Two HeritACT partners among the winners of the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and the University College Dublin are among the awardees for their projects Tova and Ripple, respectively, that aimed to reconnect with nature, shape a circular industrial ecosystem and support life-cycle thinking.
The New European Bauhaus initiative serves as a creative and interdisciplinary platform that connects the European Green Deal with living spaces and experiences. Last summer, the programme celebrated its ceremony awards in Brussels to acknowledge and reward existing projects that foster sustainable solutions, inclusivity and aesthetic appeal and enrich people’s daily lives with high-quality experiences.
Regarding IAAC, they presented their project TOVA, Spain’s first 3D printed building prototype using earth, built with a Crane WASP, a modular 3D printing system. The result was chosen as one of 15 Winners of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Prizes 2023 in the “Shaping a Circular Industrial Ecosystem and Supporting Life-Cycle Thinking” category and one of the 5 projects that won in the strand “Champions”.
TOVA was the result of work done by students and professionals from the Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture of the Academic Year 2021-2022 to find new ways of facing the social and environmental challenges of the future. The building has been printed using 100% local materials (sourced within a 50-meter radius) and local labor, zero waste and a close to virtually zero carbon emission footprint. The manufacturing system can be used anywhere in the world and can help to housing emergencies.
On the other hand, the community project Ripple, developed by University College of Dublin and the Ballina Green Towns initiative, created a climate-friendly amenity which includes a haven for wildlife, a tree nursery for local oaks, a mini orchard of heritage apple trees,vegetable beds and a nature-based play area. Ripple worked with Greenhills Estate in Ballina, to understand, map and record their experience, perspectives, and knowledge about neighborhood green spaces in relation to water and climate change. Neighbors wanted this Paradise Garden to be developed in a neglected part of the estate which has the potential to become a haven for wildlife, nature and the residents.
The result became Ireland’s first win in the New European Bauhaus Award, in the Reconnecting with Nature Champion Category, and showed the importance of community empowerment, with residents of the 200-house estate making the decisions about how to develop the amenity.
Ballina aims to be Ireland’s greenest town and to have a number of plans such as wind turbines in the river Moy and a “10-minute town”. With this community project, residents felt empowered to build a sustainable future and reinforced their community spirit.
References:
https://iaac.net/tova-winner-of-the-new-european-bauhaus-awards/
