launch their own working groups within the NEB community. For example, Pia Maier Schriever develops the beauty aspect of the NEB further with a group of experts from different backgrounds.
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High Level Roundtable Members with President Ursula von der Leyen, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and Commissioner Elisa Ferreira. © European Union 2021 |
6.4 National Contact Points
With the objective to further connect and coordinate efforts at national level around the initiative, all Member States nominated NEB national contacts points (NCPs). The NCPs collect information on relevant developments on the national territory and participate in an EU wide informal network for exchange of information and experience. They are crucial to disseminate information about the NEB in the Member States.
Different types of entities were entrusted with this new role – from national innovation agencies and national centres for architecture to Ministries for Culture and Sports, Ministries for Environment and Energy and a Ministry of the Interior. This institutional diversity reflects well the transdisciplinary, trans-sectoral dimensions of the initiative and enriches the exchanges across the network. The NCPs meet regularly online and once under each Presidency in the respective Member State. After a first successful meeting in Paris, the next meeting will take place in Malmö under the Swedish Presidency in June 2023. The Swedish Presidency will also include a NEB event at the country’s largest policy event for culture “People and culture”. Under the Czech Presidency, a number of NEB events took place including two events in Brno.
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NEB National Contact Points. © European Union 2021 |
7.The NEB Lab
The NEB Lab is the “think and do tank” of the initiative, to co-create, prototype and test the tools, solutions and policy actions that will facilitate the desired transformations on the ground.
NEB Lab projects are proposed and led either by the Commission or by consortia of different members of the NEB Community 47 . Project partnerships need to combine a variety of disciplines, relevant competencies and need to include participants from different EU Member States. The projects are expected to initiate a change process and should also inform policymaking with their outcomes, offer open-source learning opportunities for NEB Community members and be able to be tested and replicated in different contexts.
The Lab is not directly providing funding but supports the maturing of the projects and facilitates the connections with potentially interested parties (Commission services, regional or local authorities, businesses, experts, etc.).
As of November 2022, the NEB Lab materialises in five Commission-led and three Community-led projects.
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NEB Lab projects. © European Union 2022 |
7.1Commission-led projects
The Commission-led projects have been decided on the basis of the outcome of the co-creation phase. Funding, regulation, skills/education and labelling had been identified by the community as important enablers for the transformation of the built environment and for the implementation of NEB projects.
Among the Commission-led projects, this chapter focuses on three initiatives that have produced outputs already in 2022: the Labelling Strategy - a project for the development of tools to characterise and recognise the elements which make specific initiatives “NEB”, a project on Innovative Funding Solutions, and a project to help face the emergency situation in Ukraine 48 . The project on Ukraine was added to the Lab after the start of the Russian aggression and expresses the readiness of the NEB community to support Ukraine.
The Labelling Strategy was developed to clarify the general criteria for selecting and evaluating NEB projects and initiatives 49 . This labelling strategy is carried out in the framework of the Preparatory Action on the 'NEB Knowledge Management Platform' of the European Parliament. The Labelling Strategy has two levels: first, the NEB Compass, a framework document that gives clearer definitions of the three NEB values and the NEB principles that can be used for projects from different sectors(); second, detailed criteria for specific groups of projects e.g. the built environment or textiles.
The New European Bauhaus Compass 50 is published as an annex to this report. It defines the ambition levels for initiatives that are at the start of their project and provides a tangible, genuinely participatory and transdisciplinary guidance framework for decision-makers wishing to apply the philosophy of the NEB in their territory. The Compass takes into account not only the recent literature on each of the values and principles of the NEB, but also their use in other EU programmes, publications and commitments such as the Open Methods of Coordination (OMC) Report “Towards a shared culture of architecture: Investing in a high-quality living environment for everyone” 51 , the Davos Declaration, or the many pillars of the European Green Pact, notably the Renovation Wave. The definitions are complemented by examples, guiding principles, and assessment tools. The NEB Compass also aims to facilitate the development of public policies and financing initiatives related to NEB, both at EU level and in the Member States.
Based on the Compass, more specific evaluation frameworks will be developed in the next years. First, criteria for buildings and built environment will be developed that will take into account the three dimensions of the NEB: sustainability, beauty and inclusion. As a second step, our work will focus on the textiles sector. These NEB labels will be developed closely interlinked with existing frameworks like LEVELs or the sustainable textile label. First results should be delivered before the end of the current Commission mandate.
The year 2022 saw the completion of a first phase of the NEB Lab project Innovative Funding Solutions. The aim of this project is to financially support smaller beneficiaries in Europe that struggle to access the standard, often complex, channels of EU funding through EU calls and programmes. In 2023, a pilot labelled the NEB Funding Solutions Hub will be developed encompassing both philanthropy and crowd funding. The Hub would act as a one-stop-shop for both philanthropists and project promotors bringing greater efficiencies and focus to the sector.
After the Russian aggression, the NEB Lab project Actions for Ukraine has been developed. As part of an ecosystem of European programmes dedicated to helping Ukraine, the role of the NEB has first been to connect different ongoing initiatives, using once again the strength and collective intelligence of its network. Under the NEB Lab and in cooperation with Ukrainian Partners, the project was developed with three priority axes: housing emergency, circular housing, and capacity-building webinars.
As a first pilot action, HLRT members Shigeru Ban (Japan), Hubert Trammer (Poland) and Mária Beňačková Rišková (Slovakia) together with NEB Partners have implemented the ‘Paper Partition System’ , a simple yet efficient solution to increase personal privacy in accommodation centres (e.g. public buildings or sports centres) that temporarily host people seeking shelter.
As a next step, the NEB Lab on Ukraine will continue with building capacity within local municipalities together with its stakeholders. The first expert assessments on the most pressing priorities to be addressed have shown that there is a demand for exchanging and adapting knowledge and expertise e.g. for sustainable reconstruction, energy efficiency, but also participatory processes and urban planning. In spring 2023, a series of webinars will be launched for municipalities in Ukraine on different aspects of reconstruction.
Next to the Commission-led projects, three NEB Lab projects are led by the NEB Community. In these projects, members of the NEB Community self-organise to achieve change in specific places or contexts.
7.2 Community-led projects
·NEB goes South 52 , a project initiated by six architecture schools in Southern Europe (Porto, Valencia, Toulouse, Bologna, Zagreb, Athens). The initiative is debating the specific problems and responses that Southern European regions face concerning the environmental and societal crises and inspires curriculum changes that can promote a new professional culture fostering a more sustainable built environment in line with the NEB values.
·The Nordic carbon neutral Bauhaus 53 aims at unleashing the power of creativity than can help imagining what built environment and cities of the future will be. It is initiated by the governments of five Nordic countries (Denmark – and the autonomous region of the Faroe Islands, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway). In November 2022, Estonia joined the Nordic Bauhaus.
·The New European Bauhaus of the mountains 54 project aims at implementing NEB at the regional level, with a special focus on South Tyrol. The project is driving the transformation of places, public spaces and buildings in the mountains.
Additional projects initiated by the NEB Community will enter the NEB Lab in early 2023. The participation of entities from Member States that are, up to this point, underrepresented in the NEB Lab project is encouraged.
8. The New European Bauhaus Prizes 2021 and 2022
The NEB Prizes are a special way of supporting initiatives on the ground. They were created to recognize and celebrate existing achievements and support the younger generations to further develop emerging concepts and ideas. They give visibility to examples and concepts illustrating that beautiful, sustainable, inclusive places exist in our territories, our communities and in our practices, paving the way to the future.
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The Rivers of Sofia © European Union 2022 |
The Blue Economy Happy School Skabrnja, Croatia
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The two editions of the NEB prizes in 2021 and 2022 (more than 3 000 applications received in total) are among the most visible and tangible aspects of the initiative so far 55 . The NEB Prizes showcase projects and ideas aligned with the NEB principles and with an impact in local communities in regions across the EU, including in rural areas. The two NEB Prizes editions awarded a total of 38 winners with a combined monetary prize amount of EUR 795 000. Both editions awarded prizes for completed projects, NEB Awards, as well as for concepts and ideas by young talents aged 30 or less, New European Bauhaus Rising Stars. In 2022, the concept of the Prizes was aligned with the main thematic axes emerging from the NEB design phase as defined in the NEB Communication - Reconnecting with nature; Regaining a sense of belonging; Prioritising the places and people that need it the most; The need for long-term, life-cycle thinking in the industrial ecosystem. It also encouraged balanced geographical representation among prize winners. In 2022, one of the public vote winners was a project from Cyprus, an indication that NEB is progressively widening its outreach and public recognition to smaller Member States
For many finalists and winners of the Prizes, the award meant an encouragement for further action in line with the NEB values. An outstanding example is the “Bauhaus in Residence Vienna 2023 Programme” offered by Austrian NEB-Award winning team of 2022 (Gleis 21, einszueins architektur & Schwarzatal) to the 52 finalists of the 2022 NEB Prizes. During this programme, four finalists of the 2022 edition of the NEB Prizes will be invited to work on the topic “beautiful sustainable together” for one month in Vienna. Greek Odyssea Academy, who won a prize in 2022 for their project promoting professional integration of vulnerable groups of people are also planning to invite and host other NEB Prize winners in Greece.
One of the winning projects in 2021, the Spanish NEST project awarded in the category “Solutions for the co-evolution of built environment and nature” has subsequently also been selected for the start-ups accelerator of the EIT. This shows the beginning of a NEB funnel approach from ideas to business and from start-up ventures to growth at scale, building synergies with EU instruments.
Many of the beneficiaries of the first two rounds of NEB Prizes confirmed the positive and lasting effect the award had on their projects. They highlighted the benefits of being part of a community sharing the same values and the impetus the NEB Prizes and the related funding gave to their projects leading to first visible transformations on the ground. Above all, NEB Prize winners are pioneers setting an example that high-quality, sustainable and inclusive solutions are possible and inspiring many others to follow suit.
Commissioners Mariya Gabriel, Elisa Ferreira and finalists of the 2022 Prizes at the award ceremony in June 2022, which formed part of the NEB Festival. © European Union 2022
As the NEB initiative transforms our living environment and approach to doing things, the NEB Prizes adapt to reflect this transformation. The 2023 NEB Prizes edition will, for the first time, expand its geographical scope to include projects implemented in the Western Balkans in addition to the EU, in line with one of the long-term objectives of the NEB to start a global conversation, to work together and learn from each other in providing local solutions to global challenges. Moreover, in the European Year of Skills, next to established projects by “New European Bauhaus Champions” and outstanding ideas by “New European Bauhaus Rising Stars”, an additional strand for “New European Bauhaus Education Champions” will be devoted to initiatives focusing on education and learning 56 . The competition will award a total of EUR 345 000 to 15 laureates in these three strands to help them further develop and promote their projects and concepts. The winners will be announced at an official ceremony hosted by the European Commission in June 2023.
9. Communication, public engagement, events
9.1 Communication and public engagement
The NEB calls for collective multi-level action and citizen participation in building a more beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive future. Since its launch, communication has been central to the initiative's efforts to encourage public engagement and involvement.
In 2022, communication actions around the NEB aimed to:
1.Raise awareness about the initiative and inspire people through storytelling by showcasing local examples of positive change 57 .
2.Connect with professionals in relevant fields interested in joining the initiative's growing community.
3.Share helpful content and information on getting project support through the available funding opportunities.
Throughout the year, key messages were spread to relevant actors, community members, and citizens through the press 58 , digital media (website 59 , newsletters, 60 Instagram 61 ), and events 62 (face-to-face and online).
