A dialogue between the Presidents of the UIA and ACE
The NEBinar Talks series showcases various aspects of the New European Bauhaus as an active concept for 21st-century architecture. The invited speakers, practising architects, lecturers, researchers, as well as other cultural professionals will ponder the application of the New European Bauhaus principles underlined by the motto “Beautiful, Sustainable, Together.”
The focus is on developing a better understanding of education, qualification and practice in architecture and the related fields of urbanism, planning, landscape architecture, interior architecture, spatial arts, crafts and other disciplines in the built environment faced with the challenges of the European Green transformation envisaged as a cultural movement.
The aim of the programme is to disseminate knowledge about NEB to a wide audience, especially young architects. The NEBinar Talks are recorded and made available to all on the ACE YouTube channel. The NEBinar initiative is a collaborative project led by the Technical University of Wrocław under the patronage of the Architects’ Council of Europe.
NEBinar Talks #1 A dialogue between the Presidents of the UIA and ACE
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness within the European political realm of the positive contribution a high-quality built environment can make to the common good. The 2018 Davos Declaration and the New European Bauhaus have put the spotlight on the concept of Baukultur.
What are the tasks facing ACE and the UIA in unifying this dialogue towards a shared culture of high-quality built environments in Europe?
What social values should we pay attention to in the debate on the New European Bauhaus at the EU Member State level?
In this first NEBinar Talk episode, ACE President, Ruth Schagemann and UIA President Regina Gonthier shared their vision on the role of high-quality architecture in addressing climate change, the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence, education and upskilling as well as final reflections on legislation.
The conversation was moderated by Arch. Borys Czarakcziew, ACE and Dr Waclaw Szarejko, Faculty of Architecture, Wrocław University of Technology.
“Architects are challenged to design places capable of generating a better and more friendly society as well as buildings that contribute to the well-being of the people that use them and respond to environmental changes challenges” stated Regina Gonthier, UIA President.
“Profession shall be prepared for the digital change. The design is going to make the change in the future. Final decision in which direction in which design will go shall be done by the architects, it’s also about democracy, big data, ownership of intellectual properties. Important topics in which architects need to be involved” highlighted Ruth Schagemann, ACE President.
Presidents’ messages for 2024
“Let’s come back to our origins and reflect on what we discovered as the speciality of a place -and reflect our design of what exists in the surroundings. Let’s go back to our roots and reflect on what we have discovered to be special about a place – and reflect our understanding of what exists in the environment.” Ruth Schagemann, ACE President.
“Open our vision and learn to see things through different angles” Regina Gonthier, UIA President.
Explore more on the topic with the ACE – UIA joint publication: ‘High-quality Architecture and Built Environment: a Political Goal’.
On the occasion of a workshop organised as part of the 2023 UIA World Congress of Architects, the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) and the Region I of the International Union of Architects (UIA Region I) released a joint publication entitled ‘High-Quality Architecture and Built Environment: A Political Goal’.
This publication puts the spotlight on recent policy initiatives, at EU and national levels, supporting a high-quality architecture and built environment, as well as Baukultur. It also presents ACE and UIA reference documents – policy positions, publications, guidelines – that call for a comprehensive and culture-centred approach to the built environment.