Impact

The local, real-life demonstrator pilots in the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails project are expected to achieve different targets and impacts in each location – revealing that indeed, one solution does not fit all sizes. The actions to be implemented constitute a diverse mix of physical testbeds, digital platforms and technologies that address the individual requirements of each case. Further benefits will arise from social innovations and the sustainable solutions that will result from Bauhaus of the Seas Sails activities. 

The seven demonstrator pilots will result from the co-design process that involves local populations in articulation with each municipality and cultural partner (where relevant), in tandem with academic partners. Bauhaus of the Seas Sails will ensure that all municipalities share their long-term projects and prepare with them the co-design of a demonstrator that articulates the vision of the city with its aquatic ecosystem. 

It is therefore expected that each demonstrator will influence future developments in each of the areas where it will be delivered. The seven pilot demonstration areas are  minor but iconic contributors to the total landscape of coastal regions in Europe. However, the demonstrable success in these pilots, especially when combined with a successful scale-up, will have a significant and widespread impact throughout and beyond the European continent. Our goal is to ensure not only that the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails outcomes are sustained but also that, in collaboration with other New European Bauhaus programmes, they foster sufficient shifts in thinking. 

The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails builds upon the need to accelerate the spread of cross-cutting activities and concepts to support the EU’s New European Bauhaus priority. It also provides momentum to the Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 and 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 EU Missions, by contributing to the objective of achieving climate neutrality with a particular focus on coastal cities as an interface to healthy seas, rivers, and oceans. The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails will act as a facilitator by developing strong lighthouse demonstrators that will co-design the deployment of interventions and offer novel solutions from local ecosystems to cities to regions, from micro to macro scale. 

The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails inherently contributes to the strategic objectives of the New European Bauhaus by providing evidence-based guidance, managing interactions between stakeholders and engaging with local communities, while fostering the development of a coastal adaptation knowledge network between scientists, policymakers, stakeholders and the general public. The deployment and testing of Bauhaus of the Seas Sails solutions will also foster market opportunities for EU enterprises and innovators and thus promote growth and jobs in the EU, in the short to medium term. 

The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails aims to decrease the ecological footprint of urban areas by implementing actions that lead to cleaning marine and fresh waters, restoring degraded ecosystems and habitats, and decarbonising the blue economy. The performance of the proposed solutions will be assessed by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), ensuring that issues such as land use or toxicity will be considered along the full life cycle of provided products and solutions. The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails directly contributes to the decarbonization of the blue economy and, consequently, both the reduction of global warming potential and climate change mitigation. Its demonstrated solutions will strengthen infrastructure, make it climate-proof and assist citizens in adapting to the future needs of coastal cities.

Citizen impact

The Bauhaus of the Seas Sails maximises the impacts of the project’s results among citizens and institutions through a division between lead users and end users. Results lead users are project partners who will directly benefit from those results by exploiting them in their city/regions. In addition, technology providers, designers and the scientific community willing to bring forward Bauhaus of the Seas Sails solutions through further demonstration and market uptake work are also lead Users. End Users are medium-term adopters who will benefit from the project’s results within 2 to 5 years from the end of the project: e.g., municipal authorities and regional governments. For the project to maximise its impact and strengthen the exchange with those target groups, selected end user categories will be involved from the very beginning as members of the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails network.

For end-users, Bauhaus of the Seas Sails aims in the short-term (1-3 years) to increase knowledge and social dialogue, as well as access to sustainable technologies and services; in the intermediate term (4-5 years), it aims to change in behaviour and provide access to adaptive infrastructure, while in the long-term (until 2023), it pursues further change in behaviour and increase comfort, safety and health, as well as economic benefits and green & blue jobs.

For tech and service stakeholders, Bauhaus of the Seas Sails provides in the short-term early access to validated novel solutions, participation in strong innovation clusters and added value due to increased experience and applied research. In the intermediate term, it further adds value associated with business model validation and increases the market pool thanks to the replication of solutions across coastal regions. In the long-term, it offers business opportunities for replication, spin-offs and startups for the green and blue economies, as well as compliance benefits to climate adaptation and mitigation.

For policymakers, in the short-term access Bauhaus of the Seas Sails provides regenerative solutions and services, as well as enhanced decision-making; in the intermediate term, it offers coordination on standards and regulation aspects, but also reduced costs of adaptation and mitigation via natural solutions. In the long-term, it makes the EU blue economy climate-neutral and circular with net-zero maritime emissions, thus enhancing climate change mitigation and adaptation.

For the general public, the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails increases awareness of climate impacts and climate justice issues, as well as increased acceptance and capacity to deal with them. In the intermediate term, it fosters an increased sense of ownership, a reconnection with nature and improved health and wellbeing. In the long-term, it promotes a wide-scale roll-out that leads to health, safety and wellbeing benefits as well as to new jobs creation.