The 2022 NEB Prizes (January-July) and the NEB Festival (February-June) were the two most significant and most impactful campaigns launched by the initiative in 2022. Each of the campaigns were multi-channel and multilingual.
Among the year's highlights were the NEB Lab launch and the Community's expansion 63 to include companies and public authorities in April. The reveal of the NEB-inspired international architectural contest's winner 64 for a new building to house 400 researchers at the Commission's Joint Research Centre in Seville also attracted a lot of attention. Finally, announcements related to funding opportunities and the results of NEB calls generated high engagement throughout the year. Examples of that were the open calls to support citizens, cities, and towns 65 in March, the lighthouse demonstrators 66 in May, the sixty CrAFT cities 67 in September, and the NEB UIA open call for innovative projects in cities 68 in October.
9.2 NEB events
Over the past year, events organised by and for the NEB Community provided numerous occasions to exchange ideas, stimulate discussion on NEB topics and explore opportunities for future cooperation. NEB events can also provide visibility to the initiative for people who do not know it yet, showcase ongoing work and connect different fields and communities together. To the Commission’s knowledge, more than 120 NEB decentralised/independent events were organised between November 2021 and November 2022, many of them with a focus on sharing good practices between Community members, across borders and disciplines 69 . Commission Representations in the Member States also organised NEB events, partnering with local and national stakeholders and organisations.
9.2.1 New European Bauhaus Festival 2022
The first Festival of the New European Bauhaus (9-12 June 2022) was the biggest event for the NEB Community since the launch of the initiative and brought together over 200 000 people on- and offline in Brussels and in the Member States 70 . The main goal of the Festival was to communicate, celebrate and discuss in a physical setting good practices that make our living spaces and daily experiences more beautiful, sustainable and inclusive. The event was designed around three main pillars: a FAIR (exhibition of NEB initiatives), a FEST (cultural programme), and a FORUM (discussions on NEB-related topics).
President Ursula von der Leyen officially opened the Festival from Rome, while Commissioners Mariya Gabriel and Elisa Ferreira engaged in Brussels with participants and closed the event at the award ceremony of the NEB Prizes 2022.
The Festival inauguration and the NEB Prize presentation, attracted over 2 000 attendees (in presence and online) alone. Overall, over 100 speakers and artists took the stage and about 200 000 individuals followed the many events and sessions.
The Festival proved to be an excellent opportunity to network, exchange and celebrate – from science to art, from design to politics, from architecture to technology. One outstanding example for the investment of the community was the launch of the European State Architect Network which was kicked-off at the Festival as the result of networking between four different state architects from Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the Flemish Region of Belgium and two city architects from Brussels and Groningen 71 .
New topics were also put on the agenda, such as the dire situation in Ukraine. The NEB team organised a series of meetings with the Ukrainian NEB Community present at the Festival.
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New European Bauhaus Festival © European Union 2022 |
Besides the direct exchanges in Brussels, another important part of the Festival were the more than 200 side events that took place all over Europe. Some attracted more than 1 000 participants, but there were also smaller ones with direct impact in the communities.
Some of the side events constituted small festivals in themselves. Organised by the World Human Forum, a Greek NEB Festival took place at the Ellinikon in the Athenian riviera, the largest urban redevelopment project in Europe. Under the theme “ECO-building the Future" the event brought together high-level policy makers as well as prominent international speakers from the fields of ecology, urban development, tourism, regenerative urban development and sustainability. Several thematic sessions presented new or innovative examples around the three core values of NEB: Beautiful, Sustainable, Together.
© World Human Forum 2022
Another side event on “The Culture of Transformation” taking place in Dessau, Germany, one of the sites of the historic Bauhaus, explored how cultural events can strengthen structural change 72 . The event focussed on the concrete example of the town of Zeitz, a town in a rural area close to Dessau which has undergone major economic and social changes after the Berlin wall came down and is facing new challenges due to the planned coal phase out.
During the NEB Festival, the Commission organised also a side event under the Intelligent Cities Challenge initiative (ICC) 73 , which contributes to the goals of the NEB with creative solutions that bring circularity to local communities across 136 cities. Five ICC cities presented their initiatives at a session devoted to ‘Developing Circular and Sharing Economy Practices in Cities 74 .’ The NEB Festival was yet another occasion for cities representatives to come together and collaborate in creating scalable and sustainable solutions.
The next NEB Festival is planned to take place in April 2024.
9.2.2 Other NEB related events by the European Commission
NEB seeks to be mainstreamed across different EU policies. The initiative was therefore also prominently featured in several other events and conferences organised by the Commission:
·the first bigger occasion for the NEB Community to meet after the publication of the Communication was the LIFE in the New European Bauhaus event. The 3-day conference showcased exemplary projects financed through the LIFE and Horizon 2020 programmes, implemented in a NEB spirit and providing first examples of NEB in action. A further objective was to provide ideas for how future projects could implement NEB principles.
·the European Week of Regions and Cities (October 2021), focusing on the Commission Communication on the New European Bauhaus and on community engagement;
·the policy conference at EU Sustainable Energy Week (October 2021), focusing on the Communication on the New European Bauhaus and on community engagement;
·the workshop on “New European Bauhaus: collaboration, community and culture for innovation” at the R&I Days (September 2022);
·the workshops at the European Week of Regions and Cities (October 2022) on the role of regions and cities in the NEB, the first call for Innovative Actions under the European Urban Initiative and the NEB and Green Deal in our regions and cities;
·the Europeana initiative, empowering cultural heritage institutions in their digital transformation, featured 75 the NEB in several blog posts, exhibitions and galleries;
·Commission Representations in the Member states organised events all over Europe, collaborating with local and national entities, for example the conference „Green Challenges in Spatial Practice“ organised by the European Commission Representation in Estonia together with the Estonian Association of Architects. In the spirit of New European Bauhaus, the conference in Tallinn explored how to plan and design cities, buildings and public space in sustainable and inclusive ways. The European Commission Representations in Austria and Czechia organised a high-level cross-border event in the Bauhaus Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czechia, to promote the NEB initiative, entitled “The New European Bauhaus: beauty, sustainability and cultural heritage through the prism of Villa Tugendhat”. The event featured a discussion between Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, Czech MEP Martina Dlabajová, Czech Deputy Minister for Culture Vlastislav Ouroda and the Conservator-Restorer Ivo Hammer with politicians and officials from architecture, urban design, building and cultural sectors.
LIFE in the New European Bauhaus event © European Union 2021
9.2.3 NEB related events outside Europe
With the view of progressively developing its international dimension, the NEB was also present on the international stage:
·digital presence at EXPO Dubai, showcasing the winning projects/ideas of the NEB Prizes 2021;
·EU side-event at COP26, focusing on the global dimension of the NEB; and
·a session on NEB in the World Urban Forum (WUF) organised by NEB partner United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
Dashboard: https://web.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dashboard/NEB/
Other EU programmes -Creative Europe, Erasmus +, and Europe Solidarity Corps- are integrating the New European Bauhaus as an additional element of context or priority, allowing interested applicants to connect their projects with the initiative
More detail on the 2021-2022 NEB calls and a forecast of the funding available for 2023-2024 is provided in Annex 1.
More information about the selected projects and business partnerships are available at https://worth-partnership.ec.europa.eu/worth-partnership-projects/worth-ii-partnership-projects_en
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/f9879-places-for-people-national-policy-on-architecture/
https://www.culture.gov.sk/ministerstvo/strategia-kultury-a-kreativneho-priemyslu-2030/
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/research-project-adneb-advancing-the-new-european
Tech for Good involves technology-powered, affordable, trustworthy solutions and services that advance good social and environmental causes.
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/textiles-strategy_en
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/construction/construction-transition-pathway_en
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-14534-2021-INIT/en/pdf
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9242-2022-INIT/en/pdf
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0213_EN.html#_section2
https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions/new-european-bauhaus
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021IR5640
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus-inspired-future-jrc-site-seville_en
The open call to apply as Partner was temporarily suspended over the summer in 2021 and 2022.
Synergies can be explored, for instance, with the Rural Pact Community, created under the Long-Term Vision for EU’s Rural Areas, hosting more than 1,200 members from rural areas across Europe: https://rural-vision.europa.eu/index_en
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/about/high-level-roundtable_en
Projects with the ambition to enter the NEB Lab can be proposed by NEB Partners , high-level roundtable members , NEB Prize winners and finalists , NEB NCPs and beneficiaries of the NEB dedicated EU funding calls. NEB Friends can propose an idea or proposal and contribute to projects as hosts or sponsors but do not have the right to propose a project.
Two additional projects that look into the transformation of places of learning and an analysis of the regulatory framework are referred to in Chapter 5 “Education and skills” and the “Executive Summary” respectively.
The full documentation on the Compass is attached to this report and can also be accessed here: https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/document/405245f4-6859-4090-b145-1db88f91596d_en
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/get-involved/2022-prizes_en
In future editions of the prizes, other thematic strands may be proposed.
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/get-inspired/inspiring-projects-and-ideas_en
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/get-involved/events_en
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2285
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus-inspired-future-jrc-site-seville_en
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2141
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2780
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6003
An overview of the independent events can be found at https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/get-involved/events_en . This excludes the more than 200 side events organised in the context of the New European Bauhaus Festival in June 2022.
https://new-european-bauhaus-festival.eu/side-events/TPp2GonPu07ym1XoARpkW
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.1.2023
COM(2023) 24 final
ANNEX
to the
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
New European Bauhaus Progress Report
EU funding and actions for the New European Bauhaus 1
1.Actions related to Transformations on the Ground
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) aims to promote projects driving tangible transformation on the ground, from homes and neighbourhoods to urban and rural areas, to physical and virtual meeting spaces. The following actions have been implemented in 2021 and 2022:
1)The most visible of the projects so far, is the Horizon Europe cross-Mission topic for NEB lighthouse demonstrators, which closed on 25 January 2022. 2 The six shortlisted projects – CULTUURCAMPUS, NEB-STAR (New European Bauhaus STAvangeR), NEBourhoods, DESIRE (Designing the Irresistible Circular Society, EHHUR (EYES HEARTS HANDS Urban Revolution), and Bauhaus of the Seas Sails – receive funding of approximately EUR 5 million each to implement their plans in 12 Member States (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Slovenia), as well as in Norway and Türkiye. They will cover building renovation, circularity, arts, cultural heritage, education, smart cities, coastal areas, urban and rural regeneration, and more.
2)The NEB lighthouse demonstrators will be supported by the CRAFT 3 (CReating Actionable FuTures) coordination and support action, a EUR 2 million project selected under a NEB-dedicated topic as part of the EU Mission on ‘Climate-neutral and smart cities’ that focuses on collaborative local governance models linked to the renovation of the urban environment.For the dedicated Horizon Europe call on “shaping a greener and fairer way of life in creative and inclusive societies through Architecture, Design and Arts” two projects have been selected and are going through the Grant Agreement Preparation process. The projects should start activities in the first half of 2023.
