Six countries from Southern Europe come together in a conversation on New European Bauhaus

Reflecting and proposing future ways of life that can respond to the European Green Deal

through sustainable, inclusive and beautiful solutions is the central challenge of the “New

European Bauhaus”. Recognizing the common conditions - geographic and climatic - of

Southern European countries and their cultural legacy, six faculties of architecture from six

countries - Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Croatia - are joining forces to create a

pan-European platform for meetings and discussion — NEB goes South —, with the ability to

broaden and enhance international debate on the co-design of sustainable solutions while

bringing together people from different backgrounds. Architects, designers, engineers,

geographers, sociologists, and other specialists will seek to understand and map the Southern

European specificities, to reflect and propose more tailored responses.

More than a century after the “first” Bauhaus, the President of the European Commission,

Ursula von der Leyen, has announced the project that will start a new sustainable cultural

movement, as part of the Next Generation EU recovery package, with a EUR 750 billion

budget. The goal is to build a more sustainable, aesthetic and inclusive Europe, characterized

by the accessibility of public spaces, protection of biodiversity, with enriching experiences,

inspired by creativity, art and culture.

That is the context in which NEB goes South is created, a collaboration between the Faculty of

Architecture of the University of Porto, the Valencia School of Architecture, the Toulouse School

of Architecture, the Department of Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the University of

Bologna, the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Zagreb, and the School of Architecture

of the National Technical University Athens. The initiative seeks to co-design the vision and

response to the New European Bauhaus challenges from the perspective and within the unique

conditions of Southern Europe.

With the objective of promoting a broader international debate, the NEB goes South is

meant to raise awareness among communities and citizens, considering the key role played

by the higher education and research institutions. It therefore merges perspectives and

contributions on Southern Europe from students, architects, designers, engineers,

geographers, sociologists and other scientists and artists.

Southern European countries deal with, among other issues, increased signs of extreme

climate events, rising temperatures, heat islands, desertification and drought. At the same

time, they also share rich histories and an unmatched cultural heritage. Cooperation

between these regions can strengthen the capacity to address common threats and

develop sustainable, accessible, inclusive and aesthetically appropriate solutions.

At a time when the European Union is gathering the contributions of several partner

projects, NEB Goes South will be officially presented on Monday, 7 June 7 2021, at 9

am (Lisbon time) in an online event with the participation of European Commissioner Elisa

Ferreira, member of the European Commission's Advisory Board I.D.E.A on Green Deal

and New European Bauhaus, Ruth Reichstein, and the Portuguese Minister of Science,

Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor.

The event programme includes two talks and two roundtable discussions. The talks will be

given by Matti Kuittinen, Professor and Senior Specialist at the Ministry of the

Environment of Finland, who will discuss the co-design experience of the Nordic countries,

integrated into the New European Bauhaus; and architect and curator António Choupina,

on the subject of “Álvaro Siza on Bauhaus”, a reflection on the impact of Bauhaus on the

School of Porto, with the participation of Kristin Feireiss from the exhibition “Siza – Unseen

& Unknown”, arranged in celebration of 100 years of Bauhaus and staged in 2019 at the

Tchoban Foundation, Berlin, and in 2021 at the Marques da Silva Foundation, Porto.

The two roundtable discussions, “Learning from Bauhaus” and “Bauhaus goes South” –

involve six specialists and six students from the six Universities and will be moderated by

Fátima Vieira, Vice-Rector of the University of Porto, and José Pedro Sousa, architect,

professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Porto and Member of the “Highlevel

roundtable” of the New European Bauhaus.

Participation is free, with prior registration at: https://www.eventbrite.pt/e/kick-off-neb-goessouth-

registration-157648921167

Live streaming, which does not require prior registration, is available through the U.Porto

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReV4yW_jQwM

Until February 2022 each of the six universities will be responsible for organising a debate

on a specific topic, according to the following provisional timeline:

_ ‘designing with the landscape’, Athens, July 2021

_ ‘the question of housing’, Porto, September 2021

_ ‘framing collectivity’, Zagreb, October 2021

_ ‘the maieutics of the city’, Bologna, November 2021

_ ‘kilometre zero architecture’, Valencia, December 2021

_ ‘geo-biosource architecture’, Toulouse, January 2022

At the end of each event a summary of the debate will be produced and results, guidelines,

and recommendations shared, which can be used to adapt learning programmes and thus

contribute to the objectives of the New European Bauhaus Project.

In addition, a theoretical and practical review is expected in February of 2022, achieved

through “blended intensive programmes” where solutions that benefit people and society

can be tested.

The full programme and other information can be found at: http://www.neb-goes-south.eu/