New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

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

Email user
info@type.ie

Basic information
Initiative title
Type

Full initiative Title
Type: a platform for design in the built environment

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Type is a platform for design in the built environment. Our mission to share knowledge, increase accessibility, and support new insights in the fields of architecture, landscape, urban design, and planning in Ireland. These goals are supported through our online library. This digital repository is open to all, with each membership sustainably financing future projects, allowing for a truly long-term contribution to building a sense of place and belonging to the wider built environment.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
National

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Ireland

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
{Empty}

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

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

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

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

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): Type
  Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation
  First name of representative: Michael
  Last name of representative: Hayes
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Ireland
  Function: Managing Editor
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 11 Oblate Drive
  Town: Dublin
  Postal code: D08 W4AX
  Country: Ireland
  Direct Tel: +353863491103
  E-mail: info@type.ie
  Website: https://www.type.ie/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/Type.ie/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @type.ie
- URL: https://twitter.com/type_ie
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @type_ie
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/type.library
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @type.library
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/type-ie/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @type-ie
In case my initiative 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 initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Press

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
In his seminal text, ‘Good City Form’ (1981), urban designer and theorist Kevin Lynch writes: ‘There is dogma and there is opinion, but there is no systematic effort to state general relationships between the form of a place and its value. If we have some ground for understanding what cities are, we have practically no rational ground for deciding what they should be, despite a flood of criticism and proposals’.

In many respects, Lynch’s statement still applies to the present day, and in particular to current debates regarding the discussion of sustainability in relation to architecture, landscape, urban design, and planning in Ireland. While there is much in the way of policy and proposals, there is less critical understanding and discussion of how Irish society and the public at large might engage with, reflect on, and assess whether such projects and practices will impact both individuals and communities across local, regional, and national scales.

And yet, as the both backdrop and actor within our everyday lives, the design of the built environment is a topic with which many people wish to engage, learn more about, and help shape for the better of all. We see proof of this in the conversations taking place on social media, on the radio, and in print.

However, reliant as it is on general media landscape that is broad in its focus, discussion regarding the design of the Irish built environment can oftentimes appear sporadic in its dissemination, limited in scope, and lacking in critical insight or evidence-based research.

In response, Type provides an online platform that engages with expert knowledge, contemporary debates, and real world issues regarding the sustainable design of Ireland’s towns, cities, and rural landscapes.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Accessibility

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Transdisciplinary

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Affordability

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Knowledge-based

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Innovative

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Type responds to the pressing need for more sustainable practices in two main ways.

In providing access to digital and digitised content, the Type online library offers an affordable, low-carbon means of disseminating knowledge, when compared with traditional hard-copy printing and distribution.

With regard to content and editorial policy, Type in particular supports work that is transdisciplinary in nature and that focuses on how designers can act more sustainably in relation to the built and natural environment. In this vein, Type has published recent articles on the importance of water as resource, the potential re-use of Ireland peat-burning power stations, the need to embed craft in construction practices, and how a more more integrated regional-scale understanding of city and country can help promote a more effective Just Transition.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative 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 initiative can be exemplary in this context.
A key objective of Type has been to provide an accessible, user-friendly online platform for the widest possible audience.

In providing online content, Type has increased the accessibly of existing and new publications to those who cannot normally access physical, specialist libraries, either due to travel distance or limited mobility.

In addition, Type has sought to provide a clear, navigable online interface (for desktop, tablet, and mobile) that also allows for ease of searchability across our range of books, journals, and articles.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative 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 initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Type comprises an online library of digital publications and articles, structured in terms of short-, medium-, and long-form writing/content. Our article series are published weekly and are free to access. All articles are presented in a clear and accessible format, both graphically and linguistically, and are fully referenced for each of fact-checking or further reading. Contributors are each experts in their field, with Type presenting an opportunity for recent research and knowledge to be shared with a wider public.

