Designing the Irresistible Circular Society

Project Information

DESIRE

Grant agreement ID: 101079912

DOI

10.3030/101079912

Project closed

EC signature date 22 September 2022

Start date 1 October 2022

End date 30 November 2024

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 754 000,00

EU contribution

€ 4 754 000,00

Coordinated by

FORENINGEN BLOXHUB
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DESIRE (Designing the Irresistible Circular Society)

Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Designing an Irresistible Circular Society (DESIRE) aims to create an alternative way forward for the built environment supporting the EU mission of ‘100 climate-neutral and smart cities’. Against seemingly insurmountable challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion we need to rethink our approach to finding solutions. Departing from architecture, design and art we will create an open learning environment with principles, methods and guidelines to support us in designing an irresistible circular society.

We present a DESIRE lighthouse demonstrator, built on insights and learnings from on-site demonstration activities taking place at sites in Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Slovenia, and The Netherlands, encompassing various themes and scales. Three themes define our ambitions. ‘Creating social and inclusive housing’ addresses the need for inclusive processes, ‘the power of we’, in the circular transformation of social housing. ‘Reconciling cities with nature’ is about designing liveable habitats and functional ecosystems from a multispecies perspective while rebalancing ‘land use’ to accommodate resource generation and biodiversity. ‘Transforming through symbiotic relationships’ focuses on how to optimize use of materials flow when rethinking urban landscapes in cities.

On-site demonstration activities, testing a set of specifically designed and co-created DESIRE principles to support transition at local level, unfolded in each of these sites. It has led to tangible transformation plans, programs and projects that bring evidence of the value of the New European Bauhaus. The tools and methods applied are gathered in a toolbox to support future users of the DESIRE principles in actions towards an irresistible circular society. A Digital Learning Hub, https://www.irresistiblecircularsociety.eu/ provides access to results and outcomes to scale the value of DESIRE. Universities with expertise within design, creativity and architecture have assessed, analysed and communicated the learnings and outcomes.

By this, we set the foundation for a school of thought and practice, and establish a scaling framework for widespread learning across the EU through a digital infrastructure and the Irresistible Cities Lab, a community of European cities, NGOs, academia etc.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

These are key outcomes achieved at the conclusion of the project:
● All eight demonstrator sites have delivered projects and programs that have started achieving a transformational outcome. The outcomes are presented in publications listed in the overview of results.
● The monitoring assessment and learning framework has captured the evolution of the on-site transformations as well as the capacity of the tools and methodologies adopted to sustain the transformations
● The Digital Learning Hub has been released and is fully functioning, remaining active also in the future. It provides users access to the most relevant results and learnings of Desiree.
● A scaling mechanism, the Irresistible Cities Lab, is put in place – in combination with the Digital Learning Hub it will form the basic framework for exploitation of the Desire results and learnings in the future.
● The Desire toolbox offers a transformation guide and concrete tools and methods ready to be adopted and adapted to different contexts and challenges
● Narratives and innovation biographies, presented in two key publications, includes key learnings as well as challenges, insights and opportunities seen from the perspective of both the site organisations and the involved researchers
● A long-term financial strategy and plan – Territorial Transformation Plans - for each of the 8 sites identifies funding stream and additional investments for implementation

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Overview of Results:

The Desire Digital Learning Hub: Provides easy, searchable access to all project outputs, demonstrating an operationalisation of the NEB values.

Desire Principles, Transformation Guide, and Tools: offer practical guidelines and methods to support professional stakeholders in urban transformation, aligned with the New European Bauhaus approach.

Irresistible Cities Lab: A scaling framework and infrastructure that leverages content from the Digital Learning Hub while supporting professional interactions among Desire-affiliated organizations and external stakeholders.

Scientific Publications:
• Narratives of Irresistible Circular Futures (AAU 2024, ISSN 1603-6204, Vol. 204, D3.3).
• Experimenting with the New European Bauhaus Values and Principles in Urban Transformation (Politecnico di Milano 2024, part of PoliMi SpringerBriefs 2025, D4.3).

Reports on Learning Outcomes and Progress Toward Achievements:
• D2.3 Desire Toolkit
• D2.4 Desire Principles for Holistic Transformations
• D3.2 Site Experiences and Future Plans
• D4.1 Learning and Evaluation Framework
• D4.2 Monitoring and Evaluation Report
• D5.2 Desire Digital Learning Hub
• D5.3 Digital Data Presentation and Engagement Tool

Territorial Transformation Plans (part of D6.2 Financial Plan): Developed for all eight territorial sites, these plans present key results, long-term visions, and actionable steps, with references to relevant funding streams for implementation and further scaling.

Our Walk App: A visual communication tool and interactive data platform designed for participatory research with future area users. It promotes inclusivity and enables the articulation of needs, aspirations, and observations.