3)The Commission is advocating for giving the topic of social, affordable and sustainable housing more visibility. Affordability is a key element of what the Commission wishes to develop for housing, especially in times of economic instability, rising inflation, climate urgency but also energy and housing crisis in Europe. In this context, construction and renovation of social and affordable housing is of paramount importance. With NEB, the Commission is contributing to meeting this challenge. “Prioritising the places and people that need it the most” is one of the thematic axes that the implementation of NEB will follow in the coming years. As a flagship of NEB, the Affordable Housing Initiative 4 (AHI) aims at delivering on the objectives of the Green Deal and the Renovation Wave by putting the focus on people and innovation. One project, launched in March 2022 and supported under the Single Market program (EUR 1.2 million), aims at establishing a European Affordable Housing Consortium 5 and to pilot 20 renovation and construction lighthouse districts. Three other demonstration projects – SUPERSHINE, ProLight and drOp 6 – supported by Horizon Europe (EUR 10 million), have been launched in October and November 2022. This, to go the extra mile in terms of innovation while testing and implementing new approaches and methodologies in affordable housing renovation and construction projects (e.g. on community participation, neighbourhood regeneration and wellbeing of residents, multi-actor collaboration and funding, use of digital technologies, or dissemination of results. The two first NEB calls for proposals dedicated to social and affordable housing renovation and construction follow an integrated and smart neighbourhood approach. This, for instance, enables to consider renewable energy, architecture and green infrastructure aspects together, while stressing the importance of economic regeneration in these neighbourhoods. These projects will demonstrate renovation pilots in the sense of “lighthouse districts” as announced by AHI, providing blueprints for replication, setting liveability as well as latest technological and social innovations at the forefront. Using a multi-actor approach, the projects will mobilise cross-sectoral industrial partnerships at local level to develop, adapt, design new processes and technologies (e.g. energy efficiency, circular materials, modular building, smart living, eco-design, assistive domotics) for renovation and construction of social and affordable dwellings at district level.
4)The Commission is revising its EU Green Public Procurement criteria for office buildings, basing it on Level(s), the European framework for the assessment of sustainability performance of buildings. This is an action under the Renovation Wave, and contributes to NEB values linked to environmental sustainability aspects, which are at the core of the criteria. In relation to Level(s), the development of digital tools for eLearning and assessment to support the use of the framework were finalised during 2022 and are available in a range of languages.
5)The Commission has been working on an EU-level Guidance on Climate Resilient Buildings. This guidance will be published in the first half of 2023.
6)Also in this regard, the Horizon Europe topics of the destination on efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use (Cluster 5, Destination 4, on buildings) integrate the core values of NEB, which are also present in the Built4People co-programmed partnership’s vision and mission. For example, the EUR 1 million topic linking NEB and Built4People in Horizon Europe work programme 2021-2022 is now underway. The NEBULA project aims to work with innovation clusters for the built environment, exploring issues such as access to co-financing, peer learning, and cross-border cooperation.
7)In 2022, the Cohesion Policy continued to deliver on NEB by:
·mainstreaming NEB in the Member States’ socio-economic and territorial development strategies;
·launching new initiatives to support the delivery of concrete NEB projects; and
·highlighting some of the best NEB-like practices (through the NEB Prizes and other initiatives).
Primarily, the Commission achieved an increased commitment of Member States to support NEB in cohesion policy programmes, thus paving the way to mainstreaming its implementation during the 2021-2027 period. All Member-States have included references to the NEB initiative in programmes for this period.
Specific commitments to support NEB are, for instance, the incorporation of the NEB values in interventions on energy efficiency or sustainable urban development.
Moreover, the Commission has put forward several concrete ways of supporting the Managing Authorities in developing NEB investments on the ground.
In July 2022, 20 smaller and medium-sized municipalities were selected under the competitive call Support to NEB Local Initiatives 7 , and are now receiving tailored, multidisciplinary expert support on the ground to turn their NEB ideas into concrete projects. The knowledge and lessons learnt during the support period will be turned into a ‘toolbox’ of apprenticeships to share with other municipalities, as well as the wider public with an interest in developing new NEB projects.
In July 2022, the Commission and the European Investment Bank have launched a model of financial instrument: the NEB territorial development model. 8 This voluntary instrument will assist Managing Authorities in setting up financial instruments and mobilise cohesion programmes to leverage public and private resources in support of NEB projects.
On 11 October 2022 a first call for urban innovative actions in support of NEB was launched in the context of the European Urban Initiative (EUI) 9 . This call will award up to EUR 50 million to provide direct support to the implementation of front-runner projects in the transformation of urban places in line with the values and principles of NEB.
Furthermore, the Commission organised already two editions of the NEB Prizes 10 : in 2021 and 2022. The NEB Prizes showcase projects and ideas aligned with the NEB principles and with an impact in local communities. They can serve as a source of inspiration for citizens and local governments, in the context of the cohesion policy 2021-2027. The 2021 NEB Prizes awarded 20 winners, who received a total amount of EUR 450 000, while EUR 345 000 were awarded to 18 winners during the 2022 NEB Prizes ceremony. In the context of the European Year of Skills 2023, the next edition of NEB Prizes will have a thematic focus on education, and it will expand the geographical coverage to the Western Balkans. The competition will award a total of EUR 345 000 to 15 initiatives, to help them to further develop and promote their projects and concepts. The winners will be announced at an official ceremony hosted by the European Commission.
2. Actions related to Transformation of the enabling environment for innovation
Innovation, also beyond technology and market-driven approaches, plays a key role in materialising the NEB objectives. In 2021 and 2022, the following actions were implemented to promote the transformation of the enabling environment for innovation:
1)In 2021, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) created the EIT Community NEB, which brings together five Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). It has published a series of calls to support NEB, such as:
·The ‘EIT Community Booster’2021 call aiming at scaling up 20 innovative businesses and start-ups to enhance sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion in their activities. On 5 April 2022, the EIT Community Booster announced 20 selected New European Bauhaus Ventures. Chosen amidst a large pool of 1 029 applications, these highly innovative European start-ups and scale-ups will receive business growth and support services worth EUR 50 000 each.
·The Call for Co-Creation of public space (launched on 30 March 2022 and closed on 29 May 2022) aims at resolving challenges faced by cities as well as peri-urban and rural areas, focusing on NEB thematic axes. It calls for innovation and action in public spaces through citizen engagement and seeks proposals that show a deep understanding of the local ecosystem (including stakeholders, culture, and social dynamics) as well as expertise in citizen engagement activities and innovation/action. The call was launched the same day as the Call for Citizen Engagement Activities on empowering citizen and end-users to co-create potential solutions, drawing on the NEB approach. 11
The EIT Community New European Bauhaus partners hosted six hackathons in September and October 2022 to support innovative solutions to key challenges faced by communities across Europe:
·Impact Hub Vienna (Austria): 20 to 21 September
·Cirka Cph (Denmark): 29 September and 6 October
·Technological Innovation Foundation of the Technical University of Catalonia & Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council (Spain): 30 September to 2 October
·University of Warsaw (Poland): 4 to 5 October
·Regea- Regionalna energetska agencija Sjeverozapadne Hrvatske (Croatia): 3 to 4 October
·University of Turin (Italy): 20 to 21 October
A key EIT event, Building the New European Bauhaus (Berlin), took place on the 23 September within the INNOVEIT Weeks. The event reflected on how policy, institutions and business can help support transformative features.
Additionally, the EIT Culture & Creativity 12 will be crucial to support topics related to NEB.
2)The Worth Partnership Project II is the EU's largest incubation programme dedicated to designers and creatives in the life-style industries. Through this programme, designers, SMEs, manufacturers, and technology providers work together and develop innovative and design-driven business ideas. They increase their innovation capacity and make choices to bring their businesses closer to climate neutrality and digital leadership. Design plays a key role in making new products and services more sustainable, aesthetic and inclusive. Therefore, one out of three calls for expression of interest under the Worth Partnership Project II in 2021-2022 was dedicated to NEB. 65 partnerships with innovative business ideas were granted the possibility to go through the incubation programme, which will provide them with: a) financial support; b) coaching on business strategy and technology development; c) legal advice on intellectual property rights and protection; d) participation in exhibitions; and e) networking and professional links.
All 65 projects are aligned with the three core values of NEB: aesthetics, sustainability, and inclusion. The projects will conclude the incubation process in June 2023. 13
Despite the extremely difficult and challenging time for Ukrainian creatives and companies, two partnerships involving three Ukrainian participants were selected for support. This is a signal that the EU is standing by the Ukrainian creative professionals and SMEs.
3)Under Digital Europe, a project has been launched for a digital ecosystem for the NEB initiative. digiNEB.eu fosters digital solutions that will boost the growing NEB movement. It bridges the digital and NEB communities and raises awareness around EU digital solutions for all NEB stakeholders, establishing a pan-European digital ecosystem. digiNEB.eu involves members of the NEB Community and other participants from Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium. Several HLRT Members will be involved as advisors to steer the project.
4)Transformation of places along the NEB principles also requires the adaptation of business models and the developments of new approaches. In this context, the proximity and social economy ecosystem can bring an important contribution to the initiative.
Under the 2021 Single Market Programme, a call for proposals was launched on “Social Economy and Local Green Deals supporting SMEs to be more resilient”. The aim was to support building partnerships across regions and cities on Local Green Deals and on social economy to boost territorial resilience and re-design of local economic growth in line with the twin transition. Working on capacity building for cities/local authorities’ and social economy enterprises, citizens’ participation and empowerment, several projects chose NEB as their focus 14 .
5)The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) 15 initiative implemented by the European Commission brings together a vibrant community of 136 EU cities, from 21 countries, representing 34 million EU citizens, leading a green and digital recovery and social resilience, leveraging cutting-edge technologies. It sets clear direction on industrial development that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and knowledge-intensive. The ICC offers strategic guidance towards sustainable and inclusive local development, and capacity-building tools (i.e. Blueprint for Local Green Deals, the Cities Guide for up- and reskilling, a Tech4Good marketplace for solutions that advance social, environmental and economic causes).
6)The Enterprise Europe Network 16 has been promoting the NEB initiative to Small and Medium Enterprises active in the construction sector in the EU and other participating countries through dedicated info sessions, as part of the services offered by its sustainability advisors and innovation advisors.
7)The European Cluster Collaboration Platform 17 has promoted the NEB initiative towards European clusters, in particular those active in the construction, digital, cultural and creative industries as well as renewable energy ecosystems. Cluster organisations are therefore helping SMEs to consider opportunities and teaming up together to deliver new products, services and project that would meet the ambitions of the NEB. Besides, Euroclusters are also connecting cluster organisations from different industrial ecosystems to think together, supporting them to network, innovate and adopt processes and technologies to reinforce the transformation into a greener and more digital economy. SUSTAIN Eurocluster, for instance, is made up of 5 members from 3 EU countries with the aim to promote energy efficiency measures and innovation in the construction sector.
8)An envelope of EUR 13 million had also been foreseen under a LIFE call (LIFE-2021-SAP-ENV-ENVIRONMENT) but the applications did not pass the evaluation.
3. Actions related to Diffusion of New Meanings
The diffusion of new meanings is the third level of transformation where targeted actions have been implemented. Inspiring a movement starts with values. It is essential to work with those who reflect on, study and convey our values, such as artists, social scientists, educators and education institutions and youth organisations. The following has been achieved in 2021 and 2022:
1)Calls for proposals under the Creative Europe Annual Work Programme 2022 included topics and thematic priorities relevant to NEB. The Call for support to European cooperation projects opened in early February 2022. A record number of nearly 700 applications were submitted which demonstrates the great interest in the Cultural and Creative sectors for cooperation and their need for financial support. Among the projects selected for funding, around 20 projects are strongly inspired by the NEB principles.
