Pilots

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  Circular Time Lab – experimental timber structures, Switzerland

  In the heart of Lucerne, among its parks and urban nooks, something remarkable is taking shape—structures that appear, evolve, and then disappear, only to re-emerge in a new form. This is Circular Time Lab, a three-year experiment in designing, building, and re-building temporary wooden pavilions across the city. What looks like simple timber architecture is, in fact, a dynamic living lab where students, apprentices, and local craftsmen rethink how we build and unbuild our urban environments.

  
  

  Led by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the project invites architecture students and young carpenters to collaborate in imagining structures that serve the public—shaded gathering spots, open-air classrooms, or simply spaces for pause and reflection. Each construction is temporary, yet meaningful, designed with circularity at its core: using reclaimed timber, steel, and textiles, all chosen with care and local insight. After each season, the buildings are taken apart, reworked, and built anew—offering not just a physical transformation, but also a pedagogical and social one.

  
  

  These interventions are not just technically clever—they’re beautiful in how they blend traditional woodcraft with bold, contemporary forms that echo Lucerne’s architectural identity. And above all, they’re open. Open to the public, open to change, and open to participation. Children play in them, neighbors rest in their shade, and builders learn by doing.

  
  

  Circular Time Lab doesn’t just teach how to build. It shows how buildings can be part of a city’s rhythm—temporary yet impactful, sustainable yet expressive, and always shared.

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  Urban Revitalisation Pilot – Saint Romain Le Puy, France

  In the heart of Saint Romain Le Puy, a small French town nestled between a Roman priory, a canal, and a railway line, the old centre is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. What was once a fragmented and underused urban core—marked by aging buildings, narrow pedestrian routes, and public spaces in decline—is now becoming a model of how heritage, sustainability, and community can shape the future of small towns.

  
  

  Led by CIRIDD, a centre for sustainable innovation, the pilot project is reimagining over 5,000 square metres of residential, commercial, and public space. But this is not a renovation in the traditional sense. It’s a circular urban renewal, where old materials are reused, buildings are designed to be adaptable, and every intervention considers both past and future. Brick by brick, a new town centre is emerging—one that respects its history while addressing today’s environmental and social challenges.

  
  

  The transformation is as much about people as it is about space. Local residents and schools are directly involved in shaping the plans, voicing their needs, and co-creating solutions. Affordable housing is a key component—half of the 54 new homes are reserved for those who need them most. Streets and services are designed to be welcoming for all generations, especially the elderly.

  
  

  Through careful design, the project brings clarity and beauty back to the town centre, ensuring that new buildings speak the language of the old, while opening space for life to flourish again. Saint Romain Le Puy is not just being renovated—it’s being reconnected, reimagined, and reinhabited.

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  Fužine Castle, Slovenia

  Fužine Castle, perched on the left bank of the Ljubljanica River, is the only Renaissance castle in the Slovenian capital. Built in the 16th century, it has long since lost its original industrial function, but never its significance. Today, it houses the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), the central national institution for architecture, urbanism, design, and photography. Yet, despite preserving precious history within its walls, the building itself has never undergone a full transformation to meet the needs of a contemporary museum.

  
  

  One of the most overlooked parts of the castle is its attic – once an occasional exhibition venue, now an unusable space left to deteriorate under extreme temperatures and outdated infrastructure. This very attic is now becoming the focus of a pilot project that explores new, sustainable ways of renovating cultural heritage. The interventions are small but targeted: replacing deteriorated windows, improving insulation, adding temporary closures, and creating new space for exhibitions, storage, and community use.

  
  

  But this is not just a technical upgrade. It’s a cultural shift, where local craftsmanship, knowledge, and experience come together. Designers, builders, artists, residents, and museum visitors are actively involved. Through this, MAO is embracing the three core values of the New European Bauhaus: reducing energy loss and prolonging the building’s life (sustainability), enhancing the spatial quality of the castle (beauty), and opening it up to wider participation (inclusion).

  
  

  The attic of Fužine Castle is becoming a living lab for change – a place where heritage and the future meet in a shared vision.

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  Station for Transformation, Italy

  Along the Adige River, in the historic Borgo Sacco district of Rovereto, stands a grand industrial building that has quietly witnessed the changing rhythms of the city for over a century. Built in 1854 as a tobacco factory, it shaped local identity and provided employment for generations—until production ceased in 2008. Since then, the site has entered a new chapter, becoming a business and innovation hub hosting startups, research centres, and university departments.

  
  

  But the story doesn’t end there. While parts of the building have already been renovated and are home to enterprises working in green construction, health, and environmental technologies, large areas remain unused—waiting for a renewed purpose. Within the pilot project, a new transformation is now underway: the creation of sustainable ground-floor offices for Habitech, designed according to high environmental standards and currently in preparation for construction in 2025.

  
  

  Yet this project is more than an office renovation. It’s a testbed for rethinking how historic buildings can drive green urban regeneration—combining energy efficiency, high-quality spatial redesign, and active community engagement. Local citizens, tenants of the business park, and other stakeholders will be invited to shape the process, ensuring that the transformation is inclusive and meaningful.

  
  

  The former tobacco factory is no longer just a monument to the past—it is becoming a platform for the future, where sustainability, beauty, and participation come together to write the next chapter of urban resilience.

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  Pioniergarage 2.0, Austria

  Even modest buildings can be the stage for big transformations. On the outskirts of Salzburg, a 1968 structure that once housed a school for children with visual and hearing impairments is being given a second life. Vacant for over six years and lacking any architectural distinction, the building might easily have been overlooked—yet it is precisely this simplicity that makes it the perfect canvas for a new kind of renewal, grounded in innovation, sustainability, and community spirit.

  
  

  Led by Innovation Salzburg, the site is being transformed into Pioniergarage 2.0—a dynamic hub for entrepreneurship, creativity, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The revitalised building will bring together workspaces, workshops, event spaces, and co-working areas under one roof. Around 50 people will work here in an environment designed to foster openness, exchange, and meaningful engagement. On the top floor, a flexible event space will host up to 100 participants for workshops, presentations, and public gatherings.

  
  

  The makerspace Innovation Salzburg Pioniergarage will expand its activities with new workshop areas and spaces dedicated to education and innovation. A startup centre will offer flexible offices and co-working environments to support up to ten emerging companies each year—strengthening Salzburg’s innovation ecosystem and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs.

  
   
  

  The building will retain its original structure as much as possible, while being adapted in line with circular economy principles and the values of the New European Bauhaus. In partnership with academic and community stakeholders, the Pioniergarage 2.0 will serve as a living lab—a hands-on testing ground for new methods, materials, and design approaches that aim to create a more beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive built environment.

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  Chamber of Commerce, Italy

  The property is situated within "La Cittadella," one of the main business districts in Padua. Its location provides excellent connectivity to the city center, the university and the exhibition center.

  
  

  In recent years, the local administration has focused on urban renewal to counteract socioeconomic decline. Key redevelopment projects include the establishment of a public park, the construction of new university facilities, and the expansion of the exhibition center. Furthermore, road infrastructure upgrades have significantly improved transit between the university district, the ring road, and the Padova Est junction. Indeed, infrastructure for a new tram line is currently under construction. 

  
  

  The property's internal facilities are designed for corporate use, featuring: a large conference room with 204 seats; two smaller convention rooms (53 and 24 seats); a dedicated meeting room, a control room, a reception area.

  
  

  The renovation project includes the complete replacement of the multimedia systems (audio-video, microphones, remote connections) and the electrical system, alongside a rejuvenation of the building’s internal aesthetics.