In conjunction, the Type online library provides affordable access to a multidisciplinary range books and journals focused on design in the Irish built environment. In Ireland, there has been a lack of access to digital content in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and planning, with little offered in terms of curated content that offers mid- and long-form online content. Meanwhile, though academic work is often digital, accessibility is typically limited to staff and students of third-level institutions. Type bridges this gap by publishing content that is accessible in terms of form and cost for a largely online audience.

Both Type editors and contributors include a broad mix of interdisciplinary backgrounds and expertise, whether based in practice, academia or education. With regard to content and editorial policy, Type in particular supports work that is transdisciplinary in nature and that focuses on how designers can act more sustainably in relation to the built and natural environment.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
In the third quarter of 2023, Type aims to launch a public feedback survey in order to help better provide content to the needs of existing and future readers.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
Stakeholders across professional bodies, third-level institutions, and public-facing organisations have each been consulted as part of the development of the Type platform, providing crucial feedback on usability, accessibility and content.

In addition, Type continues to collaborate with a wide range of organisations in disseminating content, such as professional bodies (e.g. the RIAI), third-level institutions (e.g. TU Dublin, UCD), and public-facing organisations (e.g. the AAI). Type remunerates, on an annual basis, all content providers for each publication featured as part of the Type online library. In this way, Type provide a regular, sustainable source of income for publishers based on content which may otherwise be out-of-print or inaccessible.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Type covers the fields of architecture, planning, urban design, landscape, geography and construction.

Representatives from these different disciplines comprise the editorial team and contributors. In working together, a more varied, richer and deeper range of insights into the sustainable design of the built environment has been featured and shared via the Type online platform.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
Type provides an online library which may be accessed by individuals and organisations for an annual subscription fee - although individual may be purchased and downloaded on a once-off basis as well. Currently, such a service does not exist in Ireland, with one result being that – during the pandemic in particular – researchers, practitioner and the general public could not access the vast majority of Irish-based built environment publications. Type is innovative is being the first digital platform in Ireland that provides a centralised, accessible library for research and writing in the fields of architecture, landscape, planning, and urban design.

In addition, the Type funding model is new to this sector. Based on annual subscriptions from both individuals and organisations, Type is not reliant on external funding, allowing the platform to retain its independence. Rather, Type's main goal is therefore to respond to the needs of our readership and to ensure the library is providing knowledge that is of value to our audience.

The subscription model also provides a predictable and regular source of income, meaning that we can plan future publications and grow the digital library further - thereby providing additional value for our readers.

Please describe which elements of your initiative 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.
Many aspects of the Type online platform may be replicated to other places and contexts.

In terms of the technical side of website design and content management, the existing structure and layout could be shared with other groups to create their own national or regional online libraries. This is something we would be happy to support should their be an interest in expanding the initiative to other jurisdictions.

Regarding the sourcing of digital publications, this may depend on the jurisdiction. In Ireland, books and journals regarding the built environment have tend to be produced by a disparate range of small-scale publishers, resulting in limited access or short-lived series. Type is particularly relevant in this context in that it adds value to this existing knowledge base by collecting and disseminating previously inaccessible work. Should similar conditions exist in other countries, the approach taken by Type may be transferrable.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
Type operates as a collective formed from a broad team of editors with expertise across multiple spatial disciplines. We work together to gather, format, and disseminate new and existing writing on the design of the Irish built environment.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
The global challenges of climate change, resource use, carbon emission, and biodiversity are each subjects dealt with through Type's content publication strategy.

In terms of Type as an initiative in it's own right, the platform seeks to address international issue of increasing online misinformation (regarding sustainability) by providing expert, resourced, and referenced articles for free to the general public.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Type was officially launched online in 2022, with the support of the Arts Council (Ireland).

Over the coming year, our aim is further expand our digital library and to continue the dissemination of our free weekly article series. We also hope to being providing more medium- and long-form content with a new quarterly journal and a book on sustainable housing.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-32306.pdf
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
{Empty}
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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 initiative 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 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 initiatives, initiative, 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 initiative, initiative 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