Briefing

In October 2020, Ursula Von der Leyen announced the New European Bauhaus initiative [1]. Everyone got really excited. However, a year later, the initiative seems to be still relatively undefined for “us” designers and also for “us” as citizens, despite the still ongoing interest. Hence the current state of the New European Bauhaus seems to be a bit like teenage sex [2]: everyone talks about it, nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so everyone claims they are soon on it as well :)

In this course, you are asked to find out about the current state of the New European Bauhaus, explore what it could be, and engage with the central question of the initiative: How do we want to live in the future? It is up to you to come up with a project that innovates, speculates, or criticizes the future of our living spaces. For example by analyzing and improving existing objects/products/tools/services, by showcasing future scenarios of “more beautiful, sustainable and inclusive forms of living together” [3], or by inspiring debate about their human consequences – social, cultural, and ethical implications of living spaces, both positive and negative.