NEB Prizes 2021: All Applications

The BIQ in Hamburg is the world’s first building integrating living micro-organisms to absorb carbon and generate solar thermal heat. The building features 129 glass panels to cultivate microalgae on the south facing façades. The residents and the microalgae live in a symbiosis and a co-habitation. The building feeds the algae with carbon emissions and minerals, while the algae absorb carbon through photosynthesis and provide heat and high-quality biomass back to the building.

Kangas is an oasis born out of one of the most traditional industries in Finland: paper. An old paper mill has been transformed into a sustainable, green and smart oasis capable of housing over 5000 residents and over 2000 jobs. Kangas rests at a core transition hub, linking the south of Finland to the North, by the city center of Jyväskylä. Moreover, despite its historical roots in industry with iconic red-brick buildings, Kangas is bordered by the conservation area of Tourujoki- valley.

The Neighbourhood Home is a system of new structures for redevelopment sites within the districts, targeting in particular the suburbs with a tense coexistence of old and new inhabitants. The network aim to foster mutual inclusion to make everyone feel 'at home'.
Each Home will promote activities related to a cultural area (Home of Food, Languages, Clothing, etc.) and will encourage to share traditions and to rediscover that the roots of all people and cultures have always been interconnected.

MONOPOLIS is a revitalization of the former Vodka Factory. The unique character of the place was maintained with addition of new contemporary buildings. The entire complex includes offices, gastronomy and cultural spaces like theater, gallery, museum. A special passage has been hollowed out and fulfilled with extraordinary greenery. Vehicle traffic and all deliveries have been eliminated from the ground level. An example of how to revive life in a former factory and create magnific public place.

The magical faristic heritage, abandoned, comes back to life: it will be the guide, the light, for citizens to a sustainable, inclusive and beautiful world.

From the Tino Lighthouse, we promote a model of territorial valorization that starts from the local system and expands creating a network around the world, for an absolute global revolution: environmental, economic, cultural, social, personal.

All through the approach of Systemic Design connecting: education, community and circular economy

The design process of the InnoRenew CoE building is an exemplary case of applying sustainability and building research to architecture and will enable continued high-level research. The design was based on research outputs from the InnoRenew CoE. It was designed according to state-of-the-art principles of contemporary sustainable construction following the principles of REED (Restorative Environmental and Ergonomic Design) that were developed by the InnoRenew CoE’s researchers.

In the south of Viena, the non-profit developer Arthur Krupp built a pioneering residential building. The "Viertel Hoch Zwei" project is a showcase example of a new flexible housing typology and demonstrates that component activation is a simple, cheap measure that saves heating costs, eliminates moisture problems, and ensures comfortable indoor climate in social housing.

One of the major challenges when reducing domestic energy consumption in housing is the heating system. Therefore, insulation is key.
In France, sheep’s wool is also facing a major crisis. In many cases, this high-quality material is burned or exported due to its expensive cost of treatment. Facing these two problems, the project Wool Wall explores new ways of shaping insulation by proposing a wool panel, adapted for self-construction and interior renovation.
 

Forestami aims at Planting 3 Million new trees by 2030 to enhance the overall quality of lives within Greater Milan. Planting trees means increasing the natural capital, this is an effective, economical, and engaging way to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change. Through their photosynthesis process, trees are the best way to remove pollutants from the atmosphere and reduce the urban heat island effect and water surface runoff. 

In context of the ongoing discussion on how to reduce production and the ecological footprint in the construction industry, this project is focused on unfinished buildings as an existing potential and yet an unutilized resource. The concept revolves around ways of bringing uncompleted structures to benefit society. Based on the principles of circular economy and visions for sustainable living, a set of scenarios is offered for the inclusion of these sites within the surrounding environment.