The RE:PUBLIC SPACE AGENDA

It is clear that the built environment is one of the main factors behind man-made climate change, and needs to be rethought. As a society, we are responding with attempts to transform construction, climate and transport. For BEGA as a company that strives to produce valuable, high-quality and durable outdoor spaces, it is also clear that what we need is RE:PUBLIC SPACE.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THIS?

• We need resilient city centres that can withstand increasing extreme weather events and actively help to cool urban spaces.
• We need solutions for responsible nature conservation that can protect plants and animals.
• We need sustainable durability with robust materials that retain their value for a long time.
• We need excellent, sophisticated design that is sustainable in the best sense of the word: because it offers added value both for us and for future generations.
• And we need open spaces that are designed for everyone and intended for everyone’s use – last but not least because these spaces are increasingly becoming a second living room in cities where summers are growing hotter and hotter.

BEGA can deliver products and solutions for successful RE:PUBLIC SPACE. But when it comes to designing and implementing the aspects outlined above in context – this is where our long-established business from Menden relies on the expertise of the most skilled specialists. “Knowing how to listen” is our approach to RE:PUBLIC SPACE, interlinking construction design and open space as closely as possible. Because of this, for the RE:PUBLIC SPACE agenda, experts from a wide range of theoretical and practical fields were asked to outline what challenges a transition will involve and how these can be solved.

Nine articles on topics as diverse as synchronising cities with nature, feminist urban planning, surface sealing and the superblock concept – all the way to holistic design of outdoor furniture: The result is a compendium intended to serve as an idea generator and source of inspiration, that also putting forward recommended actions and a call for change.

BEGA views its mission as accompanying this process which has been launched on its long journey into the future. After all, the concept of RE:PUBLIC SPACE only began with this publication. The goal was to get the ball rolling: to inspire and to inform. Thoughts need to be given space and new ideas need to be encouraged. But it is also clear: We are just starting the journey of RE:PUBLIC SPACE, and there is still a long way to go. We invite you to become part of this journey.