The CREST “Creative Repurposing of Urban Spaces for Innovative Student-centred Environments” European Conference took place in Brussels on the 24th of November in the STAM Europa headquarters.
The conference gathered representatives from Higher Education, European Commission, NGO and CSO sectors, bringing together diverse input and perspectives to the event.
The speakers addressed the need for a student-centred learning approach when renovating (and repurposing) educational buildings and spaces, and discussed the challenges in this process as well as how this approach can be used in wider public governance efforts in repurposing public buildings and spaces.
The speakers were:
Mr Maurice Selrais, STAM Europe;
Mr Marko Paunović, Out of the Box International, Belgium
Mr. Tomaž Deželan, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mr Igor Kalinić, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EMEA), European Commission
Mr. Borut Cink, New European Bauhaus, European Commission
Ms Marina Batinić, Culture Hub Split, Croatia
New does not mean better. The technology of today allows us to create beautiful sights out of ruins, and beautiful things out of (what is considered) outdated, old and even dilapidated. Abandoned buildings have the potential to become community hotspots and the only way to make that happen is to listen. Listen to people, listen to the environment. Let them tell you their story, their needs and their wishes. Let them IN, in the creation process from the start. There is no doubt, that cold old walls will become warm asylums full of life.