Speech by President von der Leyen at Building Green Copenhagen

Hello, Building Green!

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk to you about the New European Bauhaus.

When Walter Gropius set up the original Bauhaus school in 1919, his goal was - and I quote - “to create a new guild of craftsmen, without the barrier between craftsman and artist.”

When we launched the New European Bauhaus, one hundred years later, we knew we could aim even higher. Because a new generation of architects, designers and engineers already existed. It's you - the Building Green community - and thousands of others like you who are reinventing our way of building and living.

Back in 1919, the Bauhaus movement brought together form and function, and explored new methods and new materials such as steel and concrete. Today, the new challenge of construction is sustainability. And you know this better than anyone else. You are rediscovering natural materials such as timber and bamboo - using them to build entire hotels or even skyscrapers. You are turning buildings from one of the biggest sources of emissions into carbon sinks. You have come up with modular construction systems that are cheaper than concrete, and which reduce a building's carbon footprint by two thirds. Designers are successfully experimenting with fabrics and mushrooms to replace CO2- and water-intensive leather production. This is amazing.

Your work brings together the three principles that we have put at the heart of the New European Bauhaus. Sustainability, because we all want to protect the future of our planet. Aesthetics, because our soul needs beauty as well as functionality. And inclusion, because a good life must be accessible and affordable to everyone. It is with these principles in mind that we have launched the New European Bauhaus.

We created it because we wanted to add a powerful cultural and artistic dimension to our European Green Deal. To make it tangible for people in their daily lives. What is functional will convince over time. What is beautiful can reach hearts in a second. And time is the resource we lack the most, faced with the crisis of climate change.

Worldwide, buildings account for more than 40 per cent of our emissions. Over half of our waste comes from construction and demolition. So it is clear that to reach our goal of climate neutrality by 2050, we must change the way we build and renovate. My Commission's approach could have been to just set targets, rules and standards to implement the European Green Deal. But we knew that this wouldn't be enough.

One year ago we started asking ourselves: What is holding people back today from doing the right thing for the planet and future generations? At that stage, we didn't have many answers. But we knew that people like you, all around Europe and the world, were already exploring new solutions. And defining the new aesthetics of sustainability. This is when the concept of the New European Bauhaus came into play. A movement to unite like-minded people, to generate new collaborations and new ideas, to bring to a wider public the many wonderful things being done by pioneers like you. To give a face to the growing desire for change. To accelerate the transition to a more sustainable way of living and doing business.

That's why the natural first step was to reach out to architects, academics, artists, designers and engineers, through a six-month co-design phase. A moment when everybody could contribute to shaping the New European Bauhaus.

I knew that we would receive many good ideas, but I have to admit that I did not expect such a huge reaction. The response from your community was overwhelming. We received over two thousand contributions from every corner of Europe and beyond. It was a true explosion of creativity and a breath of fresh air for our European institutions.

As a result, we now have a clear concept and roadmap for the New European Bauhaus. The contributions we received highlighted four clear priorities for action:

First, reconnect with nature. It's part of who we are as human beings. And it is essential for our health - both physical and mental.

Second, regain a sense of belonging. In the best European tradition, cities are built on a human scale. They are made for people, not machines. People should feel that they are part of a community. And successful, livable cities are built on vibrant communities.

Third, prioritise places and people in need. Fragile households need sustainable solutions more than anyone else. Clean energy and energy efficiency reduce the burden of rising gas prices. And every year, 800,000 social houses need renovation. This is precisely where we must bring sustainability, beauty and inclusion together.

Fourth, refocus on the life-cycle of buildings and materials. I know how much you care about this: Many of you are already bringing the circular economy into the construction sector, with bio-based or recyclable materials, or by prioritising renovation over new construction. It's now that we must decide what kind of buildings we want to leave to the next generation.

I hope that you will agree just how much your principles overlap with ours, and how much potential for cooperation we have. So let me be very practical. We have already launched the first calls for proposals under the New European Bauhaus. More will follow in the coming months. We have set aside 85 million euros in funding for this year and 2022. Some of the calls concern large-scale interventions, others are targeted to start-ups and citizens' initiatives. It is a call to all of you to shine with your ideas.

In parallel, we are creating a New European Bauhaus LAB - a place to connect people and to fast-track good projects. To give an example, the LAB will work on developing a New European Bauhaus label, for projects that share our principles. And it will look into European and national legislation, to address any obstacles that prevent people and companies from building green.

In all of this, your engagement will make a difference. In the preparatory phase we already saw some valuable contributions from Denmark. I would now like to invite all of you to get involved and make change happen on the ground.

Let me conclude where I started - with the original Bauhaus born a century ago:

“The greatest responsibility of the architect and planner, I believe, is the protection and development of our habitat.”

These are not my words. Again, they are the words of Walter Gropius. And this idea is what still brings us together today.

Thank you, and keep on Building Green!