We have joined innovation alliance Circular Design

The main themes being developed by the alliance partners are new design visions and strategies for the circular economy, urban transformations in line with the objectives of climate-neutral cities and the application of bio-based materials in building renovation. During the 3-year period, the team of Architektūros fondas will contribute to the development of international educational programmes, as well as implement ongoing educational activities and public events in Lithuania and Europe.

The Circular Design alliance develops innovations in circular design education by fostering collaboration between academia, the public sector and business. An innovation ecosystem is being created to enable co-creation of knowledge and to accelerate the integration of research and innovation contributing to real changes. The alliance brings together partners from 8 different European countries (Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, UK) from higher education and vocational training institutions, to associations of municipalities and civic organisations, NGOs, companies, business incubators and accelerators active in the field of ecological transformation.

Educational and vocational training organisations in Alliance:

• Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) Institute for Urban Design and Planning (Germany),
• Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Advanced Architecture Group (Spain),
• University of Genoa (UNIGE) Product and Service Design Group (Italy),
• ARCES one of the leading Technical, Vocational, Education and Training Centres in Italy. Member of the ASSOFOR network of vocational training centres (Italy).

Partner organisations active in the public, social and business sectors:

• ACE – Architects Council of Europe, representing the interests of European architects, small and medium-sized design firms and supporting professional accreditation and qualification (Belgium);
• Materiom, an organisation of designers, scientists and innovators working in the fields of bio-materials research, design, engineering and manufacturing (United Kingdom);
• Architektūros fondas – a non-governmental organisation bringing together a network of people and ideas, active in Lithuania and internationally in the fields of architectural culture and education, organisation is a member of European the LINA platform co-financed by Creative Europe;
• Business Incubator Tallinn (TEI) – an entrepreneurial centre established by the City of Tallinn to support the development of local creative enterprises (Estonia);
• ALDA Europe – association of local democracy institutions gathering more than 350 members based in 45 countries. The expanded network enables the best practices of institutions and organisations to be quickly scaled amongst many European and further countries (France);
• ERSILIA Foundation, a private, non-profit institution dedicated to developing interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary knowledge and building capacity to meet today’s global and local urban challenges (Spain);
• Italian National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – CNR) – Department of Biological Agricultural and Food Sciences (Italy);
• Ellen MacArthur Foundation – develops and promotes the circular economy, engaging key players from business, academia and other fields to bring together systemic solutions (United Kingdom).

The Circular Design alliance was launched in 2023, with a kick-off conference last November at the European Cultural Centre in Venice, Italy, and a partners workshop in Hannover, Germany, in December. In 2024, partner meetings are foreseen in Barcelona and Genoa. Architektūros fondas in Lithuania plans to implement the workshops over a three-year period and to hold an international conference in Vilnius at the end of the project. To find out more about future activities in Lithuania, follow Architektūros fondas and innovation alliance Circular Design channels.

The alliance is coordinated by Leibniz Universität Hannover. Other partners of the alliance include: Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Università degli Studi di Genova, ARCES, Ersilia Foundation, Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-CAE), Tallinna Loomeinkubaator / Tallinn Creative Incubator, Materiom, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Architecture Foundation. The alliance’s activities are implemented under the Erasmus+ Education and Enterprise Alliances Programme, funded by the European Union.