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Alco-Industry

I. SUMMARY INFORMATION
Project
302757
Status
Submitted
Award category
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking
You want to submit
NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS: concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)
Project title
Alco-Industry
Full concept/idea title
Alco-Industry: re-thinking EU Bauhaus
Description

An industrial symbiosis is proposed in an enclave of the city of Alcoy where its local industry began and was forced to leave because it was not sustainable. In this way, the idea of local culture is reinforced through a series of ideas based on the new European way of building. Therefore, culture is promoted on two levels through architecture in order to escape from the homogenisation that the city suffers from along with other cities of similar characteristics.

What is the geographical scope of your concept/idea?
Local
Alcoy
Alicante
Does your concept/idea address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban
Does your concept/idea refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment ('hard investment')
Has your concept/idea benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No
Has your concept/idea won an EU prize?
No
How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes ?
Word of mouth (colleagues, friends …)
On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

A cultural project is proposed that can be exported to the different medium-sized cities where the same problem is encountered: the homogeneity that leads to social, economic and cultural decline. To this end, the European way of building, the EU Bauhaus, is reconsidered in order to establish the basic principles of this cultural architecture.

In the case of Alcoy, its culture was determined by the local industry, mainly textile, paper and food, which has been relegated to the suburbs of the city, leading to a cultural and economic loss of the city along with an architectural planning where the uses of the city are separated by sectors.

This was due to the lack of sustainability of the factories. Nowadays, many of these factories are abandoned or in poor condition.

Please indicate the main themes of your concept/idea with 5 key words
Carbon footprint
Circular economy
Local culture
Medium city
Industry
Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of environmental sustainability (including circularity) and how these would be met.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context

Industries benefit from each other through a flow of waste, water and energy. The programme is distributed according to these parameters, bringing industries together where symbiosis can be created. 

Thus, traditional industry is on the first floor, supplying value to the first floor, where industry 2.0 is located. For example, rainwater collected on the roof is used for the paper and wood industry. The waste from the paper and wood industry is burned as biofuel to produce heat. 

Therefore, in order to be able to access this model, it is necessary to study beforehand what the new industry can contribute to the whole and what it can receive from the rest.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context

Spatially it is organised in plan according to the potential symbiosis between industries and in section by flows of heat, waste, water, noise and its context. Cross views are generated between the technological HUBs, the green areas that connect the city and the traditional industry. The ground floor is intended for transport and logistics; the ground floor for industry facilities; the second and third floors for programme development; and finally the use of roofs for public space and renewable energy production technologies.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion (equal opportunities, public participation, citizen engagement, co-design, universal design, accessibility, affordability, etc.) and how these would be met.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context

The project is located in an enclave of the city where the historic centre ends and the university and the Eixample begin. The aim is to merge the university with the new industry, to make Alcoyans part of their local culture. The recent pedestrianisation of the centre requires a park and ride facility to support the university residence.

Please explain how these three dimensions would be combined in your concept/idea.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary

When spatiality, the circular economy and a local sense of belonging come together, a socially acceptable model of sustainable industry can be created.

In this way, all citizens are involved in the project so that they can inhabit it.

This model can be exported following the premises of low embedded and operational carbon emissions, i.e. under the use of sustainably and locally produced wood and through the use of renewable energies. Along with the symbiosis between industries, this can reinforce the idea of a European culture that not only favours local culture, but also creates a sense of belonging to society as a whole.

Thus, the project sows a series of ideas, and the people water it, so that anywhere in Europe you can sow the idea and create a totally different result under the same ideas.

Please highlight the innovative character of the concept/idea as compared to mainstream practices in the field of the concept/idea.

It proposes a model where industries can benefit from each other in order to be sustainable and recover their position in the city. The European Union has already earmarked 10 million euros for the regeneration of Alcoy by providing incentives for local industry. Currently, the City Council has devised a strategy to reinvent itself by seeking an industrial revolution 2.0 based on technology through the creation of technological HUBs that attract talent.

Please detail the general plans that you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea.

92% of the municipality is undeveloped land and a total of 60% is forest. It also has large areas that have been depopulated by fires. Wood is a sustainable material due to its production and its CO2 footprint. Its biggest problem is humidity due to the possible dilatations that this can cause, but Alicante is one of the best provinces in this aspect in which to build with wood. That is why it is proposed as part of the project a wood exploitation in the unpopulated areas of the municipality to make the project grow as wood is produced.

Imagine that your idea/concept is awarded in the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2022. What kind of initiatives would you take throughout the following year (June 2022- June 2023)

I would foster the idea of belonging to the European Union in different countries by promoting local projects on a smaller scale than Alco-industry, with the aim of de-homogenising medium-sized cities and preventing the homogenisation of larger cities. Meanwhile, in rural areas, I would provide ideas to maintain local culture in order to reinforce the idea of European culture through the European way of building.

III. UPLOAD PICTURES
IV. VALIDATION
By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes
By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2022 in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes
By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the project, concept, idea, and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes
By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform https://prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu/ and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their ideas, concepts, projects, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted idea, project, concept is found to infringe third parties rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

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