HeritACT – Heritage Activation Through Engaging Experiences Towards Sustainable Development, a project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe program, was launched on March 1, 2023, involving the Research Department of Stefano Boeri Architetti in the development of an innovative framework for the co-production of highly innovative public space installations as well as the implementation roadmap for the pilot project.

HeritACT introduces innovative and inclusive architectural and design solutions as well as artistic and cultural practices to support environmental and cultural sustainability and the strengthening of cultural industries through community outreach and policy-making in European urban areas of different scales and cultural settings.

The project methodology enables citizens and organizations to imagine, plan and negotiate the form and use of public spaces and regenerate urban environments. The proposed methodology and activities aim to achieve the ambitious New European Bauhaus goals of connecting the European Green Deal in a creative and interdisciplinary way.

Within the New European Bauhaus macro scope, 15 partners in 5 European countries will collaborate together for 3 years. The goal is to integrate 9 solutions and 7 digital tools that promote inclusive and sustainable cultural-historical heritage in 3 pilot cities in Europe.

Pilot cities-Milan (Italy), Ballina (Ireland) and Elefsina (Greece)-will become living laboratories for urban transformation. Exploiting the synergy between innovative architectural design and cultural practices. HeritACT aims to facilitate harmonious and balanced urban development that respects its history and culture.

In Elefsina, the initiative aims to engage neighborhoods in cultural and urban planning initiatives, focusing on inclusion through innovative and sustainable design actions.

In Ballina, the project explores the potential of institutional buildings as diffuse centers supporting the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus in Irish cities.

In Milan, meanwhile, the project focuses on farmsteads as historical and cultural heritage and their enhancement through nature-based solutions (NBS) and participatory design installations.

Stefano Boeri Architetti’s Research Department within the project will develop an innovative framework for the co-production of highly innovative public space installations and will be the partner responsible for the implementation roadmap of the pilot project.

The Milan pilot focuses on the enhancement of agricultural farmsteads within the urban area and their environmental, social and cultural role. Two farmsteads, Cascina Linterno and Cascina Sant’Ambrogio (CasciNet), are involved, where physical and digital solutions will be co-designed and co-constructed, conceived to enrich the spaces, improve fruition and strengthen the environmental, social and cultural role of these historic places.

Specifically, the project is realized around 4 types of interventions:
– Architectural installations to improve the fruition of the spaces
– Digital technologies to support social inclusion
– NBS (nature-based solutions) as a social and ecological practice
– Events and initiatives to activate places and engage the community

Participating in the project are: University of the Aegean, THINGS, Municipality of Elefsina, Stefano Boeri Architetti, MENTOR in Culture, Mayo County Council, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, European Network of Cultural Centres, Comune di Milano, ACT – Accelerating Change Together, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, University College Dublin, University of Patras, Ideas for Change, LAND.

For all updates, insights and dates: https://www.comune.milano.it/web/milano-cambia-aria/progetti/heritact
https://www.heritact.eu/