18 Jan 2021
EC launches design phase of New European Bauhaus initiative
On 18 January 2021, the European Commission (EC) launched the design phase of the New European Bauhaus initiative, announced by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address. The New European Bauhaus is an environmental, economic and cultural project, aiming to combine design, sustainability, accessibility, affordability and investment in order to help deliver the European Green Deal. The core values of the New European Bauhaus are thus sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness. The goal of the design phase is to use a co-creation process to shape the concept by exploring ideas, identifying the most urgent needs and challenges, and to connect interested parties. As one element of the design phase, this spring, the Commission will launch, the first edition of the New European Bauhaus prize. The design phase will lead to the opening of calls for proposals in autumn this year to bring to life New European Bauhaus ideas in at least five places in EU Member States, through the use of EU funds at national and regional level.
The EC defines the New European Bauhaus as a creative initiative, breaking down boundaries between science and technology, art, culture and social inclusion, to allow design to find solutions for everyday problems. A dedicated website for the initiative has also been launched. On this website, all interested people can share examples of inspiring achievements for the New European Bauhaus, their ideas about how it should be shaped and how it should evolve, as well as their concerns and challenges. The EC sees this as the beginning of an innovative co-design process. Organisations that want to put more effort into their engagement in this process can become ‘Partners of the New European Bauhaus,' by responding to the call on the website. In the coming months, the Commission will award prizes to existing examples that represent the integration of the key values of the initiative. The next phase of the initiative will then be the ‘delivery' phase where five pilot projects will be set up to co-design new sustainable and inclusive solutions with style. The third phase is about ‘dissemination' and aims to spread the ideas and concepts defining the New European Bauhaus via new projects, networking and sharing of knowledge, in Europe and beyond.
For more information:
New European Bauhaus website & ‘New European Bauhaus explained'