New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Concept category

Identify the award category for which this concept is being submitted
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Email user
tmck.design@gmail.com

Basic information

Concept title
Material Stories

Full Concept Title
Material Stories: Augmented Documenting and Storytelling of Materials and Objects

Please provide a short, catchy description of your concept to be used in communication towards the public
Material Stories is a project to help us broaden our understanding of our built environment and its objects. How are they made, by whom, with what material? The project will combine research with publications (books, exhibitions, podcasts and more) to try to answer these questions.

What was the geographical scope of your concept?
National

Where was your concept implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Belgium

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
It will be likely that the research will extend national borders due to the nature of object/construction manufacturing. With this in mind, the project may stimulate in-person publications or distribution of works (such as books/exhibitions etc.) internationally.

Does your concept address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your concept refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your concept benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your concept won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual

Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
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In case my concept is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my concept in the channels of the European Commission
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Another current participant

Description of the concept
Please provide a summary of your concept.
If PhD studies are the formal method of material research and distribution of results, then this project can be best understood as the informal method of such. The project 'Material Stories' will study materials in our everyday life, where they come from and how they are made, to improve our understanding of these materials. The research will begin in the locality of Brussels and then it will follow its journey and material family tree. People grasp stories through many mediums today such as books, films, dance, digital portals, podcasts, paintings and more. This project intends to adopt a range of these mediums to tell the stories of materials, giving people access to an informal method of understanding materials. The main mediums chosen in the development plan of this project are a podcast, book, website, exhibition, and dance. The podcast and website medium can be a consistent output throughout the project (during some of the research phase also). The remaining mediums would follow these, ending with a production of a book, so that the research and project are both documented and accessible in future.

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with 5 key words.
Material

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Stories

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Understanding

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Exhibition

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Research

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
The basis for this project is the idea that people have an awareness of materiality and sustainability, but awareness is not equal to understanding, thus awareness is not enough to make a conscious action for sustainability. For example, if a person goes to a shop to purchase a plastic utensil, on the utensil itself or with an attached label is a text stating the utensil’s ingredients and where it was made. This text is accepted as knowledge. If you were to ask the person purchasing it, how and where the utensil was made, they would regurgitate the information labelled. This is mere awareness. The person does not understand or know where the ingredients came from, by whom, and how they were combined to create the product. Therein lies the crux of this issue. What is assumed known, is in fact unknown, leaving a vast field for problems or virtues to go unnoticed. By improving understanding of materials, people can make conscious decisions about which materials they engage with and how, or at the very least this project will stimulate people to question and/or grow interest in the materials in their lives.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
I used this informal methodology of research for my master thesis study and final presentation at KU Leuven in 2022. Here, it became clear to me that storytelling through various mediums is more engaging and interesting for an audience to absorb academic or scientific research. 'Material Stories' will take this method and improve on what I've already done, but aim for a broader audience. The master thesis mentioned is attached to this application below.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
Inclusion is integral to the project 'Material Stories'. Since it engages various input and output mediums, the project presents itself in a broad way to the public, with varying degrees of detail and complexity, and affordability. The podcast and website mediums would be accessible to all, anywhere, whereas the exhibition and book would be a paid experience, for example. As for the input, the informal research method is social, it can be influenced by a craftsperson's anecdote, or a family business that has engaged with a raw material for generations.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the concept and civil society have been / will be involved in the concept and what has been / will be the impact of this involvement on the concept.
Learning about materials that one engages with can encourage confidence in such engagement, achieving a sense of place. Understanding and in turn knowing where a material came from or how it is made helps one navigate their material world rather than relying on a brand or other body for their material needs.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and development of the concept. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was
People who are aware of a material (audience): These people can learn to understand material and their makers resulting in material consciousness and respect.
People who understand a material (working with raw materials also audience): These people would have an opportunity to tell an audience their story and how it relates to the story of the material.
Nature as stakeholder: Nature could benefit from a more conscious society.
Performers/artists: These people gain an opportunity to learn about material stories and to tell them to a greater audience with their skillset.

Please explain which disciplines and / or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and development of your concept. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Anticipated reflected disciplines: Architecture, Construction, Art, Literature, Craftsmanship

These knowledge fields overlap due to the combination of research topic and findings representation/exhibition.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the concept.
Another way of calling this type of project could be 'an informal documentary'. Informal, because it aims to engage with an audience's emotions to encourage reflection of their relationship with materials rather than the logic of a research paper. Stories are simply more exciting to read than data.

Please which elements of your concept could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
This project concept is simple to replicate and develop. With regards to topic, one could focus on a plastic utensil and travel the world through the utensils ingredients, or take the blue stone from Belgium which doesn't travel as far geographically, but a story could unfold regarding its durability, re-use, or it's craft-people, and so on. Regarding the method and varying medium implementation for public knowledge/exhibition, this too is easily replicated or adaptable depending on resources available. There are countless combinations of mediums that could make exciting combinations for dynamic storytelling.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the concept addresses by providing local solutions
The main global challenge that this project addresses is sustainability. By focusing on understanding materials the project highlights human engagement with materials that touches on all sustainability subtopics.

Please attach the development plan of your concept. This plan should detail the plans you have for the further development and implementation of your concept, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application. The plan should also include envisaged results and benefits from the concept for direct and indirect beneficiaries. The results and benefits should be specified in relation to the objectives of the concept, and to what is expected in the context of the respective category

Project Development Plan.pdf
Please attach at least one high resolution image or visual representation of your concept to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below
- A GOOD SOLID SENSE OF MORTALITY; What bread is made of Part 1.pdf
By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed concept has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the concept, initiative, and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their concepts, concepts, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted concept, concept is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes