All Things Urban

Do you have a specific building or urban planning related project that you want to explore with a circular economy lens? Get a cross-disciplinary team of Nordic innovators to help you explore and develop solutions. For free! **Applicants: Who should submit a proposal?** We are seeking New York-based applicants, who are working on a project that could benefit from engaging in a circular co-creating process. Qualifying applicants can be:​ - Public agencies - Building owners - Urban developers - Construction companies - Architectural or engineering related businesses - Management companies - Industrial parks - Public space stakeholders - Demolition and recycling companies Or essentially any actor involved in designing, building, or managing a building or urban site. **Project: What is a suitable project?** The project you are seeking assistance with can have many different shapes and forms. Perhaps the project is the upcoming construction or retrofit of a building. You might also be in the process of redesigning a space or developing a new construction process. The optimal project should be able to incorporate or test solutions developed through the co-creation process. **Challenge: What are we co-creating?** Depending on the project, the co-creation process will zoom in on a set of issues for which solutions will be developed. It can be a very concrete issue like the wish to rethink material choices, or it might be a more open-ended challenges e.g. exploring how different circular innovations could be applicable. Do not be afraid to be creative! We will also help you define the challenge at hand. ​**Approach: Co-creation is part of our DNA** BLOXHUB is the innovation partner for this open call. BLOXHUB is a Copenhagen-based Nordic accelerator for sustainable urbanization. BLOXHUB members include 350 companies, science institutions, organizations, and public bodies – all working with architecture, design, construction and tech. If is from this group of pioneers that a team will be selected to co-create solutions with you. **Aim: Why are we doing this** Circular solutions in the built and urban environment are still an emerging movement, and we want to showcase how to take this forward. It is only by actually ‘doing’ that we can prove how concepts like recycling, design for disassembly, material tracing, upcycling, and reuse can have both environmental and economic benefits. Build Back Circular is our way to put action behind our intentions and match Nordic ideas with a visionary New York project. **Process: What does the innovation process look like?** The co-creation process consists of a series of steps, all aimed at creating a conceptual proposal to solve the issues and challenges you have defined. Initial steps focus on the ideation process, where the team of Nordic innovators generate a wide range of concepts and ideas. This could include a series of technical deep dives and validation discussions. Central to this step is an Ideation Workshop, which starts to create bridges between concepts and market-ready solutions. This will result in a Creation Workshop where activities could include collecting data, early stage testing, and meeting local stakeholders. If the co-creation process is fruitful, you can choose to proceed with engaging in full design proposals and solution partnerships. **Commitment: What do we expect from you** We expect you to be excited about circularity and have an organizational structure that allows necessary internal resources to be allocated to this process. You and the Nordic pioneers all donate your time to this process. There are no participation fees. The selected winner can hopefully travel to Copenhagen to participate in the Copenhagen Ideation Workshop, if the covid situation allows. Travel associated cost is not covered.

BLOXHUB is the Nordic hub for sustainable urbanization. Founded on the belief, that the challenges of global urbanisation and climate change require new ways of collaboration.