New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Project category

Identify the award category for which this project is being submitted
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most

Email user
steffen.poralla@neulandia.de

Basic information
Project title
Summer of Pioneers

Full Project Title
Summer of Pioneers in Tengen / Blumenfeld Castle (2021-2022)

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
The "Summer of Pioneers" is a project for “trial” living and co-working in rural
areas. For 6 months, 20 selected creatives and knowledge workers ("pioneers")
received affordable, furnished living spaces as well as co-working spaces in
a previously vacant castle in Tengen. In return, the pioneers transformed the castle into a regional hub for coliving and contributed to the community by organizing cultural events and re-opening of the castle café.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
National

Where was your project implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Germany

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Blumenfeld, Tengen, Baden-Württemberg

Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly rural

Does your project 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 project benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

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

Is your project fully completed
Yes

Please indicate a date (mm/yy)
2022-12-31

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Neulandia UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Steffen
  Last name of representative: Poralla
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Germany
  Function: Senior Project Manager
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Akazienhof 12
  Town: Berlin
  Postal code: 12524
  Country: Germany
  Direct Tel: +4917661024251
  E-mail: steffen.poralla@neulandia.de
  Website: https://neulandia.de/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://tengen-pioneers.de/
In case my project 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 project in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
The Summer of Pioneers is a proven concept for “trial” living and co-working in
rural areas in Germany. As part of an application procedure, 20 creatives and
knowledge workers ("pioneers") were selected and were being provided
affordable, furnished living spaces as well as an especially designed co-working
space in a previously empty castle by the participating German municipality,
Tengen in Southern Germany. In return for this "all-round care package", the
pioneers contribute to the community with new impulses, ideas and specific
projects, cultural activities in cooperation with the local community, and thus
contribute to the revitalization of otherwise rural areas and to the conversion of
a previously emtpy place into a meet-up place for the entire community (see
Schloss Blumenfeld).
The first Summer of Pioneers took place in 2019 in Wittenberge / Brandenburg.
Due the huge and internationally acknowledged success of the project, more
“Summer of Pioneers” projects were implemented in the following years in
different regions of Germany - among them Tengen in southern Baden-
Württemberg, where the project started in June 2021. In this context, Tengen is
exemplary for many other small towns and rural areas in Germany: scenic
beauty, but high vacancy rates and many young people leaving the region due
to a lack of suitable housing options and office spaces.
On the other hand, a growing number of urban creatives and locationindependent
workers are getting tired of living in big cities and long for a quieter
life in the countryside but are lacking community and office spaces in rural
areas. Our Summer of Pioneers takes on the dilemma of both sides and turn it
into a win-win-situation - both for the participating pioneers as well as the
hosting municipalities

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words.
Transformation of rural areas

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Modern coliving and coworking concepts

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Revitalizing vacant spaces

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Connecting people

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Enriching the cultural scene

