European Triennial of Modernism (ETOM)

The ETOM-NEB-Lab will be a co-creation lab on trans-European Modernism to evolve and realise trans-national cooperation, best-practice, research, and capacity building. The Lab builds for a circular ecosystem on a three-year rhythm to bear and sustain plural transdisciplinary collaboration projects and to establish a decentralised and recurring EUROPEAN TRIENNIAL OF MODERNISM (ETOM) festival.

The project partnership includes already around 10 official NEB-community members and 30 more partners from 14 countries, on a heterogeneous and cross-sectoral background, with an initial emphasis on Central Europe.

The project’s motto "Diverse Modernism | Modern Diversity" reflects an inclusive approach, addressing the trans-European heritage, global and future perspectives of Modernism and the variety of protagonists, and today involved actors, backgrounds and agencies: This applies to the built heritage of Modernism in terms of architecture, urban design, infrastructure and public spaces and the history of modern ideas, considering both the transnational origins and development and the relevance and approach towards contemporary planetary challenges, especially focusing on the sustainability and resilience of modern values, such as societal emancipation, social equality, and democratic participation.

Common topics & challenges

Seven clusters of common challenges and opportunities on Modernism across Europe were identified based on the works and needs expressed by project partners to jointly collaborate for reaching the following achievements for a more sustainable future:

1. Diverse trans-European Modernism: fostering and qualifying dialogue, research, and visibility
2. Modernism in Central Europe from early to late – and the Case of Brutalism: unlocking the missing links between East and West
3. Appreciation & continuation: promoting sustainable contemporary cultural heritage and smart and slow tourism
4. Endangered heritage – lost data, lost buildings: establishing and maintaining strategies to capture, unlock, protect, and access
5. Modern housing – inhabited heritage: stabilizing and sustaining substance and social structures
6. Modern reuse – fluid heritage: innovating alternative strategies and practices to develop and protect
7. Modern design: capturing and exploring public design and co-design innovation between East and West

The project encourages involvement of the public as well as civic and professional stakeholders, on local and trans-national level and is open for cross-sectoral participation of topic related organisations from civic, professional, and governmental background. Beyond the trans-national collaboration, the project will support the growth of local networks (local Lab chapters) around the project partners – with special focus in Central and Eastern Europe.

Goals & objectives

Generally, the project activities will pursue objectives in the following four interdependent fields:

• Research: to examine challenges and innovative solutions, the Lab asks for input of various actors to explore needs, experiences, and knowledge
• Dialogue: to sustainably develop topics, the Lab fosters public dialogue to enable and maintain participation, along multiple formats at regular meetups, encounters, annual partner-events, and the recurring triennial festival
• Co-creation: for co-creation of projects – focusing overall ETOM’s goals or certain topic-related “milestone” projects – the project highly supports participation in all phases of co-creation (5Cs): co-learning, co-design, co-production, co-presentation, co-evaluation
• Capacity: to win long-term achievements in capacity building, the project encourages structures of cross-sectoral cooperation, on trans-national level as well as to establish local networks (i.e. local chapters around Lab-partners), to spread and share beyond the formal NEB members

How can NEB Community members and other organisations join the project?

NEB Community members, friends and other organisations can:

1. participate and contribute

• participate at events (public conferences, workshops)
• suggest participants for projects and events
• contribute to the research (by contacting one of the LAB partners)

2. apply for an ADVISORY board role

3. apply to become a LAB-PARTNER

• participate at the official Lab meetings and the General Assembly
• contribute to the national scale research & trans-national research platform
• suggest and initiate / participate joint projects

Deliverables (first agenda 2023-2025)

1. Create thematic sub-groups – on common challenges (7): working together on specific topics, enabling co-creation of joint projects (#dialogue #co-creation)
2. Define framework of transnational research & best practice platform (1): discovering national levels and extent, creating specifics and framework of a common platform (#research #capacity)
3. Initiate co-creation of projects (3+6): target number 3 for 2024 and 6 for 2025 (#co-creation)
4. Knowledge transfer and capacity (2+4): annual general assembly meeting 2024 and 2025 (at the yearly conference) and knowledge transfer workshops (2 per year), to bring together existing knowledge, share experiences and results, initiate and maintain collaboration (#research #dialogue #co-creation #capacity)

Indicative milestones

Dec 2023:

• start of the ETOM-NEB-Lab
• start of recurring circular 3-years ETOM ecosystem (#co-creation #capacity)

