EAACA welcomes and supports European Bauhaus Initiative

In December, the Commission also hosted a first event on the New European Bauhaus, in collaboration with the city of Seville, Spain, and the Joint Research Centre of the Commission. The event, called “Putting the new Bauhaus to work for the recovery: Smart investing in Europe’s cities”, discussed how the initiative can inspire the thinking of local governments towards more sustainable urban development during the recovery efforts.

Interested stakeholders can find more insights on the initiative on its new website. It features an invitation to interested construction professionals, organisations and networks to organise conversations around the New European Bauhaus concept, as well as a call to become partner of the initiative. Further, it includes an online tool to collect inputs such as examples, case studies and ideas for design and actions, under which the Commission invites artists, scientists, designers, architects, and others to share their thoughts as to how sustainable design can be used to improve Europeans’ quality of life. A video of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is posted on the website, in which she invites everyone to contribute to the co-creation process, “from professional architects to citizens initiatives, from CEOs of ig companies to the innovative start-ups”.

Ms von der Leyen also presents information in the video regarding the next steps of the initiative. This includes that the Commission plans to recognize sustainable design excellence with the New European Bauhaus prize, which it attempts to launch this spring. Also, the recently launched “co-design phase” shall lead to the opening of calls for proposals in autumn this year, where in at least five European member states, new Bauhaus design projects shall be realised. These projects will start putting the ideas – on topics such as natural building materials and new mobility solutions aimed at tackling climate change – into actual buildings. After the first five pilot projects have been realised, the ideas and concepts shall be spread and further projects shall follow across Europe.

As representatives of the AAC industry, EAACA, the European Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Association, welcomes the new initiative. EAACA also aims at getting involved in the project and will gladly support the Commission with its ideas and expertise in order to create a new, more sustainable building design for the future.

In order to achieve this vision, EAACA members are making significant contributions to global energy efficiency. The association is working on continuously improving the sustainability performance of AAC, both for residential and non-residential projects, from single family dwellings towards multi-family housing throughout their entire life cycle. Through innovative AAC solutions, EAACA is driving the transition towards a low-carbon construction sector. With the highest degree of digitization in the industry, one is able to reduce costs and waste in the construction industry. Sustainability is not just a short-lived trend – it represents the core of EAACA´s corporate values ​​and daily activities. In close collaboration with its members, EAACA will be able to make a strong contribution towards this Bauhaus initiative.