2)Also, a new mobility scheme for artists and cultural operators launched end 2022, expects to contribute to the NEB priorities. Culture Moves Europe will support artists’ residencies and other types of place-bound activities. Fostering societal transformation in line with the principles and values of NEB is one of the priorities hosts could choose for their residencies. Calls for residences will be published in 2023.
3)A Call for tender to develop a peer learning action, as announced in the Commission Communication on the NEB 18 , has been published in December 2022. It aims to help local authorities to integrate and implement quality principles in the built environment as developed by the Davos process and the Member States’ expert group on High-quality architecture and built environment for everyone, established under the New European Agenda for Culture.
4)The Erasmus+ general call for 2022 encourages both the higher education and vocational education and training sectors to come forward with Alliances for innovation that contribute to the NEB initiative and infuse innovative, creative and sustainable approaches in education.
5)The 2022 European Solidarity Corps Annual Work Programme 19 (adopted on 8 November 2021) and call 20 (launched on 17 November 2021) encourages projects for young volunteers in the area of environmental sustainability and NEB.
6)The Erasmus+ European Youth Together 2022 call for projects supports transnational partnerships for youth organisations that give effect to the European Green Deal and NEB.
7)A New European Bauhaus route is being developed as part of the Erasmus+ DiscoverEU programme action in 2022 (for 18-year-old youngsters traveling across Europe). The route should be released in early 2023.
8)The 2022 European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA) 21 was conceived as an endeavour to value the passion and care of teachers and students in the European education systems. In its second edition, 98 projects received the European Innovative Teaching Award in four categories: Early childhood education and care, Primary education, Secondary education, and VET schools. The thematic area chosen for this year’s edition of the Award is linked to the NEB initiative: “Learning together, promoting creativity and sustainability”.
9)The eTwinning 2022 annual theme is ‘Our future: beautiful, sustainable, together. Schools and the New European Bauhaus: Imagining a creative learning environment in green and inclusive schools’. Teachers and school staff are invited to reflect with their pupils on their vision of the ideal school (beautiful, sustainable, together).
From 26 September to 20 October 2022, eTwinning Weeks campaign has taken place, with the objective to encourage eTwinners to create new quality projects around the annual theme. The campaign was hosted on the dedicated featured group (restricted to eTwinners) and supported participants with a wide range of activities focusing on this theme, such as interactive webinars, partner fairs, gallery of project activities, or a Q&A forum.
On 20-22 October 2022 the eTwinning Annual Conference took place. The objective of the event was to raise awareness, train and engage participants on how eTwinning can help teachers deploy the theme of the year - New European Bauhaus - in their schools.
10)A call on Transformation of Places of Learning was closed on 31 December 2022. It looked for projects focused on the transformation of places of learning that connect a tangible place with innovative pedagogical methods and the local community. The Commission was interested in applications of ongoing or new projects in the fields of education, training, youth, and knowledge that reflect the values of NEB (sustainability, aesthetics, inclusion) and aim at the transformation of:
·a physical place of education and knowledge;
·ways of learning or gaining knowledge and/or the education and pedagogical focus;
·the relationship with the local community.
4. EU Funding for NEB – Summary tables
Funding made available to the initiative, mostly through NEB dedicated calls for the period 2021-2022
·So far, the EU funding made available for the initiative is being channelled through existing EU programmes. This process of mainstreaming NEB has resulted into calls fully dedicated to the initiative (see summary in the table below).
EU Programme |
Funding 2021-2022 (calls dedicated to NEB) |
Additional info |
Horizon Europe |
€50.5million |
Funding from the Clusters, the Missions and the cross-KIC initiative “EIT Community NEB” |
Cohesion Policy (ERDF) |
€52.5 million |
Funding from the technical assistance and the European Urban Initiative This figure does not include the funding allocated to the yearly NEB Prizes. |
LIFE |
€0.15 million |
Funding covering the knowledge-sharing platform event (LIFE in the New European Bauhaus) An envelope of 13 Million Euro had also been foreseen under a LIFE call but the applications did not pass the evaluation |
Single Market Programme, including the COSME programme |
€2.2 million |
Funding from the Affordable Housing Initiative and the Worth Partnership Project II |
Digital Europe Programme |
€1 million |
Funding from the Digital Europe multiannual WP for 2021-2022 |
TOTAL NEB dedicated calls 2021-2022 |
€106.35 million |
Indicative funding for the initiative, mostly through NEB dedicated calls for the period 2023-2024
·For 2023-2024, the mainstreaming of the New European Bauhaus will continue. At present, most of the information available concerns Horizon Europe (see table below).
EU Programme |
Funding 2023-2024 (calls dedicated to NEB) |
Additional info |
Horizon Europe |
€106.3 million |
Funding from the Clusters and the Missions Funding for the cross-KIC initiative “EIT Community NEB” not confirmed yet (the EIT call to support cross-KIC initiatives is in progress). |
Additional funding made available through NEB contributing calls
·Contributing calls are those partially supporting NEB by including the initiative as an element of context or a priority (no specific budgetary allocation for NEB).
·Beyond Horizon Europe, contributing calls in 2023 are foreseen in Erasmus+, Creative Europe, European Solidarity Corps, and LIFE (see table below).
EU Programme |
Additional info |
LIFE |
Like in 2022, NEB will be one of the objectives covered in the LIFE 2023 call without a special allocated budget. The total budget for the call will be around EUR 92 million. The call will be launched in April 2023 with two-step approach applications. The results are expected at the end of 2023/beginning 2024. |
Creative Europe |
The Creative Europe Annual Work Programme 2023 was adopted on 31 August 2022. As regards the Culture and Cross-Sectoral Strand, several actions, such as the new mobility scheme for artists and cultural operators, through residencies and place-based cultural programmes expect to contribute to the NEB topics. Also the cooperation projects and the innovation labs explicitly refer to the NEB in the description of the action. |
Erasmus+ |
The Erasmus+ annual work programme (AWP) for 2023 has been adopted on 25 August 2022. As in 2022, the AWP includes the NEB initiative within the priority ‘Green’, one of the four overall priorities of Erasmus+; this means that all programme projects across all the sectors covered are encouraged to include this aspect in their projects. Under some actions of the programme where it has been seen as particularly relevant, the link is even more explicitly made: this is the case of Centres of Vocational Excellence (VET projects bringing together local/regional partners from various countries developing a set of activities aiming at creating skills ecosystems) Alliances for innovation (aiming to boost innovation through cooperation among higher education, VET and the broader socio-economic environment), European Youth Together initiative supporting cooperation between youth NGOS, and in sport (with the SHARE - ‘SportHub: Alliance for Regional development in Europe’ - initiative which will continue to promote the role of sport and physical activity as an instrument for economic social and cultural development towards more healthy and active communities, and enabling spaces for healthy lifestyles). |
European Solidarity Corps |
Preparatory work regarding the 2023 annual work programme for the European Solidarity Corps continued throughout the spring of 2022. The relevant implementing decision was adopted in late August, paving way to the preparation of the 2023 general call for proposals, which was published on 24 November 2022. The policy priorities of the 2023 WP include a reference to NEB under the Environmental sustainability and climate goals, as follows: “Activities contributing to other existing EU initiatives in the area of environmental sustainability (e.g. NEB, the EU Forest Strategy - more specifically its “3 billion trees” initiative - and the EU Climate Missions) are highly encouraged.” |
Additional funding – Preparatory Action (proposed by the European Parliament)
EU Funding |
Budget |
Additional info |
Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions |
€2 million |
One of the projects of the NEB Lab, led by the Commission, is focused on the development of tools to characterise and recognise what makes a concrete initiative a "New European Bauhaus" initiative. This "labelling strategy" is carried out in the framework of the Preparatory Action on the 'NEB Knowledge Management Platform'. |
The purpose of this annex is to provide an overview on the actions implementing or supporting NEB, in particular those receiving EU funds. It does not intend to provide an exhaustive list of those actions, but to present the main ones and to indicate relevant and representative examples of others.
The Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021-2022 included a number of topics across Clusters 2, 4, 5 and 6, and the Missions part of the work programme that directly contributed to NEB. These topics will begin to produce results within the coming years. This represents EUR 44 million in dedicated funding for NEB, not including topics that involved NEB as an element of context and which are worth EUR 123 million.
https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/climate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en
https://cordis.europa.eu/
https://www.urban-initiative.eu/new-european-bauhaus-topic-first-call
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/get-involved/2022-prizes_en
The 18 awarded projects for both calls can be consulted here: https://eit.europa.eu/news-events/news/eit-community-announces-new-european-bauhaus-citizen-engagement-projects
More information about the selected projects and business partnerships are available at the programme’s website: WORTH Partnership Project (europa.eu) .
For example : SEA4NEB project: Funding & tenders (europa.eu) and The eLabHauSE project: Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_4626
https://www.solidaritaetskorps.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022-annual-work-programme_esk.pdf
https://europa.eu/youth/sites/default/files/european_solidarity_corps_guide_2022.pdf
https://innovative-teaching-award.ec.europa.eu/european-innovative-teaching-award-2022_en
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.1.2023
COM(2023) 24 final
ANNEX
to the
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
New European Bauhaus Progress Report
New European Bauhaus
Compass
The New European Bauhaus
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative is an enabler for the green transition of our societies and economy. It calls on all Europeans to imagine and build together a sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls. It aims at transforming different sectors of economy, especially the built environment, making them contribute to our climate goals and to an improvement of the quality of life of all citizens.
The New European Bauhaus activates different actors at different levels, from big companies to citizens’ initiatives, from national governments to city councils. It is a project of hope and perspectives that bring a cultural and creative dimension to the Green Deal- the European Climate Agenda- to enhance sustainable innovation, technology and economy. The initiative brings out the benefits of the environmental transition through tangible experiences at the local level. It gives space for creation and experimentation founded on:
·aesthetics, quality of experience and style, beyond functionality;
·sustainability, from climate goals, to circularity, zero pollution, and biodiversity;
·inclusion, from valuing diversity and equality for all, to securing accessibility and affordability.
Beautiful, Sustainable, Together
To achieve the goals of the European Green Deal and the transition towards a sustainable society, a fundamental change needs to happen on many levels.
Sustainability is achievable only through collective effort by many actors.
On a societal level, environmental innovations will only happen with changes in the economic framework or power relations. The technological shift needs to be supported by deeper changes that address behaviours, worldviews and paradigms.
On the individual level, sustainability depends critically on compassion, empathy, unity, creativity, and the ability to shift paradigms. People will embrace or drive change when they see it. The quality of our living environments is essential, and art and culture play a key role in improving it. We therefore build on existing frameworks like the Davos Baukulture Quality System.
From hopes to ambitions
To build a liveable future together, we need to turn our hopes into clear ambitions and set out coherent pathways to reach them. In its 2021 Communication on the New European Bauhaus, the European Commission announced the development tools to identify how the values and principles of the initiative can translate into concrete projects. The NEB labelling strategy, a Commission-led NEB lab project, will deliver on this promise by providing a series of instruments for recognising, characterising, and assessing quality in relation to the New European Bauhaus. The NEB labelling strategy will work at two different but interconnected levels: the NEB Compass and the NEB (self)-assessment tools.
·The Compass sets out the key characteristics for exemplary NEB projects. It can be applied to a wide range of typologies: buildings, products, services, education models, etc. It also indicates possible directions for change, with three growing levels of ambition, to support (decision and project) makers at the earliest stage of their activities.
·The (self)-assessment tools will then add granularity to this framework and introduce specific lists of measurable criteria for specific types of projects.
