Crises, whether they are wars or pandemics, always stoke the imagination of the public. It is up to us to ensure that the ideas that emerge are not populist, but rather holistic, pragmatic, and democratic. Now is the time to put forward-thinking ideas into action that could lead us to a digital, democratic, and carbon-free future. Digitization and the green transition are two of the most pressing issues of our time, and they can only be addressed through interdisciplinary collaboration between art, design, and science.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, stated in her State of the Union address that the climate transition requires "its own distinctive aesthetic," promising to establish a new European Bauhaus. Architects, artists, students, engineers, and designers collaborate to'match style with sustainability' in this co-creation space. But, most importantly, it's a place where we can rethink the present, reflect on its complexities, and develop a more humane and innovative capacity to address the world's most pressing issues.
The Bauhaus school, which flourished at the height of the modernist era in the 1920s and 1930s, served as the foundation for a plethora of philosophical models, holistic practices, and physical manifestations of the concept of "sustainability."
The science of ecology and design merged with the Bauhaus movement, laying the groundwork for modernist architecture; Bauhaus-minded architects began to think ecologically, while some ecologists lent their ideas to design. There's a lot to be learned from these historical events.
However, there are two areas where they can be improved.
First and foremost, we must work to ensure that citizens, not just scientists and designers, are invited to today's table of sustainable innovation. Second, rather than being conceived as a single geographical outpost, the new Bauhaus must be conceived as an interconnected network of regional hubs as a truly European project. More connections to industry, academia, civil society, urban entrepreneurship, and the arts could be built through these hubs.
Read the full pitch "A European New Bauhaus For The Green And Digital Age: A Network Of Regional Hubs" by clicking here!
