The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a European Commission initiative that brings together citizens, businesses, and institutions to reimagine how we live, build, and design across Europe and beyond. Rooted in three core values, sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion, it acts as both a platform and a catalyst for challenging existing practices in the built environment, sharing knowledge, and creating better futures collaboratively.
Since its launch in 2020, the NEB has made significant progress on three fronts: building a growing community of creative experts (NEB Community, NEB Academy and NEB Facility Expert Group); developing practical tools and resources for designers, public and private bodies (from NEB Compass and Toolbox to Investment Guidelines and Self-Assessment Method); and establishing several funding programmes to support projects on the ground (i.e. NEB Facility or NEB Prizes). Together, these actions aim to provide guidance, improve policy, and engage more people in revitalising the built environment through design. They also make the green transition not only necessary, but desirable, enjoyable, attractive and accessible to all. For architects and planners in particular, the NEB offers a framework for applying grassroots participation, digital innovation, and high-quality design to transform buildings, open spaces, and neighbourhoods for the better.
This is why becoming a NEB Partner feels like a natural step for HLM Architects
We see the NEB as a genuine fit for how we already work: thoughtful, regenerative design that puts people and planet first. We believe design should go beyond minimising harm. It should actively restore ecosystems, enhance wellbeing, and create lasting social value. Whether we are designing schools that inspire, healthcare environments that nurture, or landscapes that support biodiversity, our work reflects the NEB’s core values in practice.
What does this mean in practice?
It means designing with people, not just for them. It means bringing communities, clients and collaborators into the process from the very beginning. And it means using data, digital tools, and evidence-based designs to make decisions that stand the test of time.
As NEB Partners, we see ourselves as both contributors and connectors. Across our seven studios in the UK and Ireland, we work locally to spread opportunities, learnings, and ideas regionally. In practice, this means opening up space – physically, socially, and digitally – for conversations, workshops and shared learning. It also means collaborating with more citizens and institutions, raising awareness of NEB principles through our projects, research, and storytelling, and making these ideas tangible through the projects we deliver.
We are also keen to work with other NEB partners who share a belief in the power of collaboration. For us, that means exchanging knowledge, learning from what has already been tested elsewhere, and openly sharing what we have learned in return. This builds on our existing connections across Europe, including our affiliation with the Perspective Architectural Group, and reflects our firm belief that bringing different perspectives together across borders, disciplines, and communities, is where the most meaningful change happens.
Our contribution is simple: turning values into action. By embedding sustainability, inclusivity, and beauty into everything we do, we can help shape places that don’t just function, but truly support people, communities, and the environment to thrive.