This Compass document is therefore the first step to help decision/project makers look at their project from multiple angles and identify where their NEB ambitions could be strengthened.
What is the Compass?
The New European Bauhaus Compass is a guiding framework for decision and project makers wishing to apply the NEB principles and criteria to their activities. The Compass proposes directions for the development of NEB projects and lays the foundation for more detailed assessment tools.
The NEB Compass describes the three core values of the initiative and traces the path for a project to become truly “NEB”. To achieve this, the Compass also sets out three working principles that apply across the system of values.
More specifically, the Compass:
·exemplifies what beautiful, sustainable, and together mean, at three levels of ambition;
·expands on the three core principles that define a NEB way of working: participatory process, multi-level engagement and a transdisciplinary approach;
·focuses on the capacity of NEB projects to test and promote new visions and processes, with a long-term vision;
·is grounded in existing theories and models while remaining open to evolution in line with the experimental nature of the initiative;
·will be tested through interaction with the NEB community. From the start, the NEB is committed to learn from experience and improve over time.
·the Compass does not replace criteria of calls for funding.
How does the Compass work?
For each value and for each working principle, the NEB Compass presents three levels of ambition, to inspire and guide the design of a project from its first stages. It does this mainly through questions and examples. The Compass sets out to create a workable and clear reference framework, with distinctions between more and less ambitious endeavours. Any decision and project maker can test their NEB ambitions with the project examples and guiding questions as reference material.
The first ambition level sets the baseline. Here, the Compass sets out the basic features of a New European Bauhaus project. Only if this level is reached, a project can claim to be NEBish. The second and third levels build on the starting definitions, expanding them with growing aspirations. The higher the ambition, the more the project’s values and working principles will connect and overlap.
The highest levels of ambition show what the ideal end state of a value or principle is. Each project will have its specific mix of ambitions, depending on context and resource available.
For each level of ambition of all values and principles, guiding questions have been developed. Some of them only work at the beginning of a project; most can be applied also to projects that are already under development or even accomplished. Depending on the nature of the project, other questions could be added, based on the description of the values and principles. For all the questions, there should not only be a yes or no answer, but they are an invitation to think about how to fulfil the ambition.
The power of examples
To aid understanding of the different levels, every ambition description is accompanied by an exemplary project piece, either from the NEB prizes finalists or from other dedicated NEB call beneficiaries. These texts extracts are chosen because they best illustrate the practical application of a certain level of ambition of a value or principle. In addition, six projects are analysed on all values and working principles to show how the Compass can be applied to a project. Just like the New European Bauhaus initiative, this Compass also relates to a number of policy tools and legislations. You can find an overview of these references at the end of the document, as well as a list of scientific sources that have been used to come to the systematic overview of levels of ambition.
The integration of the values and principles
All values and principles are not new as such, but the NEB has the ambition that all six would be integrated in NEB projects – at least at basic level.
The highest levels of ambitions in each value and principle always include the word transformation. In the case of the sustainability value, it is a paradigm shift towards regeneration and creating new positive relations with nature. For the beautiful value, it is about meaningful experiences that work towards a broader ‘us’, and for together, we work towards breaking with local to global injustices and obsolete social models.
The working principles give guidance on how transformative projects are implemented. Projects with the highest ambition on participatory processes empower communities to take decisions and self-govern. Transdisciplinary initiatives take a collaborative approach to knowledge creation between local, traditional and academic knowledge holders. They engage at multi-levels and connect local place-based strategies to a global network of actors while considering the initiatives’ wider global impact.
The Compass is structured in such a way that combining the highest levels of ambition of each value and principle means initiating a profound transformation of how we organise our societies. There is no possible trade-off between the different values and principles (either one or the other). Rather, they reinforce each other towards a new way of living that integrates all aspects. This could have implications for economic models, governing structures, and mind-sets – which many projects address.
This constitutes a paradigm shift from extractive, polluting and exploitative practices and mind-sets towards the collective reinvention of a just society for all that respects our planetary boundaries. Facing the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, rising global inequities, conflicts and wars, that affect the most vulnerables in our societies, multiple and interconnected crises need to be solved at once. The Compass guides towards a desirable and positive transformation pathway where the three values- sustainable, together and beauty- reinforce each other to build a new way of living.
Many initiatives that were shared in the past two years found new ways of not only changing their project, but also the organisations and partners around them – and in some cases even society at large. By finding new ways of doing banking that respect the people who need it the most. By organising crowdfunded projects that are truly reinforced from the bottom up. By finding nature-based solutions that make a city structure more resilient.
Or by looking at what is valuable in a new way.
The Compass inspires a way forward so that we can bring the New European Bauhaus values and principles to life in shaping a transformation that is beautiful, sustainable, and brings people and communities together.
Beautiful
What makes a service, an online platform, a street, or a sculpture beautiful?
Art and culture in all their diversity play a major role in making our lives beautiful and meaningful. The Compass sets out three cumulative ambitions for a beautiful project: to (re)activate the qualities of a given context while contributing to our physical and mental well-being; to connect different places and people and foster a sense of belonging through meaningful collective experiences; and to integrate new enduring cultural and social values through creation.
Beyond personal preferences, the New European Bauhaus puts a project’s creative process at the centre of what makes it beautiful. A beautiful project emerges when its authors invest collective sensitivity, intelligence, and competences into creating a positive and enriching experience for people, beyond functionality. A project that is genuinely attentive to its context and users encourages mutual care and can be a powerful driver for change.
Beautiful
AMBITION I: to activate
Context re-activation • Sensory experience • Aesthetics
A beautiful project improves the physical and mental well-being of individuals by considering their senses and emotions, on top of their needs. It activates the cultural, social, and natural qualities of a place to create unique and positive experiences. The project fosters awareness of place and heritage in all its diversity, while embracing its own aesthetic.
EXAMPLE
How should architecture respond to a landscape with enormous aesthetic vigour, fiercely beautiful? The caves of Caño de Hierro [Spain] were buried under ruins and undergrowth for decades. The project in Caño de Hierro is part of an operation that aims to recover the heritage of Hornachuelos for its neighbours and to point out the enormous natural, historical and architectural richness of the town. A pedestrian promenade is proposed. The natural reed formwork used reproduces the irregularity of the caves. The colour harmonises with that of the rocks.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS:
·Does the project consider the comfort of its users (e.g. in terms of materials, light, air, noise)? How does it integrate it?
·Does the project consider sensory perceptions (visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory) and emotional sensibility? What experience does it offer?
·Does the project reflect regional/local particularities and call upon local materials and skills? How?
·Does the project make its own aesthetic choices (e.g. in terms of composition, colours, balance, or material compatibility)? How?
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AMBITION II: to connect
Connection across contexts • Collective experience • Sense of belonging
A beautiful project enhances opportunities for meaningful social interactions and collective experiences. It reinforces a sense of belonging and enriches lives by connecting different places and people. The new attachments that emerge through the project foster openness and mutual care.
EXAMPLE
The Multisensory Museum [Netherlands] is a project at the interface of research and architecture. The project socially innovates architecture processes by developing a co-design method that engages people with disability and architects together in a creative endeavour. The result is an enticing space that draws the museum visitor in through all the senses (sound, touch, smell, vision, motion), giving an architectural expression to inclusion and dialogue, providing a new way of experiencing a museum visit.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project provide attractive and comfortable spaces that bring people together in diverse settings? How?
·Does the project give a sense of community to people with different backgrounds and perspectives? How does it strengthen this sense of community?
·Does the project give opportunities to learn about new ideas, places, or people? How?
·Is the project interactive? Does it offer opportunities for encounters or discoveries? How can participants interact with the project?
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AMBITION III: to integrate
Enabling creation • Restructuring of values • Long-lasting movement
A beautiful project enables creation, and the collective re-invention of the places, lifestyles, and communities we identify with. It integrates new cultural and social values, notably through the meaningful experience of a broader ‘us’ (including the non-human world). In doing so, it aspires to anticipate future transformations, and may generate a long-lasting movement.
EXAMPLE
Baubotanik [Germany] is an innovative form of sustainable architecture that partially replaces technical building materials with living, growing trees. Baubotanik structures continue to develop throughout their lifetime. They co-evolve with nature and overcome the dichotomy between the built and living environment. Here, care and maintenance are understood as a creative, collaborative process shaping future development. This interplay of human action and plant growth strengthens the sense of community and celebrates the aesthetics – the sights, smells, sounds and feel – of nature.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Can participants question and reimagine their way of life through the project? How can they do so?
·Does the project generate new fulfilling habits? What are these habits, and how do they emerge?
·Is there a reflection on the future needs of the project’s users? How could the project approach this long-term thinking?
·Does the project have a positive transformative effect on the participants’ lives? How does it change lives?
Sustainable
The NEB Compass puts the focus on the end goals to achieve (the ambitions), and the environmental side of sustainability, because the social side is addressed as well by the third NEB value - Together.
The Compass keeps therefore the definition used in the European GreenComp framework,–which is: ‘Sustainability means prioritising the needs of all life forms and of the planet by ensuring that human activity does not exceed planetary boundaries.‘
The basic sustainability ambition in the Compass is concerned with conventional features like the ability to preserve or prolong usability, and the next level considers the entire system of a project. The highest ambition is to regenerate and reconnect to nature.
The implications of following the three values (e.g. impact on lifestyles, relations and economy, sometimes also included in the broader definition of sustainability) are mentioned at the end of the document, where the values come together.
Sustainable
AMBITION I: to repurpose
Preservation • Repair, re-use, reduce • upgrade, renew
A sustainable project aims to repurpose in order to avoid and reduce environmental impacts and favours durability, adaptability, recyclability. It aims at rethinking services, products and places to reduce pollution and carbon impacts and have minimum use of resources, materials and energy. It looks at the scale of a products’ lifecycle. Projects that repurpose are aware of the impact their initiative has on the environment and have the ambition to reduce their environmental footprint.
EXAMPLE
The BUGA Wood Pavilion [Germany] celebrates a new approach to digital timber construction. The stunning wooden roof spans 30 metres over a public event area, using a minimum amount of material while also generating a unique architectural space. Due to its innovative building system, it can be fully reassembled at a new location and recycled at the end of the structure’s life.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·How could the project solve its needs in a less material intensive way, e.g. by sharing resources?
·Can the use be prolonged, e.g. by renovation or making the project repairable or upgradeable? How would this be done?
·Can the impact on the environment of the project be lowered, e.g. by decreasing the use of energy, water, pesticides, CO2 or other harmful substances? How?
·Can components or elements be replaced by a natural material or other less harmful resources? How?
·Could you prioritize renewable energy solutions favourable to biodiversity? How? _______________________________________
AMBITION II: to close the loop
(Industrial) system • circularity • Waste transformation
A sustainable project aims to close the loop, reduce linear processes or transform them into circular processes to aim at zero pollution. It looks at the scale of an (industrial) system. Projects that close the loop actively involve all other actors in the cycle of the design, production, use and discarding phase of their initiative.
EXAMPLE
The Vivihouse (Austria) modular building system opens the world of construction to a wider public. This long-lasting and adaptable construction kit consists of modular timber frames assembled with sustainable materials such as straw bales for the insulation. The project invites users, planners, craftspeople, and companies to adopt the modular system and collaboratively explore new forms of city-making within the circular economy.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the initiative work with circular economy principles, e.g. with closing the whole material cycle or waste transformation? How?
·Are all stakeholders in the cycle working together? In what way?
