Spatial Conditions of Collectivity in the South-European Context

The issues raised within the New European Bauhaus directly point to the question of the collective, both as a spatial as well as a social notion. In its physical manifestation, the spatial imprint of collectivity has a direct relation to the cultural and climactic context. While many implications of answering these issues can be shared regardless of geographical position, when talking about the physical framing of collectivity we can find common denominators among countries in southern Europe, in their traditions, way of life, relationship to open space, but also challenges facing urban expansion, heat islands, pollution, contemporary and active approaches to heritage etc. These were explored in one of the six conferences of the NEB goes South platform, an alliance of six South-European schools of architecture united in tailoring the New European Bauhaus policies to architectural education. The proposal investigates spatial conditions triggering appropriation by communities in both historic and contemporary South-European environments, as well as examples of embedding these topics within architectural education. The notion of togetherness and its various spatial expressions are illustrated in Croatian case studies, where built and designed spatial interventions are viewed as social acts, addressing inclusivity, and extending the notion of sustainability toward one that is societal, cultural, serving all species, bringing us into a shared productive ecology.