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
For the Summer of Pioneers, 20 creative and digital workers were invited to
Tengen to start a "rural life on trial". The pioneers were provided with free
coworking space and furnished living space for just €150 per month in the
historic Blumenfeld Castle, which was previoulsy empty and not in use. In return,
they got involved in volunteer projects on site, make their knowledge and
network available to initiatives for the common good, and host cutural events
open to the public.
For the project in Tengen, the vacant Blumenfeld Castle directly near the town
centre had been reactivated. In terms of its location and structural design, the
historic building from the 16th century offers an ideal projection surface for the
longing of the participants of the Summer of Pioneers. Until 2017, a nursing
home was housed in the historic castle, and since then the building was empty.
Also due to its former history of use, the castle offers an ideal room layout,
sufficient residential units and generous space for coworking spaces. The
vacancy was secured in a relatively good condition and could thus be
reactivated relatively easily by the municipality and transferred to a new,
permanent and progressive use.
The project is a great example of utilizing existing infrastructure to serve a new
common purpose: The renovation of the castle was done in a cost-efficient way
and it is now serving as a central hub for the local community with cutural
events and a café which is run by one of the pioneers. With our project, the
historic castle was revitalized while at the same time, the pioneers faciliated the
transformation process for the entire region.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project 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 project can be exemplary in this context.
The following goals were the key objectives of our project:
- Revitalizing the castle
- Finding a sustainable model to operate the castle and cafe
- Bringing new impulses and ideas to the region
- Activate local citizens and integrate them into a public welfare-oriented model.
With the Summer of Pioneers in Tengen, the previously empty/unused historic
Blumenfeld Castle has been transformed into a place of the future where cultural
events take place, temporary workplaces can be booked and where living space
has been created for the participants of the Summer of Pioneers. In 2022, the
Schlosscafe will also reopen and serve as a meeting place for citizens
(https://schloss-blumenfeld.de/). Furthermore, the coworking space will be open
to all people in the region, and the combination of temporary housing and
coworking space will test the extent to which Blumenfeld Castle is also suitable
for creative retreats for individuals or entire teams. For the first time in many
years, we were also able to provide space in the Schlosscafé for a regulars' table
for the residents of Blumenfeld and Tengen.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project 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 project can be exemplary in this context.
By bringing creatives from the big cities to the countryside as a group, we
ensure a highly dynamic framework that leads to quick results. The pioneers are
selected on the basis of concrete project ideas. We provide furnished
apartments and a coworking space. In return, they contribute with volunteer
work. When selecting the pioneers, we look for participants who are interested in
community, the common good and cooperation. By setting a clear goal of
completing at least one project within six months, we ensure a high speed of
implementation. Agile coaches accompany the process and ensure smooth
processes and sensitize the group to typical behavior patterns. In this way,
internal tensions are identified and addressed at an early stage. The municipality
is a close partner and thus ensures that there is a close connection with local
citizens. Formats such as the regulars' table and numerous public events at the
castle have also led to the project not only being accepted but actively
supported by the local people.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project
The Summer of Pioneers in Tengen was a huge success in terms of prioritising
the places and people that need it the most: Many rural areas suffer from high
vacancy rates and a lack of well-educated, young citizens. Our project tackled
this problem on both sides by transforming the historic Blumenfeld castle, which
had been empty for several years, into a local meeting point not only for the
citizens of the region, but also for the participants by providing affordable
coworking and coliving spaces. In the future, the café shall be operated by a
local citizen and one of the particants will initiate a civic engagement process in
order to motivate local citizens to participate in the transformation of the historic
Blumenfeld castle.
Furthermore, a few of the participants will remain in Tengen after the end of the
official project, and will continue working from there. Hence, the project also
helped Tengen to position itself as an attractive location for locationindependent
workers. Due to the corona pandemic, more and more people are
able to work remotely, and we strongly believe that this trend will continue to
grow in the future.
In summary, the project achieved several goals: It revitalized and transformed
the historic castle into a local meetup spot, it helped reducing vacancies and it
helped bringing people from different regions and different social backgrounds
together to work on non-profit iniatives to transform rural - and otherwise
oftentimes neglected - areas.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the project. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was.
The Summer of Pioneers offers low-threshold cultural and leisure activities for all
interested citizens by giving back a so-called third place, including a regulars'
table, to the village with the castle café. One of articipant in the extended region
will also carry out a citizen participation process, which among other things has
the goal of activating the citizens to cooperate in order to be able to hand over
the operation of the castle, at least in part, from the pioneers into the hands of
the citizens.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your project. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was.
The three dimensions were combined in the project in Tengen in a very
innovative way:
Circularity & Sustainability
The central aspect of the Summer of Pioneers in Tengen was the revitalization
and transformation of the previously vacant castle Blumenfeld close to Tengen.
It had been vacant for several years and was transformed into a coworking and
coliving hub, that hosts cultural events and meetups and that operates a cafe
which is open to the public. By using the castle as the central hub for the project,
a vacant landmark was put back in use again. The renovation work was done in
a cost-efficient way since the castle previoulsy housed a retirement home and
the room layout was suitable for coworking spaces and furnished living spaces.
Aesthetics
The remodeling and renovation was carried out in a way that respected the
history of the castle as well as the needs of a modern coworking and coliving
space. Also due to its previous history of use, the castle (which was built in the
16th century) offers an ideal room layout, sufficient residential units and
generous space for coworking spaces. The vacancy was secured in a relatively
good condition and could thus be reactivated relatively easily and transferred to
a new, permanent and progressive use.
Inclusion
The project itself was open to all applicants and we purely selected the pioneers
based on their willingness to contribute to the local community in Tengen and
for their teamplay abilites. The total costs for the participants were 150€ per
month which included furnished housing and the right to use the coworking
space. In exchange for that, the pioneers hosted cultural events like movie
nights and readings in the castle (see photos), and those events are always open
for the public and the local citizens. In addition to that, the pioneers opened a
café in the historic Blumenfeld castle that includes a regulars table for the
citizens of Tengen and Blumenfeld.