·Is there an overview of the carbon impact, material, energy or water waste streams before, during and after the use of a product, building or intervention? How?
·Is there a zero pollution action plan e.g. for air, water & soil? How will it work?
·Does the project look at indirect impacts across time and space and trade-offs between different sustainability measures? How does it tackle this?
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AMBITION III: to regenerate
Carbon storing • Enhancing biodiversity • Restoration and expansion of natural landscapes • Paradigm shift, behavioral change
A sustainable project aims to give back more than it takes, enhancing rather than depleting biodiversity, incentivising the restoration and expansion of nature.
Regenerative sustainability also considers how contexts and environments influence worldviews, paradigms, and behaviours. It looks at the scale of an ecosystem.
Initiatives in this dimension are aware of the complete ecosystem they act in and their project’s impact over time and space on biodiversity and natural resources.
EXAMPLE
The Regeneration of beach dune systems project (Spain) deals with beaches in and around Barcelona that are part of a densely populated area under heavy pressure due to its high logistic, urban and touristic value. The project aims to protect and regenerate beach-dunes through a series of actions, raising awareness about the environmental importance of dunes. It is also attached to improving infrastructure and access to the beaches, so all can keep enjoying these valuable natural sites.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the initiative give back more than it takes, e.g. by carbon storage in buildings? How?
·Is there an understanding of the inner working of a (natural) ecosystem that could restore the landscape or biodiversity? How does the project affect this?
·Is there a vision on societal change by behavioural change or a mention of a paradigm shift? How will this be addressed?
Together
The third core value of the New European Bauhaus builds on the concept of inclusion and enriches it with the concepts of equality, accessibility and affordability. Starting from these fundamental features, the Compass identifies growing levels of ambition, keeping the focus on the essential idea of granting and securing equal access to opportunities and resources for all and encouraging exchanges across cultures, genders and ages.
Faithful to the spirit of togetherness, the NEB Compass maintains a positive, open and non-discriminatory approach that goes beyond the exercise of listing or categorising social groups based on their differences. Therefore, it does not refer to any of them explicitly.
Together
AMBITION I: to include
Equality • Accessibility • Prioritising disadvantaged people
An inclusive project grants accessibility (physical, cognitive, psychological, etc.) and affordability for all, regardless of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, ability, age or sexual orientation. Equality of treatment and opportunities is essential but cannot be taken for granted, so it is important to prioritise less- represented individuals, groups and communities.
EXAMPLE
Cristobal de Moura Green Street [Spain] is a park project in Barcelona. The project includes affordable public housing and gives people with fewer economic resources the opportunity to enjoy living in a park environment too. It also includes kindergartens, social centres, a public gym, co-working, and other social, cultural and educational equipments for different groups to enjoy.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Is the project easily and equally accessible? In which sense?
·Is the project affordable ? How can a project become more affordable?
·Does the project consider the needs of less represented communities? Which ones? How?
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AMBITION II: to consolidate
Overcoming segregation • Representation and social stability • Sharing resources and opportunities
An inclusive project fosters and equalises relations between users and/or communities, safeguarding the principle of equal treatment and social justice over time. Inclusion and open access to services are secured by formal, structural mechanisms such as funding instruments, business models, planning, policies, regulations and other institutionalisation processes.
EXAMPLE
The Municipal School of Architecture in Borlänge [Sweden] is a tool for democracy. At the school, children and young people learn about both the physical environment and the community-building process. After joining, the children become members of an expert group that helps planners build the municipality. This is a method to bring the child perspective into planning, but also to establish the right of every child to freely express their views, in all matters affecting them, as the built environment does.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project secure social justice over time? How?
·Does the project offer equal resources and opportunities? In which ways?
·Does the project help to overcome segregation between different communities? What kind of instruments can be put in place to reach this objective?
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AMBITION III: to transform
Fostering shared social values • Societal development and collective growth • New ways of living together
Inclusion inspires new ways of living together, building on solidarity and cooperation, raising awareness
of discrimination and injustice. An inclusive project becomes exemplary and replicable, and has the potential to break obsolete social models, create value and bring transformative benefits on a societal level, influencing worldviews, paradigms and social behaviours.
EXAMPLE
Borgo Sostenibile Figino [Italy] is one of the first social and collaborative housing projects in Italy. The experimentation, undertaken for its design and creation, helped to define the social housing sector in Milan, not only creating affordable housing districts, but also encouraging the development of collaborative and sustainable communities. The presence of shared spaces and services enables residents to organise and share everyday activities with their own neighbours, transforming them into key active players in enhancing their living conditions and context.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project promote new ways of living together? What kind of instruments can be put in place to reach this objective?
·Does the project have the ambition to break obsolete and unjust social models? How does it plan to do this?
Working Principles
A NEB project should embrace three working principles: participatory process, multi-level engagement and a transdisciplinary approach. These principles describe the process through which a project should operate and work to achieve the highest level of ambition in the three values.
By working across disciplines, sectors and levels of governance and by involving everyone in an open and equal manner, a project should ensure that it promotes a fair transformational outcome which is not only accepted, but also beneficial for everyone and mindful of the systemic and close relationships between complex social, environmental and structural factors.
Working at the intersection of the three principles, a project should also yield knowledge and insights which can be transferred to other projects or fields of knowledge.
Participatory process
This principle refers to the degree to which the communities affected by the project are involved in the design, decision-making and implementation phases. It starts from the premise that a NEB project will always involve civil society or representatives of social groups (‘the stakeholders’) within a highly participatory framework.
The process should progress towards equal relations in defining and implementing a project and empower the local community to manage key processes or outcomes, or enable them to initiate and self-govern future actions in the longer term.
Participatory process
AMBITION I: to consult
Information • Dialogue • Consultation
A participatory project features already-established communication channels and stakeholder participation. At this first ambition level, participation ranges from information-sharing about the project to consultation feeding into decision-making. The information flow is static and mostly one sided: the information flows from the project owner to its audience and then back.
EXAMPLE
A project to redesign the open spaces of the Weimar Bauhaus Campus [Germany] has paid special attention to integrating the various requirements of the students, the project users, by organising weekly consultations to transparently share information during the construction process.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project keep stakeholders informed? How?
·Is there an awareness of who might be excluded from the project? If so, who?
·To what extent will the project allow stakeholders to contribute?
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AMBITION II: to co-develop
Exchange • Joint project steps • Co-creation
A participatory project engages stakeholders as key partners and advisers in defining and/or co-creating the rules and objectives of the project. The emerging ideas are developed collaboratively by the project and its stakeholders The information flow is dynamic, exchanges are on an equal foot and information becomes co-designed.
EXAMPLE
A co-design process to imagine the future of the Rivalta Ducal Palace [Italy] set up participatory processes going beyond traditional consultations and involving members of the public alongside a wide range of stakeholders and experts. A parallel co-design process between policymakers and researchers informed the process.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Will the project process stakeholder input? How?
·Are those affected by the project included in the decision-making? How, and by which means?
·Does the project aim to collaborate with stakeholders? How?
·Does the project reach out to those who are excluded from their activity? How does it plan to do so?
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AMBITION III: to self-govern
Partnership • Joint action • Community self-governance
A participatory project aims to enable stakeholders to negotiate and engage in trade-offs with powerholders, at all stages of the project’s lifecycle (design, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation) and empowers the community to make decisions and govern the project.
EXAMPLE
Arkki’s Learning Via Participation Model [Finland] aims to enable children to make a positive change in their environment and democratise the urban design process. The most striking result after the programme is that some children decided to keep on ideating, building models, presenting designs and seeking funding to implement the ideas in their surroundings. They used the knowledge they acquired to present their ideas to policymakers, and received political and monetary support for a project.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project empower and sustain grass-roots initiatives beyond project implementation? How?
·Does the project aim to allow stakeholders to take (legal) ownership? How?
·Do the project owners aim to make themselves redundant, enabling a community to take agency? In which way?
·What measures does the project take to include those affected by a design and to ensure representation in decision-making?
Multi-level engagement
A Multi-level engagement across scales, fields and time is necessary to anticipate the effects that global issues can have on the local dimension, and vice versa (e.g. the effects of national air quality regulations on local environments, the impact of an activity launched at neighbourhood level for cleaning the oceans…).
A multi-level NEB project should implement an effective exchange both horizontally (with peers) and vertically (with others operating on a different scale) and then advance to a well-defined collaborative framework integrating the two. The highest ambition for a multi-level NEB project is to find ways to reach a transformational impact beyond its initial scale, and bridge the local and the global dimension connecting stakeholders who, across various levels, share similar purposes. Doing so, it combines a place-based approach with a systemic thinking.
Effective multi-level collaboration should produce transferable and scalable solutions to disseminate knowledge in a cross-sectoral manner and activate cross-border experimentation with new ideas.
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION I: to work locally
Inter-municipal cooperation • Network, coalitions • Informal cooperation
A multi-level NEB project connects horizontally informal networks (e.g. groups of individuals, neighbourhoods…), and/or formal institutions (e.g. sectoral departments, political groups…) and/or and engages with them to influence the local living environment with a placed-based approach.
EXAMPLE
Santa Maria da Feira Community Arts Network [Portugal] was developed by the Social Action, Education and Culture Municipal Offices to engage ’local entities and services, civil society organisations, local communities and many others relevant stakeholders’ in a participatory local governance network to help them work together to make art more accessible to everyone.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS:
·Does the project interact with local networks and collectives? Which activities does it put in place to do it?
·Does the project aim at influencing the local living environment? How?
·Does the project cultivate a place-based approach? How does it do that?
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AMBITION II: to work across levels
Supranational institutions • EU Member States • Local and regional authorities
A multi-level NEB project connects vertically informal networks (e.g. groups of individuals, neighbourhoods…) and/or formal institutions (e.g. government, administrations…) across various scales (e.g. single municipalities with regional authorities, local studies with international research programs), and engages with them to push single-scale initiatives beyond their own dimension (e.g. local, regional, national…).
EXAMPLE
The new Immaginario Scientifico Science Centre [Italy] is a new museum aiming to involve ’the public in the life of the international community that has made Trieste the “city of Science”‘. The project closely involved the regional and municipal bodies and the Italian Ministry of University and Research in the design and set up.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project interact with networks and/or institutions that are active beyond the scale of the projects itself (e.g. from local to regional, from national to international…)? Which activities does it put in place to do so?
·Does the project work at different scales (e.g. neighbourhood and the city, one single school with a network of national schools…)? How does it make it possible?
·Does the project aim at having an influence across different scales? How does it plan to do so?
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AMBITION III: to work globally
Multi-scale Impact • Cross-sectoral cooperation • Global North-Global-South relations
A multi-level NEB project that works at global level reaches for a wider, transformational impact beyond its initial, local scale of application and it connects networks and/or (inter)governmental institutions that, across various levels, share similar purposes looking at the future of the entire ecosystem.
EXAMPLE
The VITA Erasmus+ project [Romania] is a project based on transnational cooperation between three universities in Romania, Italy and Norway aimed at stimulating learning on inter-cultural changes and managing different education traditions acrosscultures. This project has involved a number of regional and national bodies and also built a network of collaborators from European countries facing similar issues to cooperate in the ongoing process. The project also aims to disseminate the findings and methodology across Europe but also to other fields and sectors.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project aim at reaching a global, transformational impact? How?
·Does the project consider the local impact putting it in perspective with the future of the entire ecosystem? Which actions does it plan to put in place to do so?
