New European Bauhaus (NEB)
About New European Bauhaus
I would like to explain something about the project that is being developed for Izyum. But for a better understanding, we need to start with the general processes that are taking place before our eyes.
There is a war going on between two opposing worldviews – democratic and totalitarian. Who will win? The democratic world, for which the highest value is the individual and his or her well- being, is opposed to countries that look to the past and idealise totalitarianism with its destructive policies towards the creative individual. The war that is currently taking place on the territory of Ukraine is about this. And we cannot lose in this battle, because losing will mean years and decades of regression, and possibly the death of the entire modern European civilisation, because humanity has little time left to solve such crucial problems as global warming and its consequences, wars and poverty for the majority of the world’s population.
Europe now has sufficient resources to overcome the challenges of climate change, sustainable development and improved living, working and communication conditions. The goal of the European Green Deal programme, which was proposed in 2020, is not only to reduce carbon emissions on the continent, but also to gradually shift from energy imports to energy production using renewable resources, which should create millions of new jobs. And this is primarily about welfare and quality of life.
In 2020, Ursula von der Leyen, then the new President of the European Commission, emphasised that the EU had all the capabilities to do so. Most likely, it still does, because no one has put this green energy programme on the back burner, even despite the war in Ukraine. It exists and is being gradually implemented, even in the face of new challenges.
What is green energy? A simple explanation is that it is the use of renewable natural resources to produce electricity and heat without unnecessary carbon emissions. For example, coal, oil and gas are non-renewable resources because their reserves are limited. In addition, their use increases CO2 emissions and, as a result, worsens the state of the environment. In contrast, the sun, water, wind and biological waste can be used continuously and create a closed loop, both at the industrial level and at the level of individual consumers. This energy has almost no harmful effects, which is why it is called “green”.
Ukraine, which seeks to integrate into European energy systems and get rid of its dependence on the gas and oil “branches”, does not stand aside from these processes. In partnership with the European Commission, the Ukrainian direction is presented by RoZkvit, ReThink, the Covenant of Mayors East initiative, and the Union of European Architects. By the way, Izyum has already signed the Covenant of Mayors. And this is a very good sign.
“The European Green Deal is not just about changing the climate for the better and introducing new technologies and a closed resource cycle. It is also a long-term project that aims to create new ideas for people about how to live, how to communicate and how to ultimately achieve stability and sustainable development. According to Ursula von der Leyen, this is not just an environmental and economic project: it is a cultural programme for the whole of Europe. All systemic changes will have their own attractive aesthetics to ensure that the style is in line with the principles of sustainable development. That is why, when she took office as President of the European Commission, she presented the project of the New European Bauhaus – a co-creation space where architects, artists, engineers and designers work together to create a new environment for people to live and communicate. This project is integrated into the European Green Deal and is part of it. The most important task of this project is to involve local communities in the implementation of ideas. Why is it so important? Everyone can see how society in our country (and not only) communicates. Constant quarrels, categorical rejection of even reasoned statements and ideas. People have lost the ability to communicate fruitfully with each other when an important decision is preceded by discussion.
The previous years, first of the Soviet authorities and then of their followers, sowed enmity and distrust between people and did not help to unite them at all. Therefore, one of the most important aspects of the European pilot projects and our Izyum Recovery project is the involvement of the community and its direct participation in solving important problems to improve their living conditions. This is exactly what European partners emphasise when they offer support, first and foremost, to local communities. And local communities are residents of individual villages, towns, and neighbourhoods in cities and towns.
Why did the name “New European Bauhaus” (NEB) come about?
At one time, fostering community through art was the main idea of the Bauhaus school, which was created in the 1920s in the German city of Dessau by the prominent architect Walter Groppius. The ideas of this school were first picked up and spread in Europe, and then migrated to America. If you take an interest in the architectural projects, industrial design, and works of art of the Bauhaus school, you will be most impressed by their modern look. And in the 20s of the last century, the emergence of such art was a real revolution, because before that, art and architecture took into account the needs of individual customers, not the new demands of society as a whole. What was the appeal of the ideas of the Bauhaus Dessau school? Everything created there was made for people, not elites. The housing offered was simple but comfortable, and most importantly, mass-produced, the design was also understandable to most users, and it also involved artistic creativity. It was there that the ideas of democracy, i.e. respect for the needs of each person, were introduced as a new aesthetic of life. The ideas of the Bauhaus School are still relevant today. Therefore, it is logical that the new project was named “New European Bauhaus” because the goal remains to create an environmentally friendly, aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, inexpensive, and socially comfortable space for people. From now on, the abbreviation NEB will be used in the text.
In her keynote speech, Ursula von der Leyen emphasised that this programme is an opportunity to launch changes based on the plan of smart people, not as a result of a disaster or dictates of other people in the world. In order to become stronger, we need to create opportunities for the world of the future, not be hostage to unforeseen circumstances. When she presented the NEB project, the world was rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has reminded us of many things we took for granted, including the European Union’s single market and interconnected economies, as a huge opportunity to implement and create the most ambitious programmes of our time.
Even now, when Europeans have barely recovered from Covid and are facing a new and greater challenge – the biggest war since the Second World War – the EU has proved to be able to withstand it. We can see this in the unprecedented assistance provided to our refugees abroad, to public sector workers in Ukraine, and most importantly to our Armed Forces. That is why grants are now being offered for Ukraine’s recovery projects related to the implementation of the European Green Deal. Our company Portal-21 LLC received such a grant to create a project for the adaptation of a separate residential neighbourhood in Izyum, the city of Kharkiv region, which has suffered the most from Russian aggression and occupation.
The team of our company is from Kharkiv. Therefore, this project is very close to us, and everything that is happening in Izyum and Kharkiv is painful.
The speech in Brussels in 2020 by the new president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was entitled “Build a world you want to live in.” Recent events – Covid-19 and Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine (and in fact, against all civilized humanity) have shown him that it needs significant changes, because our planet is too fragile.
Therefore, Europe has the goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. It is realistic to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. This goal is ambitious, achievable and economically beneficial. Europe has done a lot in this direction in the last four years.
And we need to join the pan-European processes as soon as possible, because the one who “jumps” into this train sooner will get there sooner. The role of the community in these projects is one of the most important, because the future of the residents, their quality of life and fruitful communication will depend on the implementation of the projects. We ourselves must build the world in which we want to live, and not give it to thieves and the indifferent. It will no longer be possible to be an observer.