Please give information on the results, outcomes and impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for. This includes also benefits from the project for direct and indirect beneficiaries
The Summer of Pioneers in Tengen was a huge success in terms of prioritising
the places and people that need it the most: Many rural areas suffer from high
vacancy rates and a lack of well-educated, young citizens. Our project tackled
this problem on both sides by transforming the historic Blumenfeld castle, which
had been empty for several years, into a local meeting point not only for the
citizens of the region, but also for the participants by providing affordable
coworking and coliving spaces. In the future, the café shall be operated by a
local citizen and one of the particants will initiate a civic engagement process in
order to motivate local citizens to participate in the transformation of the historic
Blumenfeld castle.
Furthermore, a few of the participants will remain in Tengen after the end of the
official project, and will continue working from there. Hence, the project also
helped Tengen to position itself as an attractive location for locationindependent
workers. Due to the corona pandemic, more and more people are
able to work remotely, and we strongly believe that this trend will continue to
grow in the future.
In summary, the project achieved several goals: It revitalized and transformed
the historic castle into a local meetup spot, it helped reducing vacancies and it
helped bringing people from different regions and different social backgrounds
together to work on non-profit iniatives to transform rural - and otherwise
oftentimes neglected - areas.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
Web link
Web link
- https://schloss-blumenfeld.de/
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
Rural areas are becoming a place of longing for more and more people who can
work remotely, but there is a lack of appropriate housing options for this target
group, while at the same time, many communities suffer from very high vacancy
rates. The Summer of Pioneers in Tengen solves these problems in an innovative
way: By reactivating Blumenfeld Castle, empty spaces are revived, new living
space are made available in a way that is suitable for the target group, and
energetic participants are invited to support the transformation process in the
community and in the wider region. The results developed in Tengen in the
project are transferable to many other towns and communities in Baden-
Württemberg as well as nationwide.
Furthermore, by setting up a coworking space in the castle, the conditions for
digital working in the countryside were created - and Tengen was positioned as
an attractive place to live for creative and digital workers. In collaboration with
Fraunhofer IAO, the prototype of a digital booking tool was developed during the
SoP co-creatively (https://blog.iao.fraunhofer.de/pioniere-fuer-laendlichegemeinden-
wie-aus-leerstand-innovationsraeume-entstehen-koennen/). Digital
tools were also used for community management and public relations.
Newsletters, the project's own website (https://tengen-pioneers.de/), and a broad
multi-media campaign were used to promote the project nationwide.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
By bringing creatives from the big cities to the countryside as a group, we
ensure a highly dynamic framework that leads to quick results. The pioneers are
selected on the basis of concrete project ideas. We provide furnished
apartments and a coworking space. In return, they contribute with volunteer
work. When selecting the pioneers, we look for participants who are interested in
community, the common good and cooperation. By setting a clear goal of
completing at least one project within six months, we ensure a high speed of
implementation. Agile coaches accompany the process and ensure smooth
processes and sensitize the group to typical behavior patterns. In this way,
internal tensions are identified and addressed at an early stage. The municipality
is a close partner and thus ensures that there is a close connection with local
citizens. Formats such as the regulars' table and numerous public events at the
castle have also led to the project not only being accepted but actively
supported by the local people. Currently, an association is being founded under
the leadership of the pioneers, in which the citizens are members and which is to
represent a pillar of the future operator consortium.

Please describe which elements of your project could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and context. This may involve for example aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings etc.
The project is 100 % transferable not only to territories in Germany, but
territories worldwide that face a similar situation: a growing number of
mobile workers, who are tired of living in the big cities and on the other hand
rural regions that are desperate for young and creative talent to settle, in order
for the region to remain/become viable in the future. The Summer of Pioneers
has sucessfully been implemented in several municipalities in Germany:
Wittenberge, Tengen, Homberg and Altena, and there will be more locations in
2022. The results developed in Tengen in the project are transferable to many
other towns and communities in Baden-Württemberg as well as nationwide and
internationally.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
The Summer of Pioneers causes a counter-trend to the current demographic
development observed in many rural areas. Coworking spaces can make a
significant contribution to revitalization, especially in small towns, and make
communities more attractive to young and well-educated people. New local
networks are created that generate innovations and new added value. The
results developed in Tengen in the project are transferable to many other towns
and communities in Baden-Württemberg as well as nationwide and
internationally
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
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Yes

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Yes

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Yes

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