Transdisciplinary approach
NEB projects should aim to bring together knowledge from different fields and practitioners from various fields. They work on solutions that affect different aspects of a project – social, economic, cultural, artistic, architectural, ecological etc. Transdisciplinary ways of working also encourage solutions that can be applied in a variety of disciplines and fields and are not limited to one area only.
A NEB project that starts out as a multidisciplinary collaboration should progress towards integrating results from different disciplines. Ultimately, it should ground scientific expertise in society by drawing on the knowledge of non-academics and the public.
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION I: to be multidisciplinary
Diversity of disciplines • Diverse educational backgrounds • Common problem definition
A multidisciplinary NEB project aims to address a common problem within one field of knowledge. Working in a multidisciplinary way means working independently alongside other disciplines that engage in similar topics.
EXAMPLE
A project aiming at transforming a 1960s residential building in Papagos [Greece] promotes ’collaborative processes among executives of the Hellenic Institute of Passive Building (HPHI), certified passive building designers, engineers and technicians from all sectors and commercial and technical departments of companies.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Does the project work with different disciplines? How does it connect them?
·Is there a common problem definition, shared between different stakeholders? How did you get to have one?
·How many different educational backgrounds are involved? Could there be more involved?
·What is the distance between disciplines, e.g. urban planners working with architects (small distance) or biologists working with artists (large distance)? Which system does the project put in place to bridge it?
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AMBITION II: to be interdisciplinary
Knowledge creation • Intensity of communication • Integration of results
An interdisciplinary NEB project aims to address a common problem or issue involving two or more
academic disciplines or fields of knowledge. Working in an interdisciplinary way means collaborating with other disciplines towards a shared goal.
EXAMPLE
In the Barcelona Superblocks project [Spain], administration was coordinated among different departments and interdisciplinary teams bringing together specialists in urban planning, green areas, mobility, geographers, engineers, artists and architects.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·What is the intensity of communication? How is it managed?
·Is there new knowledge creation?
·Are results integrated between each other? How?
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AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
Non-academic partnerships • Interaction with non-academics • Public engagement • Collaborative process • Level(s) of interaction
A beyond-disciplinary NEB project aims to integrate both formal and non-formal knowledge to achieve a common goal. It aims to bring together people from political, social and economic fields with members of the public to explore possibilities and realise new narratives. By drawing on both local and traditional knowledge and cultural norms and values, it aims to supplement and transform scientific insights for the benefit of society.
EXAMPLE
The international, cross-disciplinary master’s programmes offered by the International Programmes in Sustainable Developments (IPSD) department at the University of Applied Arts Vienna [Austria] aims to educate students how to approach global challenges by ’’considering a transdisciplinary approach which involves non-academic and cooperation partners and stakeholders from all societal groups’ from the outset of a project.
POSSIBLE GUIDING QUESTIONS
·Are non-formal knowledge partners involved in the knowledge creation? How?
·Is equal value given to formal and informal knowledge? How?
·Is there a common goal? What is the plan to reach it collectively?
·Is there a collaborative process put in place that facilitates the merging of different knowledge fields? How does it work?
Applying the Compass
Each value and working principle defined in the Compass can be applied to a vast range of transformative actions. However, the specificity of this instrument – and of the New European Bauhaus – lies in the combination of all three values and working principles. A full NEB project needs to contain all three values and working principles at least at level 1.
On the next pages, we introduce a series of case studies, diverse in nature (built environment, product, education model, community engagement), scale, and stage of development. The projects are positioned on the Compass based on the ambitions shared by their authors in various media (application, press release, etc.). The highest levels of ambition always encompass previously mentioned qualities – it is therefore not possible for a project to ‘jump’ to the third level of ambition without addressing the challenges of levels one and two. For each case study, a brief text demonstrates how the project does – or does not – achieve the three successive levels of ambition. The evolving Compass logo presents the overall position of the project on the Compass.
Korzo Zálesie
Embankment revitalisation
of the Little Danube River for free time activities
Slovakia (2022)
Project description
Korzo Zalesie is the story of the rediscovery of the Little Danube River in Zálesie. A multi-year project to transform a neglected river embankment into a lively village promenade. Space for walks in nature, discovering fauna and flora, relaxation for paddlers, tourists, cyclists and locals. What was once a junkyard on the banks of the river has turned into an attractive part of the region. The aesthetics of the intervention will merge with the surrounding nature over time.
All pictures: Korzo Zálesie © European Union, 2022
Korzo Zálesie
Embankment revitalisation
of the Little Danube River for free time activities
Slovakia (2022)
Beautiful
AMBITION III: to integrate
The combination of various architectural elements creates a synergistic effect, so that the promenade has become a magnet attracting a steady flow of new visitors, inviting them to enjoy and relax [ambition I]. An important goal of the project was to make the promenade visually and aesthetically in tune with the natural character of the river and bring people together to experience and enjoy the beauty of untouched nature [II]. The revitalisation of the river embankment has enhanced its aesthetics and quality, and brought new meaning to the place, which will be also able to host cultural events (exhibitions, concerts, sessions on environmental education…etc.) [III].
Sustainable
AMBITION I: to repurpose
Protecting nature is the top priority of the Little Danube River project, the main goal being to create a long-term and sustainable harmonious relationship between the village and nature, building on its recovery after years of devastation and neglect [I].
Together
AMBITION I: to include
The project is barrier-free, designed to be freely and openly accessible to diverse groups of people, with special attention given to the inclusion of children and older people [I]. The project also strives to create a living community where various groups can peacefully come together, meet and interact [III]. The project also embodies innovative ways of thinking about the relationship between humans and nature, the village and the protected area. It draws the community’s attention to their responsibility for the state of the environment and creates a positive and easy-to-follow following example of land regeneration [III].
Korzo Zálesie
Embankment revitalisation
of the Little Danube River for free time activities
Slovakia (2022)
Participatory process
AMBITION III: to self-govern
The project puts in place a system of active participation from below, starting from the inhabitants of the village of Zálesie. First, active people and creatives invent the project, engage with the community [I], together seek support from the municipality, seek financial resources [II], implement and take care of their joint work in the community [III] and develop other projects.
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION II: to work across levels
The local activists, on a voluntary base, implement and fulfil the goals they set at the beginning [I], but then the project is managed in cooperation with experts and representatives of state, professional organisations, village representatives, and the self-governing region [III]. It also receives funding for implementation from various state schemes, foundations, donors but also from EU sources (the Interreg programme) [II].
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
A stable community of active people of all ages gathers around the project, with various knowledge, experiences and skills [II]. The project innovatively combines community, culture, nature protection, education and tourism into one harmonious whole [III].
Hal5
Mixed use neighbourhood hotspot
Belgium (2017)
Project description
Hal5 is a financially self-sustaining temporary redevelopment of an abandoned protected railway hall. The project was initiated by the neighbourhood. It provides affordable space and encourages interaction cross breeding between social organisations, entrepreneurs and the neighbours. The project includes a food court with a bar, a social grocery store, event spaces, parkour halls for adults and toddlers, social organisations, a coffee roaster, a short-supply-chain bakery, urban agriculture and a flower-picking garden.
Hal5
Mixed use neighbourhood hotspot
Belgium (2017)
Beautiful
AMBITION III: to integrate
The project provides a warm, welcoming and beautiful urban environment, despite the low budget available for its development [I]. The role of architecture here is to provide a welcoming, collective space for people [II], to identify and point out opportunities, to make a building habitable, to integrate it back into the city and to use it generously. It is a monument to the quality of urban life [III].
Sustainable
AMBITION III: to regenerate
In terms of environmental development, the project was built mainly with re-used materials (bricks, containers…). Thanks to the use of new heat pumps, overall electricity and gas consumption is below average [I]. Additionally, water from the roof is re-used in the biological urban agriculture and the flower garden [II], which are also actively improving the biodiversity in the neighbourhood [III].
Together
AMBITION III: to transform
The project aims to provide affordable spaces and services [I] for a wide range of urban people (people from the local community, entrepreneurs, volunteers, etc.) with different levels of income (‘hipsters’, families in need,etc.), and to create a new way of living together [III]. Some of the activities that take place inside the hall (grocery store, sport clubs, cultural centres) offer advantageous conditions for underprivileged users, and put in place systems such as double pricing. Job programmes from the social organisation have helped local youngster with difficulties on the regular job market to find jobs within Hal5 [II].
Hal5
Mixed use neighbourhood hotspot
Belgium (2017)
Participatory process
AMBITION III: to self-govern
The project started through civic-society involvement. A non-profit organisation gathered around the same objectives, putting together the different tenants and other stakeholders (social and cultural partners, entrepreneurs, neighbourhood). This created a strong (legally recognised) network that has been extended and strengthened over the past years with investors, suppliers, and new partnerships, including a partnership with the local authority. With HAL 5, the boundaries between architect, client and builder are blurring.
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION II: to work across levels
A group of local residents [I], started this project: they saw the potential of the place, and they had the imagination, the design intelligence and the guiding capacity to bring residents, associations and authorities together. In term of cultural development, Hal5 and the City of Leuven also collaborated to provide affordable event space for local organisations [II]. The active engagement of civic society (and local government) also created a support and knowledge base for the permanent redevelopment of this protected monument, that could then potentially be replicated elsewhere in Europe [III].
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
The success of the project lies in the collaboration between different professionals: members of the public, architects, entrepreneurs, teachers, musicians, food makers and more. This heterogeneous group of people succeeded in applying formal and informal knowledge to achieve a common goal [III].
MadreProject
School of places and breadmaking
Italy (2021)
Project description
MadreProject is a one-of-a-kind school inviting participants to approach bread as a way to connect local communities, places and practices. The idea is to train members of the community to take care of the environment, future entrepreneurs who can create social impact and maintain a dialogue with the context in which they operate, and bread makers who are aware of the network they are part of and the benefits of an all-round approach.
MadreProject
School of places and breadmaking
Italy (2021)
Beautiful
AMBITION III: to integrate
MadreProject (re)activates an ecosystem of places in Chiaravalle [I], situating the school’s activities across different renovated and repurposed buildings (a former farmstead, the Padiglioni monument, etc.). It brings participants together [II] in the creative and collective experience of breadmaking [III] and encourages them to engage with their cultural, social, and natural environment, fostering their sense of belonging [II]. Finally, the project is built as a participatory artistic performance that empowers the students to co-create (a pop-up bakery for example) [III].
Sustainable
AMBITION III: to regenerate
MadreProject proposes a model of education that trains people to preserve [I] their environment. However, it goes further in introducing learnings on systemic thinking and human ecology, which, together with concrete activities, could change the participants’ worldviews and behaviours [III]. In addition, the project integrates a plan for the regeneration of 10 hectares of abandoned agricultural fields [III] that would shorten the supply chain [II] and boost employment opportunities in the rural district of Chiaravalle (Milan).
Together
AMBITION II: to consolidate
The project counts on solidarity and cooperation [I] to achieve its goals: the launch of a crowdfunding campaign will eventually feed into the opening of a bakery school with the potential to re-activate the neighbourhood, culturally and socially. The money collected will also fund scholarships to attract disadvantaged students [II].
MadreProject
School of places and breadmaking
Italy (2021)
Participatory process
AMBITION III: to self-govern
During a pilot week, MadreProject gathered participants in a co-creation process [II] to set the course for a school ‘rooted in collective intelligence’. It proposes that each learner builds their own education path based on their needs and interests [II]. The school presents itself as a horizontal, self-reflective education model [III]. MadreProject was also supported by Milan’s city civic crowdfunding campaign, an innovative funding mechanism for bottom-up projects involving non-profits and inhabitants. The crowdfunding campaign has gathered the support of 360 donors, empowered to make the project happen [III].
