New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Concept category

Identify the award category for which this concept is being submitted
Regaining a sense of belonging

Email user
luismichal.mk@gmail.com

Basic information
Concept title
IHA - Institute for Happy Architecture

Full Concept Title
Research proposal for the examination of "Happy Architecture" through applied-design-research

Please provide a short, catchy description of your concept to be used in communication towards the public
The Institute for Happy Architecture is thought to be established as an applied-research-platform embedded into an academic context (e.g. university) to examine aspects of well-being and happiness connected to the experience and creation of the built environment.

What was the geographical scope of your concept?
Cross-border/international

Where was your concept implemented?
Location 1
Germany

Location 2
Other

Which other country?
China

Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries
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If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Concept was developed during discussions with (architecture) friends and colleagues during an academic exchange in Beijing, China, but can be applied in different cultural contexts.

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

Does your concept refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard 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.)
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-michal-47b501139/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): LinkedIn
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?
Social Media

Description of the concept
Please provide a summary of your concept.
The Institute for Happy Architecture is thought to be established as an applied-research-platform embedded into an academic context (e.g. university) to examine aspects of well-being and happiness connected to the experience and creation of the built environment.

What?

Based on the experience of a building industry and culture (e.g. in Germany) that increasingly favors a rigid economization of means over the societal and cultural dimensions of architecture, we propose to actively engage in a re-connection of architecture with sensual qualities and their users in small and society at large. We acknowledge form and geometry as one of the key elements that make space and therefore want to actively research and experiment with space-making. Next to form we want to research on the field of hybrid functions for spaces that engage with their users on many dimensions and with a natural complexity.

How?

The “Institute of Happy Architecture” is conceptualized as the founding of a institutionalized platform that combines academic research with experimental teaching and design and activism through publishing and networking. It is thought to be developed as part of a curriculum at an existing school of architecture while eventually turning into a discipline within architecture that focuses on architectural well-being.

Who and why?

Even if there are certain comparable concepts such as “healing architecture”, mostly in certain contexts, e.g. hospitalization, we want to differentiate “Happy Architecture” as a general concept with universal principles that can be applied to specific. Responsible persons shall imply a group of professors, studio leaders and students of architecture that engage with stakeholders and scientists from such other disciplines as urban planning, psychologists, color-theorists, designer, et cetera. to live up to architectures potential to transform society and influence its mental well-being for the better through a “Happy Architecture”.

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

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
User-centric/societal

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Sensual form

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Hybrid program

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
(Aesthetically-)Sustainable

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.
Sustainability is not just an “add-on”, but thought to be an integral part of a “Happy Architecture”. It implies both the means of construction with simple and reasonable architectural means as well the concept of long-term thinking about how spaces affect the well-being of a society. Through a long-perspective, aspects of sustainability naturally come into place such as economic use of existing resources, knowledge and structures that shall be combined under the perspective of what is best for the well-being of their users.

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.
“Happy Architecture” shall be researched an universal concept that engages with users on many levels including mental well-being, natural complexity in program and functions and an aesthetical sustainability and responsibility for man-made and natural environments. Happiness as a basic human emotion is at the very heart of this endeavor and shall be the ultimate goal when thinking about the creation or adaption of space.

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.
By pursuing “Happy Architecture” through the examination of universal principles and methods of well-being of users of spaces, it is thought of an concept of inclusion in itself. Not only shall it provide spaces of happiness for all their users, but also focus on spaces that are not necessarily commercial, but highlight and enhance “the public” including an aesthetical pleasing design and barrier-free use of public space.

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.
Civil society is an integral part of “Happy Architecture” which by nature shall be user-oriented. This means not only shall spaces serve their users but can be co-created by them together with a group of expert and facilitators such as architects. However, “Happy Architectures” won´t be or come easy in a way that humans are not easy “animals” either, but highly complex with needs for a certain amount of complexity in experiential space, function and form.

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
Different stakeholders have not yet been engaged in the development and research of a “Happy Architecture” but as mentioned in the general description shall form a diverse group of researcher and applied architects to form an experimental institute that can be developed as part of an academic schedule.

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
The „Institute of Happy Architecture“ shall be a land-mark institution that can serve as a guiding light for future sustainable emotional development of spaces. It shall imply participants from many disciplines that interact with each other, exchange and structure existing knowledge but add to it, experimental applied practice and guidelines for a “Happy Architecture”.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the concept.
As mentioned in the general description there are already certain fields of research in an architecture of well-being, such as “healing architecture. However, existing research most often focuses on certain functional, partly obvious contexts, e.g. hospitalization or security of public spaces. “Happy Architecture” instead shall be examined and conceptualized as a new way to look at existing and future spaces with newly-sorted priorities and values, namely being “Happiness” one of the top goals in space-making.

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.
“Happy Architecture” is thought of as a universal principle informed by global knowledge which can be applied to specific projects all over the world on a local scale. It shall inform the local context with deep knowledge about the psychology of space, the potential of sensual form and the living up to the complexities of humans as reflected by hybrid functions. If successful it can develop into a sub-discipline of architecture in itself and therefore me transferred to architecture school world-wide that can exchange specific knowledges.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the concept addresses by providing local solutions
“Happy Architecture” address the global challenge of architecture as a discipline that can shape and transform the planet for better or worse. By acknowledging the great societal responsibility that comes with space-making which also relates to universal human desire “to belong” to a certain culture and community, it tackles on of the very fundamental parts of the human existence and the positive development of its future.

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

IHA_DevelopmentPlan.docx
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
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Yes

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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