LIFE Bauhausing Europe

Climate change and the green transition are global challenges that require action to be taken at the local level. The New European Bauhaus (NEB) promotes a place-based approach and supports small-scale initiatives by individuals, neighbourhoods and communities. At the same time, the functional scale of neighbourhoods has been demonstrated as highly efficient in the use of resources whenever they guarantee a spatial distribution of uses, infrastructures and urban functions and a rational building density.

Unfortunately, the functioning at such scale is not always possible due to different degradation processes and urban challenges that lead to the absence of public facilities and services, progressive disappearance of the local commerce, abandonment or lack of care of green areas, etc. This situation also generates lack of sense of community and individualistic attitudes that increase the environmental impact on the use of resources and reduce the awareness on the power of collective action to achieve the green transition and cope with climate change hazards.

The NEB combines the multilevel, participatory, and transdisciplinary approach to guide the transformation path towards more sustainable, aesthetic and inclusive communities. 

LIFEBauhausingEurope aims to start a transformation process in 5 different European neighbourhoods, following the principles of the NEB, and demonstrating that this approach is suitable for the transformation of any territory no matter its size, rural or urban character, urban challenges or degradation processes undergone. This urban transformation will pursue the generation of more sustainable, beautiful, and circular territories co-governed by their inhabitants. 

LIFE Bauhausing Europe will target public buildings and spaces and local communities from four different Member States: Croatia, Hungary, Latvia and Spain.

In order to achieve the general goal of the project, the following Specific Objectives (SO) have been defined:

SO 1. Achieving an effective involvement of the partners for a high-quality implementation of the project, with proper management and continuous monitoring and reporting.
SO 2. Bringing in sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion to the transformation of existing buildings. 
SO 3. Improving the urban metabolism at neighbourhood level.
SO 4. Strengthening community and the sense of belonging in targeted neighbourhoods
SO 5. Assessment of the application of the NEB approach and project impacts.
SO 6. Awareness-raising and promotion of the NEB approach at a technical and non-technical level.
SO 7. Transferring and replication to EU stakeholders

Location of Project Actions

LIFE Bauhausing Europe will be targeting public buildings and spaces and local communities from 4 different Member States: Croatia, Hungary, Latvia and Spain. Targeted municipalities and public buildings:

Cartagena (ES) – neighbourhood association building
Blanca (ES) – Centro IDOL
Ādaži (LV) – office building
Erzsébetváros / Budapest (HU) – Bethlen Theatre
Varaždin (HR) – former military complex

Reimagination of the Bethlen Theatre in Erzsébetváros, Budapest (Hungary)

The Bethlen Theatre is situated in the heart of Csikágó, a neighbourhood of Erzsébetváros district. It is surrounded by apartment blocks of old buildings, typically from the beginning of the 20th century. It was built in 1929 as part of a huge apartment house, originally including a 600-seat cabaret-theatre and 110 flats. During the decades, it was used alternately as a theatre or cinema. Nowadays, the whole building is owned and managed by the municipality. The old residential building was not renovated from the point of view of energy efficiency, and it is very inefficient. The theatre was designed by Dezso Reiner in an eclectic style. It is a typical old-style corner building, as there are many in the downtown of Budapest. Inside the theatre, the stage (on the ground floor) is accessible for disabled people, but there is no accessibility to the restroom. The theatre, currently run by a NGO, is used by the local community, and it also organizes performances outside in the courtyards of residential buildings. It is the only cultural venue in the area; thus, it has the capacity to act on a local level more.
It also hosts many schools’ performances, as it works together with local educational institutions.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Life programme under grant agreement no 101113886. The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the BauhausingEurope project and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.