Lifestyle / sustainability
What is the New European Bauhaus?
The New European Bauhaus is an initiative created by the European Commission to bring the European Green Deal to our living space. The initiative promotes the inclusion of all citizens of the EU in building a sustainable and better future by improving our current living spaces as they follow new guidelines of the Green Deal.
It aims to inspire people to get creative and construct an environment that will be aesthetically pleasing and have a positive impact on our minds and souls while remaining sustainable. The goal is to transform our lives for the better while thinking of future generations.
The focus on the construction and textiles
The European Commission began with new policy actions and funding possibilities to start up the initiative. The project primarily focuses on the transformation of the construction and textiles sectors. Upon implementation, citizens of the EU will have access to goods that have lower carbon impact.
Following the European Green Deal, this initiative will open up a new dimension and aims to change the daily lives of the people of the EU.
Funding is predicted to include €85 million from other EU programs such as the Horizon Europe program for research and innovation, the LIFE program, which features environmental and climate action projects, and the European Regional Development Fund.
All member states are invited to consider the new values of the initiative and start implementing them into current strategies for territorial and socio-economic development.
Also, the initiative will promote the use of cohesion policy programs to have a broader and more positive impact on society.
The first New European Bauhaus Prizes across ten categories were awarded on the 16th of September to further promote the initiative.
The competition included two streams, one for categories in products, lifestyle and reinvented places, and the other for rising stars. The rising stars category was open to participants aged up to 30 years old, to encourage the younger generation to develop new ideas and concepts for a more sustainable future.
The three phases of the initiative
The initiative started with conversations regarding places people live in and their relationship with the environment outside of constructed areas.
During the first co-design phase from January to June 2021, over two thousand examples, ideas and challenges were collected.
Both individuals and institutions sent more than 200 papers and essays for analysis.
They inspired the creation of four main steps to improve implementation:
- Reconnecting with nature
- Regaining a sense of belonging
- Prioritise the places and people that need it most
- Foster long term life cycles and integrated thinking in the industrial ecosystem.
The next phase of the initiative will promote more action within local communities.
Three steps that the New European Bauhaus will take are transformations of the places on the ground. This environment will enable innovation and people’s perspectives and a new way of thinking.
The European Commission will also set up a New European Bauhaus Lab that will work with the community, test new tools and create prototypes to empower people at a grassroots level.
Also, starting in spring 2022 in Brussels, a New European Bauhaus Festival will encourage citizens to join the initiative as they share their new ideas, current projects, progress and the results from the changes they have made.
