European Commission launches first phase of New Bauhaus Movement
The European Commission has launched the first phase of its initiative, the New Bauhaus Movement, in order to help move its partner countries towards circular economies.
Announced 18 January 2021, the design phase includes a call for proposals for designs that will launch this fall in at least five of the European Union’s 27 member states. The goal of the New European Bauhaus is to apply interdisciplinary research and thinking to find solutions for everyday problems, particularly climate change, sustainability and economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. Its name, and multidisciplinary approach, reference Germany’s Bauhaus school during the interwar years.
“The New European Bauhaus is about how we want to live together after the pandemic while respecting the planet and protecting our environment,” said European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen. “There are so many great ideas out there. Let’s bring them together.”
The EC is the executive branch of the European Union (EU), and von der Leyen first announced The New Bauhaus Movement in her 2020 State of the Union address in September 2020. During that speech, she also noted the importance of sustainability and lower emissions as part of the European Green Deal, in order to make Europe climate neutral in 2050.
“Our current levels of consumption of raw materials, energy, water, food and land use are not sustainable,” she said. “We need to change how we treat nature, how we produce and consume, live and work, eat and heat, travel and transport.”
For the design phase of the New Bauhaus Movement, von der Leyen is calling for action and asks for everyone to become involved, from architects and students to CEOs of major companies. She also advocates for an inclusive, collective process that breaks down barriers between science, art and technology.
Despite these details, much is still undecided in the project, such as its mission and focus: “In the coming months, we want to explore together what exactly the main focus of the New European Bauhaus should be,” von der Leyen added.
Its main task, however, will be “to put design at the service of climate solutions”.
Mariya Gabriel – EC Commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth – also spoke about the New Bauhaus Movement. She said that ideas from the initiative will mostly be applied to neighbourhoods, heritage and public spaces. Its work will also be based on three concepts: durability, inclusion and aesthetic.
After the design phase begins later this fall, the next phases will be delivery and dissemination. Five pilot projects, which will be designed around sustainability, are expected to be set up afterwards.
