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Design for an architectural rug (2022)

I. SUMMARY INFORMATION
Project
304313
Status
Submitted
Award category
Reconnecting with nature
You want to submit
NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS: existing completed examples
Project title
Design for an architectural rug (2022)
Full project title
Utilizing the weaving process as inspiration to reconnect the built environment, nature and people.
Description

My proposal is a kiosk made out of reused plattenbau panels whose form is inspired by the weaving process of Annie Albers. The design aims to interlace the natural landscape with the built environment until they are both speaking the same language in an almost rhythmic composition mimicking the weaving process that unifies separate components. The project aims to improve our relationship with nature by bringing the community of Dessau, Germany closer to their natural surroundings. 

What was the geographical scope of your project?
Cross-border/international
Germany
Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban
Does your project 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 project benefited from EU programmes or funds?
No
Has your project won an EU prize?
No
Your project is fully completed?
Yes
When was your project implemented?
How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes ?
Social media
On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
Please provide a summary of your project

Biophilia, a concept coined by Edwards O. Wilson, describes humans' inherent need and attraction to nature. Nature is an indispensable ingredient to the human environment, and we can see this need being evoked through various components that make up our social structure and the organization of our societies. Human divergence from nature happened as technologies evolved and allowed us to build enclosed, sterile spaces, along with cars that sheltered us from the wilderness.
Therefore, the question is: how do we enhance our relationship to nature? 
Well, we design with it instead of against it. 

The New Bauhaus Competition project started by looking at Annie Albers, an influential textile artist from the Bauhaus, who redefined the field of weaving by thinking of the structural and spatial defining capabilities of thread when creating her weaves. Hence, her work encouraged me to imagine the possibilities of weaving beyond the pictorial and textile dimensions. My proposal is a kiosk that utilizes reused concrete (plattenbau panels) and uses the material in a way that mimics the grace and elegance in which a weaver interlaces the weft threads between the warp threads creating a systematic and almost rhythmic composition that unifies separate components. 
In the case of the project, I took inspiration from the weaving process to interlace the natural landscape with the built environment until they were both speaking the same language. The project aims to create and improve our relationship with nature by bringing the community of Dessau, Germany, closer to their natural surroundings, hopefully changing their perspective towards nature and fostering environmental education to gain support for conservation efforts. 

The concrete reuse concept follows the action of shredding fabric to create concrete slivers that can conform to the surrounding conditions on the red thread when placed in different configurations.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words
Nature
Reuse
Community
Education
Connection
Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability (including circularity) and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

The key objectives of my project were:
 1) to design a structure using reused materials,  in this case, using plattembau panels from demolished buildings in Dessau, Germany. Hence, contributing to a circular economy by preventing these materials from going into landfills. 

2) connecting people with nature, in this case, the kiosk and the surrounding landscape, follows the same weaving and shredding logic, making it easier for people disinterested in nature to discern natural processes and phenomena just by paying attention to the hardscape. 

3) Facilitate social inclusion; in this case, The concrete slivers that make up the logic of the kiosk can conform to the surrounding conditions along the red thread when placed in different configurations, thus facilitating access to other areas in Dessau and promoting social inclusion.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

The key objective of my project under this dimension was to create a fun and engaging space that would appeal to people of all ages so that everyone could enjoy the benefits that nature has to offer in terms of health and wellbeing and the benefits that come from taking care of our natural resources. In the case of my project, it is striking to see a structure that tries to blend in with nature and reuses plattenbau panels in such an honest and unapologetic way. 
 

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

The key objective of my project in terms of inclusion is:
 1) to create equal opportunities for engagement with nature, in the case of the project, having various interventions along the red thread should serve different areas with varying demographics who will add their meaning and programmatic purpose to their closest intervention.
 2) to create a low-cost structure, in the case of this project, the original plattenbau panels should be reused or resized into narrower panels without any additional intervention. Not needing additional beautification methods will lower construction costs and contribute to sustainability. 

Please explain how these three dimensions have been combined in your project.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary

The sustainability, the experiential, and the inclusivity dimensions have been combined in my project by following a systematic approach to problem-solving in architecture to evaluate how my design related to broader biospheric sustainability, just as represented in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Each dimension, as seen above, was carefully thought out concerning their systemic connections to the others.
 

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

My project will hopefully impact the way people feel about nature and spark intellectual curiosity in learning more about our natural world. 

Please explain how citizens and civil society were involved in the in the design and/or implementation of the project.
Please also explain the benefits that derived from their involvement.

My intervention did not involve physical transformations where the public was involved in the construction or design of the kiosk. However, I envision the community helping put together the concrete slivers in various configurations depending on their specific needs and wants. Thus, giving their unique meaning to the structure. 
 

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addressed by providing local solutions

There are various global challenges targeted with my project, as highlighted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals list. Some of these are: 
Goal number 3 is "good health and wellbeing"; Goal 9 is "industry, innovation, and infrastructure"; Goal 11 is "sustainable cities and communities";  Goal 12, "responsible consumption and production"; and Goal 15, "life on land." 
 

Please highlight the innovative character of the project as compared to mainstream practices in the field of the project.

The project's innovative character lies in its honest use of material and architecture's ability to serve as a platform that tackles larger contemporary issues such as climate change while giving more than it takes from its community and surroundings.
 

Please explain to the potential of transferring the projects’ results or learnings to other interested parties and contexts.
Please provide clear documentation, communication of methodology and principles in this context.

The project could be translated to other contexts; however, using local materials such as plattenbau panels only makes sense in Germany, where these buildings are located. If the project was to change contexts, local materials would have to be used so that the embodied carbon remains the same. Although, changing materials would undoubtedly change the character of the project. 
 

Is an evaluation report or any relevant documentation available?
No
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload it or write it below
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 project 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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