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New European Bauhaus
Project

Designing for our children's future

When architecture meets sustainability, well-being, and design, a project like 'Designing for our children's future' is born.

Designing for our children's future © European Union
Designing for our children's future
© European Union, 2021

When architecture meets sustainability, well-being, and design, a project like 'Designing for our children's future' is born.

The proposal from Angelsberg, Luxembourg, was one of many submitted for the 2021 New European Bauhaus award prizes in the category of "Techniques, materials, and processes for construction and design."

Designing for our children's future entails building the BEI DE KUEBEN daycare and primary school. The notion is distinguished by environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable aspects. 

Regional elements including wood, straw, clay, and sheep's wool have been utilised modernly. The natural building environment helps to teach children about the importance of sustainability and its daily life principles.

The principal material used was wood, which was used for the prefabricated facade parts and the catchy, diagonally running covering of the outside walls and the interior for furniture, stair rails, and floor cover and claddings. Wood is also predominant in the playground, with children playing with boxes and niches made of the natural material. 

In addition to wood, straw bales for building insulation play an essential role in building construction. Straw bale insulation, an unusual material, uses 77 times less energy than mineral wool.

However, not everything for the Luxembourgish project focuses on materials. Shapes and aesthetics are equally important. The building's typical and perhaps iconic character is one of its distinguishing qualities.

The dynamic wooden façade, with its colourfully highlighted entrances and window openings, exudes the joy that should characterise a building designed for children, resulting in a high-quality outdoor space. 

Educators noticed that the setting seemed to positively alter the children's behaviour after spending some time in the new building: the children appeared calmer and more balanced. It is well known that the application of clay plaster has a long-term favourable effect on the room environment and consequently on health. 

📸 © European Union