European Commission announced the New European Bauhaus prize winners

The awards recognized the variety of good practices and innovations found on the continent

The wait is over now that the European Commission awarded the New European Bauhaus Prizes at a special ceremony in Brussels on 16 September. Twenty winners from across the continent received solid recognition for their innovative ideas regarding the combination of the principles of sustainability, inclusivity and aesthetics.

The event, which was broadcasted online, counted with the high-level presence of none other than the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira and the Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel.

60 projects were nominated as finalists

After a long summer of narrowing down the more than 2000 proposals received by the juries, we now have 20 winners (out of 60 shortlisted), divided into 2 streams – each consisting of 10 categories.

The winners of the 'New European Bauhaus Awards' per category are:

• ERDEN PURE WALLS (Austria) in the category 'Techniques, materials and processes for construction and design';

• GARDENS IN THE AIR (Spain) in the category 'Buildings renovated in a spirit of circularity';
• ROSANA (Germany) in the category 'Solutions for the co-evolution of built environment and nature';
• LA FÁBRIKA DE TODA LA VIDA (Spain) in the category 'Regenerated urban and rural spaces';
• AYR SUSTAINABILITY PLATFORM (Portugal) in the category 'Products and life style';
• XIFRÉ'S ROOFTOP: 'FLOATING' WILD GARDEN (Spain) in the category 'Preserved and transformed cultural heritage';
• ULIA GARDEN (Spain) in the category 'Reinvented places to meet and share';
• ESSERI URBANI (Italy) in the category 'Mobilisation of culture, arts and communities';
• APROP CIUTAT VELLA (Spain) in the category 'Modular, adaptable and mobile living solutions';
• DEGREE IN DESIGN. UNIVERSIDAD DE NAVARRA (Spain) in the category 'Interdisciplinary education models'.

The winners of the 'New European Bauhaus Rising Stars' are:

• INHABITING AN ENCLOSED LANDSCAPE (Spain) in the category 'Techniques, materials and processes for construction and design';
• ZERO WASTE HOUSE (Slovenia) in the category 'Buildings renovated in a spirit of circularity';
• NEST (Spain) in the category 'Solutions for the co-evolution of built environment and nature';
• PORTO DI MARE ECO-DISTRICT (Italy) in the category 'Regenerated urban and rural spaces';
• MATERIEUNITE (Italy) in the category 'Products and lifestyle';
• RETROFITTING THE UNESCO SITE OF IVREA (Italy) in the category 'Preserved and transformed cultural heritage';
• SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION IN POST-EMERGENCY (Italy) in the category 'Reinvented places to meet and share';
• SPACES TO RECONNECT CITIZENS WITH CITIES (Spain) in the category 'Mobilisation of culture, arts and communities';
• HOMELESS HOUSING (Denmark) in the category Modular, adaptable and mobile living solutions';
• KLASSE KLIMA (Germany) in the category interdisciplinary education models'.

As is clearly visible, Southern European countries were the big winners. This is perhaps to be expected, as many would argue that countries, such as Italy and Spain have long traditions in arts and design.

What is next for the New European Bauhaus?

The winners of each category will receive €30,000. For the 'New European Bauhaus Rising Stars' 10 prizes of €15,000 each are awarded to support concepts and ideas developed by young talents under 30 years of age.

President Ursula von der Leyen had this to say on the occasion: "These projects give a lot of hope for our fight against climate change and the European Green Deal. The nominees and winners of the New European Bauhaus Prize show that change is not only possible, but already happening all over our European Union, in all sectors of our economy.

I am delighted to see how the New European Bauhaus initiative is growing with so many contributions, talents, skills, innovation and diversity from all over Europe. The New European Bauhaus combines the big vision of the European Green Deal with tangible change on the ground to improve our daily life."

The award ceremony was a culmination of a stage but not an end. In fact, the NEB initiative received a whole new impetus, as we reported yesterday about the European Commission’s new actions and funding. These are sure to spur on a new cycle of creative thinking and activities and spark a fresh buzz around the movement.