site.btaEU Commissioner Zaharieva: Innovation Can Turn Sustainable Construction into Real Change

Innovation, science and technology can turn circular construction, nature-based solutions and climate-resilient built environments from ideas into real transformation, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva said on Wednesday at the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Festival, which will run until June 13 at Jubelpark and the Art & History Museum in Brussels.

Zaharieva said the European Commission supports such efforts by funding projects addressing Europeans' fundamental needs, including improvements to residential buildings, neighbourhoods, parks and schools.

A recently launched call for proposals will provide EUR 100 million under the new NEB Facility for projects tackling challenges such as affordable housing, energy efficiency and accessibility for all generations. Operating under the Horizon Europe programme, the facility also supports regulatory sandboxes for innovation development.

Zaharieva stated that the NEB Academy should provide the infrastructure needed for skills development, knowledge-sharing, research and experimentation so that innovations can reach European citizens.

The Commissioner stressed that the initiative's ambitions extend beyond housing and urban development. She highlighted new NEB initiatives such as Ocean Lab and Art for Science, which serve as incubators for ideas and action across Europe, connecting communities with the environment. She also referred to the European Commission's OceanEye initiative, which aims to improve data collection and deploy technologies capable of forecasting extreme weather events and helping citizens prepare for them.

"When people think of Bauhaus, many imagine Dessau or Berlin, but these ideas are not confined by borders," Zaharieva said. She noted that many Bulgarian architects studied in Germany between the two world wars and brought Bauhaus ideas back to Bulgaria. Although part of this legacy was lost during the Soviet era, it remains visible in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna, she said, citing the Plazh-Varna residential building in Varna, designed by architect Stefan Venedikt Popov, who studied in Munich. Built in 1933, the building is known for its rounded corners, large balconies and functionalist aesthetic, and was among the first in the city to feature an elevator, which remains operational to this day.

"The legacy of the original Bauhaus shows what Europe can achieve, when knowledge, ideas and people come together across borders around a shared vision," Zaharieva said.