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION I: to work locally
MadreProject builds on a diverse coalition of actors (non-profit, startup accelerator) active at local, regional, and national level. It was selected by the city of Milan to take part in an innovative funding mechanism, while being strongly anchored at the district level, in Chiaravalle. The 360 donors who crowdfunded the project and the many organisations involved constitute a locally rooted formal and informal network [I].
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
The project emerged through the joint efforts of (...) a non-profit organisation specialised in regeneration through culture, a social impact startup accelerator, and a master breadmaker, cereal grower, co-founder of PAU (Panificatori Agricoli Urbani - Urban Farming Breadmakers). These entities combine and pass down cross-sector expertise [II] to overcome common challenges [II]. The involvement of participants from various backgrounds and with differing levels of familiarity with breadmaking allows for peer learning and the harnessing of both formal and non-formal knowledge [III].
Flaux
Flower Matter
Germany (2022)
Project description
An innovative textile material made from flower waste provides a solution to cut waste connected with flowers. It does this by diverting flower waste from landfills into environmentally responsible materials, directing the recyclable waste that comes with flowers into their proper recycling processes, offering alternatives for unsustainable materials and enabling circularity in the industry.
Flaux
Flower Matter
Germany (2022)
Beautiful
AMBITION I: to activate
Flaux - Flower Matter aims to create a unique experience [I] for users by designing with natural processes and materials.
Sustainable
AMBITION II: to close the loop
The project aims to reduce flower waste through a circular economy, cradle-to-cradle approach and to fight biodiversity loss. However, the project aims to mitigate and decrease the negative impacts of unsustainable alternatives [II] to using flower waste, rather than to regenerate ecosystems.
Together
AMBITION I: to include
The project aims to raise awareness and improve gender equality in the entrepreneurial startup ecosystem for ethnic businesswomen who are currently underrepresented [II]. The founders are also aware of child labour and forced labour in other parts of the world, aiming to create a business structure that maintains equality, transparency and traceability of the process.
Flaux
Flower Matter
Germany (2022)
Participatory process
AMBITION I: to consult
Currently, the project is at the stage of disseminating the concept and business model it wishes to create [I]. However, the project aims to build a strong community of local-cut flower stakeholders where all parties are equally and fairly engaged in the upcycling systems.
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION III: to work globally
The project aims to pilot the project in Thailand in a first phase, then apply the concept to Europe and create a network of stakeholders including links to flower markets and potential investors and supporters via the pilot scheme data report.
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION I: to be multidisciplinary
The project works in an intra-sectoral and intra-disciplinary way, and is being run by two future entrepreneurs, industry experts, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and incubators active in the same industry.
BUGA Wood Pavilion
by ICD/ITKE & University of Stuttgart
Germany (2019)
Project description
The BUGA Wood Pavilion celebrates a new approach to digital timber construction. The stunning wooden roof spans 30 metres over a public event area, using a minimum amount of material while also generating a unique architectural space. The pavilion was developed by an interdisciplinary team of architects, engineers, scientists, craft and public stakeholders. Due to its innovative building system it can be fully reassembled at a new location and completely recycled at the end of the structure’s life.
BUGA Wood Pavilion
by ICD/ITKE & University of Stuttgart
Germany (2019)
Beautiful
AMBITION III: to integrate
The pavilion is conceived is conceived in a way that offers a positive sensory experience to the users, and gives special attention to light, acoustics, atmosphere and quality of spaces [I]. The structure is inspired by the shell of sea urchins. The flexibility of the venue makes it suitable for hosting large groups of people and offers a high-quality collective experience [II]. Furthermore, the architecture can be considered here as ‘cultural vehicle’, offering the chance to learn more about lifecycle thinking and re-use in design [III].
Sustainable
AMBITION II: to regenerate
The design of the pavilion takes in consideration recyclability [I], but also the principles of re-use and circularity [II]: it can be either disassembled and erected at a new site, multiple times, or used to generate new energy through thermal reclamation. The elements that compose the structure are made of timber, and are responsibly produced to have a negative carbon footprint [III].
Together
AMBITION I: to include
The pavilion is inclusive by design: it presents no physical barriers and it can be publicly and openly accessed by everybody without distinction of any sort [I].
BUGA Wood Pavilion
by ICD/ITKE & University of Stuttgart
Germany (2019)
Participatory process
AMBITION I: to consult
The project team maintained a continuous dialogue with the public, actively communicating the progress of the line of research through presentations, publications and conversations [I]. The pavilion was developed from the start with public representatives, local carpenters and robotic integrators.
Multi-level engagement
NO CLEAR REFERENCE
The project description does not openly refer to dimensions of multi-level engagement in the terms defined by the Compass.
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
The project brings together academics, with industry and local crafts people through an innovative co-design approach, integrating digital production into the building culture of traditional craft [III]. The collaboration between robots and human brings novel possibilities in design, engineering and fabrication.
Arkki’s Learning
Via Participation Model
Finland (2007)
Project description
Arkki’s Learning Via Participation Model is a participatory education model from Finland intended to enable children to participate in the urban design process. The model has been tested in Vietnam (2018) and Bangkok (2020) and has engaged children in developing child-friendly city ideas.
Arkki’s Learning
Via Participation Model
Finland (2007)
Beautiful
AMBITION III: to integrate
The project aims to combine ethical, social and ecologic issues within the learning process through design ideas. In the process, participants assess what is important to them in life. The core objective of the project is to support children’s development towards becoming ethically responsible members of society and humanity [III]. Furthermore, the project encourages creativity and reflection on how shaping the environment affects people’s lives. It aims to do this through a collective experience of collaboration between adults and children [II] and by developing a personal and community perception of beauty through interactions.
Sustainable
AMBITION I: to repurpose
The project’s perspective on sustainability is not clearly defined, but it hints at a holistic view of sustainable processes and solutions in the urban domain. The participating children learn about and propose innovative and feasible solutions for materials, solar power, public transport.
Together
AMBITION II: to consolidate
The key objectives in terms of inclusion are: integrating children’ voices and proposals into urban planning from the very beginning [I], building skills that enable children to become active citizens [II] and understand the built environment involving a number of key areas and disciplines.
Arkki’s Learning
Via Participation Model
Finland (2007)
Participatory process
AMBITION III: to self-govern
The core of the model is to establish and test a participatory approach which includes children at every stage of urban planning [I], to design projects and to build citizenship skills and the ability to influence. Children are not only consulted, but included in the co-design phase where they propose their own solutions and their ideas are realised [II]. The children’s learnings and experience enabled some of them to ideate a transformation project in their neighbourhood, present it to decision-makers and raise money for its realisation [III].
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION III: to work globally
The project works across scales and in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, successfully implementing the key principles and learnings from other projects in Vietnam, Thailand and Greece. In 20 years of existence, the model has been implemented in partnership with local authorities ,schools and communities from the respective countries, as well as international organisations such as Unicef and Save the Children.
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
Arkki’s Learning Model works beyond disciplines by looking at architecture and urban planning as multidisciplinary phenomena and holistically combining the STEAM subjects (science, technology,engineering, art and maths) with humanities and social sciences, and reinforcing cross-curricular learning [II]. Secondly, the project is grounded in real-world processes and builds on the knowledge and views of communities, children, different user groups [III], etc.
Krater Creative Laboratory
Slovenia (2021)
Project description
KRATER is a community-led production space for eco-social practitioners, which sprouted from the neglected, crater-like construction site near the city centre of Ljubljana. Site-specific production stations - papermaking workshop, wood workshop, myco-design lab & the sanctuary for abandoned potted plants — are set to produce environmentally conscious materials, practices and alliances which invite urban communities to open their eyes to the land and each other anew.
Krater Creative Laboratory
Slovenia (2021)
Beautiful
AMBITION II: to connect
Krater aimed to create visually appealing spatial interventions which translate its underlying frameworks. In the project, partnering designers and architects balanced out their creative proposals relating to zero-waste, low-tech, participatory and permaculture principles. Working on an abandoned construction site and planning infrastructure interventions by using second-hand items or residual materials challenged Krater to develop a strong aesthetic language which could move target audiences beyond their stereotypical perceptions of urban wastelands [I]. To ensure that new spatial interventions included the interests of other-than-human residents, Krater joined the zoonomic movement [II].
Sustainable
AMBITION III: to regenerate
The main objective of the Krater project is to showcase new pathways for ecological material cultures in urban environments. Reimagining the abandoned construction site brought out its potential for sustainable material sourcing [I] and processing [II], and for biocultural regeneration. [III] New production units were set up to: introduce people to production cycles from which they are normally alienated; to investigate and develop sustainable procedures for designing with fibre, wood and soil; and to engage in activities such as processing invasive plants into paper pulp to produce handmade paper sheets or planting pots.
Together
AMBITION II: to consolidate
Krater is enmeshed in the urban commons and decision-making processes are led by a group of locals who coordinate the daily activities of the space [II]. As the group of people involved in the project is diverse, Krater has the full capacity to attract a mixed audience of users to participate in its public programme. Creative workshops, open days, talks and gatherings at Krater are free of charge and thus fully accessible to the public. Krater offers a parking space for cyclists and a ramp which allows easy access to the site for people with limited mobility. [I] Krater’s activities have been promoted through diverse communication channels with the aim of making the programme accessible to users such as older people, local residents and youth.
Krater Creative Laboratory
Slovenia (2021)
Participatory process
AMBITION II: to co-develop
Krater is the result of Trajna’s five-year participatory action research project, working towards rethinking invasive species management in urban landscapes. What made the project possible was a line of successful partnerships that generated a community of individuals and collectives wanting to come together to support and cross-pollinate their interdisciplinary practices. With stakeholders, Krater, in cooperation with the Slovenian Association for Permaculture and prostoRož organised location scouting & space planning sessions and more than 15 co-building workshops [II]. Weekly sessions, open to the public to attract the site’s future users, included activities such as making the walking paths, designing the outdoor furniture and building a wastewater treatment plant.
Multi-level engagement
AMBITION II: to work across levels
By testing participative processes for land management, Krater brought together decision-makers, residents, creatives, researchers and NGOs [I] to acquire new approaches to working with urban nature. Following Krater’s example, local governments were able to cut their maintenance expenses by opening up unused green spaces to organisations interested in activating their material & ecological potential.
Transdisciplinary approach
AMBITION III: to be beyond-disciplinary
Project partners are encouraged to transfer their disciplinary knowledge to new areas of activity, creating the hybrid methodologies seen in the project’s results. In view of the current global challenges, which call for the connection of social and natural sciences [II], Krater are creating a space for the interaction of interdisciplinary knowledge and approaches. Designers on the project not only act as translators of scientific findings, but also as active co-creators of research and innovative ideas [III].
Working Method
The Compass was made in three stages, which involved:
1. reviewing a random sample of the 2021 NEB prizes applications to find potential levels of ambition amongst various aspects of the projects that could be linked to the values, working principles and to the dimensions we identified;
2. identifying three levels of ambition for each value and each principle, comparing the conceptual foundation with existing scientific models and literature, clarifying the sub-dimensions;
3. comparing the conceptual framework of the values and principles with the strategic policy documents from the 2021 New European Bauhaus Communication, while adapting language or concepts to existing policy terms or principles when needed.
Beautiful
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