The new edition of the NEB Festival will take place from June 9 to 13. This major event in Brussels seeks to foster synergies among professionals from diverse backgrounds within a cross-disciplinary framework that centers on the values of sustainability, inclusion, and beauty. Transversality is not its only characteristic, as the event has a clear component: delocalization. This goal is achieved thanks to satellite events taking place on the same date throughout Europe.
In Spain, there will be 11 conferences as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative, spread across the entire peninsula, from Santiago de Compostela in Galicia to Almería in Andalusia. On this occasion, we want to focus specifically on the latter region, a setting that represents some of today’s most significant challenges, such as the climate emergency and water stress.
As part of the NEB Festival 2026, n´UNDO is organizing a traveling research project from June 11 to 14, aimed at professionals in the fields of architecture, urban planning, the environment, and sociology. This mobile laboratory proposes a four-day walking tour of the boundaries of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, during which the challenges facing the landscape and its communities will be documented and discussed.
Indeed, the territory between Cabo de Gata and Carboneras constitutes one of the most unique ecosystems in the European Mediterranean, thanks to the combination of ecological, geological, and cultural values. In this sense, it is a living representation of the relationships between nature in its purest form and the circumstances of the present, stemming from tourism pressure on protected areas, intensive agriculture, and the region’s mining past.
In other words, this workshop offers an ideal opportunity to analyze the narratives that emerge between landscape, society, and sustainability. With this initiative, the organization—a leader in critical land management and resilient urban planning, and recipient of the 2022 Spanish Urban Planning Award—seeks to transform observation into collective, co-created knowledge, which aligns directly with the principles of the NEB.
For this reason, n´UNDO enjoys the support of organizations such as the University of Almería, the Official Association of Architects of Almería, and the various municipal governments and environmental agencies in the Cabo de Gata and Levante regions. The collaboration among all these entities fosters the continuation of the work that n´UNDO has been carrying out since 2011, which is based on an alternative approach to urban intervention, encapsulated in the idea of “minimal intervention with maximum impact,” or, put another way, not building, rebuilding, and undoing. This approach argues that often the best urban planning decision is not to build more, but to reuse and remove existing elements.
During the four stages that make up the workshop, natural and industrial spaces will be studied, such as the Arrecife de las Sirenas, the Michelin Experience Center, the Rodalquilar Mines, the Campo de Níjar greenhouses, and the Holcim cement plant in Carboneras. Talks by experts and local stakeholders are also planned, aiming to revitalize the area and encourage active citizen participation. More information and the registration process are available at this link.