2024

• grow network of ETOM-NEB-Lab-partners
• initiate ongoing ETOM capacity building process (#capacity)
• identifying funding opportunities and applying for funding (EU-grants) (#co-creation #capacity)
• Create thematic sub-groups on common challenges (#dialogue #co-creation)
• define framework of transnational research & best practice platform  (#research #capacity)
• initiate 3-year recurring ETOM co-creation process resulting in project proposals (#co-creation)
• co-learning and launch of trans-European joint projects (target number 3) (#co-creation)
• start co-production of joint trans-European projects, to be ready for ETOM2025 festival (#co-creation)
• implement 2 workshops for knowledge transfer and capacity (#dialogue #capacity)
• yearly conference, as synergetic milestone-event (#research #dialogue #co-creation #capacity)

2025

• implement trans-European joint projects (target number 3+6) (#co-creation)implement 2 workshops for knowledge transfer and capacity (#dialogue #capacity)
• co-realization of trans-European projects and co-presentation at first edition of ETOM festival in 2025 (#co-creation)
• yearly conference, with ETOM festival (#research #dialogue #co-creation #capacity)
•  

2026

• re-start next generation of recurring circular 3-years ecosystem
• co-evaluation of joint projects and ETOM2025 festival
• next generation co-learning and launch of next generation trans-European joint projects

2027

• next generation co-production of trans-European projects, to be ready for ETOM2028 festival

2028

• next generation co-realization of trans-European projects and co-presentation for second ETOM-festival 2028

2029

• re-start next generation of recurring circular 3-years ecosystem

Coordinators & contributors

All ETOM-NEB-LAB coordinating organisation are NEB Community members. The coordinators group includes:

• BHROX bauhaus reuse / zukunftsgeraeusche – Germany | Berlin
• KÉK – The Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre – Hungary | Budapest
• NGP – National Gallery Prague – Czech Republic | Prague
• SDC – Slovak Design Center – Slovakia | Bratislava
• EKA – Estonian Academy of Arts – Estonia | Tallinn
• ICOMOS international – International | France | Paris

Contributing to the founding of the project and implementation are also the following organisations:

Estonia | Tallinn

• Estonian Museum of Architecture
• City of Tallinn

Latvia | Riga

• Latvian National Museum
• Latvian Ministry of Culture

Lithuania | Kaunas

• Kaunas 2022
• Architects Association of Lithuania (NEB Partner)
• Nematerialaus Turto Fondas / Ekskursas festival
• Kaunas City Municipal Administration

Poland | Warsaw / Krakow

• National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning
• Institute of Architecture Foundation
• City Council of Krakow

Germany | Berlin

• Architects Chamber Berlin (NEB partner)
• buschfeld.com – graphic and interface design
• Berlin Heritage Authority
• Berlin Art Library – Berlin State Museums / Prussian Heritage Foundation
• Goethe-Institute (NEB-partner)

Czech Republic | Prague / Brno

• District Praha 7
• 4AM, Brno
• House of Arts, Brno

Ukraine | Lviv / Kharkiv

• Centre for Urban History, Lviv
• Lviv Polytechnic University
• Urban Forms Center, Kharkiv

Hungary | Budapest

• Hungarian Museum of Architecture & Monuments Protection Documentation Center
• Budapest 13th District / Budapest Municipality

Romania | Bucharest

• ARCEN
• Zeppelin magazine / SG STUDIO
• Second District Hall of Bucharest

Serbia | Belgrade

• BINA – Belgrade International Architecture Week / Association of Belgrade Architects
• Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute of Belgrade
• Municipality of New Belgrade

North Macedonia | Skopje

• Contineo 2020
• School of Architecture and Design – University American College

International | Netherlands | Delft

• DOCOMOMO international

International | Belgium | Brussels

• Architect Council of Europe (NEB Partner)

Contacts

Robert K. Huber (BHROX bauhaus reuse / zukunftsgeraeusche)

Eszter Davida (KÉK – Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre)

Address – Lab-location & hub in Berlin

BHROX bauhaus reuse / zukunftsgeraeusche GbR
Ernst-Reuter-Platz, Central Island, D - 10587 Berlin
infobauhaus-reuse [dot] de (info[at]bauhaus-reuse[dot]de)
Postfach 120618, D - 10596 Berlin
 

BHROX bauhaus reuse is a transdisciplinary center and participatory urban laboratory, built with reused façade elements from the Dessau Bauhaus, from the post-war renovation of 1976, provided by the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, founded by zukunftsgeraeusche, in cooperation with Berlin District Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.