Project Nr. R081 BaltSe@nioR2.0
The Art Academy of Latvia is the Project Partner at the Project Nr. R081 BaltSe@nioR 2.0. Project is unifying various actors (municipalities, universities, businesses, NGOs) representing all 8 Baltic Sea Region countries and Russia to work together to help the Region to cope with the aging challenge by providing more senior-friendly public spaces.
Europe is the world’s oldest region with 23 of 25 world’s oldest countries - 5 BSR nations are among 10 oldest in the world! As global aging accelerates we face huge social and economic challenge. Companies are forced to modify their market offer and adjust it to the needs of senior customers. Also, public space (theatres, libraries, museums, restaurants, parks etc.) and public senior houses need to evolve. Being prepared for those changes means transforming them into a great business opportunity for BSR enterprises and public institutions.
Modern public spaces should reduce ageism and be friendly to all. Nevertheless, when public space is considered economy is the biggest obstacle. Knowing BSR is furniture powerhouse of the EU, generates though enormous possibilities.
Project team will show BSR furniture manufacturers how to develop interesting business ideas facing the aging challenge and responding public space requirements by using potential of BSR creative industries and cross- sectional specialization including implementation of IT solutions to produce smart furniture. We will develop new knowledge on seniors needs while using furniture in the public spaces and the needs of public institutions being owners or managers of public spaces. It will help BSR companies to prepare better offer. We will prepare an e-book of good examples and success stories presenting aging-friendly public spaces across the BSR. Thus, we will give BSR municipalities motivating source of knowledge and inspiration to change their environment into more accessible and thus helping them to provide better services for BSR citizens.
We will initiate a networking group focused on designing for seniors, reinforced by trainings to build capacity in the Region. We will create durable change by creating model demo spaces in various localizations of BSR to show examples of senior–friendly public spaces. It would not only facilitate knowledge and experience sharing but also build capacities enabling to multiply improvements in other parts of the Region. With new guidelines on senior-friendly, smart public procurement we will open up discussion for the necessity to consider safety and aging-friendly requirements while producing and buying furniture for public spaces. We will promote intergenerational respect, universal design and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
BaltSe@nioR 2.0 will give BSR public institutions and furniture companies inspiration and common identity, enhance their knowledge and competences, and increase their capability to work in transnational environment. Consequently, it will enhance their capacity of innovation to create public spaces that are adapted to senior needs, making them and the whole BSR more innovative and accessible.
The Art Academy of Latvia is participating in the Project implementation with Design Department (both students and teachers).
Project management is implemented by the Project Managers Vineta Kreigere and Jānis Gailītis.
PR specialist Laura Ozola is responsible for the Project communication activities.
Project Lead Partner:
Poznan University of Life Sciences
Projects Partners:
- Lifestyle & Design Cluster (Denmark)
- Satakunta University of Applied Sciences Finland)
- Ukmergė district municipality administration (Lithuania)
- Võru County Vocational Training Center (Estonia)
- Technical University of Munich (Germany)
- ITMO University (Russia)
- Art Academy of Latvia (Latvia)
- Hanse Parlament (Germany)
- Saue Municipality (Estonia)
- University of Skövde (Sweden)
Total financing of the Project: EUR 2 127 000,00
Financing for the activities implemented by the Art Academy of Latvia: 100 000,00
The first BaltSe@nioR2.0 project meeting took place from September 23-24, 2019 in Voru (Estonia), coordinated by the TSENTER, Centre of Competence for Wood Processing and Furniture Manufacturing
Information published 25/09/2019
An international design workshop organized by the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL) will take place from November 11th to November 14th in the Arsenāls Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art. Within the framework of the workshop, young designers and students of the Art Academy of Latvia, the Technical University of Munich, the ITMO University, and the Poznan University of Natural Sciences will develop ideas for improving the quality of life of future seniors. Everyone interested are welcome to attend the public presentation of the workshop results on November 14th at the Arsenāls Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art from 2 pm to 3:30 pm.
For the next three years, starting from June 2019, the Art Academy of Latvia will implement BaltSe@nioR2.0, the European Union's Interreg Baltic Sea Region project, which continues to pursue the goal of the previous BaltSe@nioR project — developing conceptual design ideas for improving seniors' quality of life.
The Creative Workshop Week will begin with several presentations. Vineta Kreigere, the project manager at the Art Academy of Latvia, will announce the results of the last year's BaltSe@nioR project. Saue municipality (Estonia) representatives involved in the project will give a presentation on the contemporary urban environment and the vision for its improvement. As part of the project, the city of Saue will develop and install environmental elements fitted to help seniors to enhance their physical activity. Architect Uldis Lukševics (NRJA) will talk about the latest trends in creating a favorable environment for seniors, while Miks Lukstiņš, a member of the board at Fixman Ltd., will share his considerable experience in developing sports equipment suitable for seniors. Workshop leaders Kristians Brekte, Associate Professor at the AAL, and Jānis Gailītis, Head of the Project and Development Department at the AAL, will help the workshop team with the brainstorming. They will advise and provide information on good examples of European urban design, as well as aging-related data.
Students from the Department of Functional Design of the Art Academy of Latvia specializing in product and environmental design will participate in creative workshops along with the project's partner-university students and young designers.
Students will work in interdisciplinary teams to develop concepts and ideas that will motivate seniors to spend more time outdoors. They will explore and address the topic of how an urban environment can inspire seniors to live an active and joyful life, as well as how to improve seniors' well-being and health through physical activity individually and with their peers while maintaining optimal physical and emotional balance in their daily lives.
At the end of the workshop, the ideas and their mockups developed by the student group will be presented to project partners and experts. The best projects will be developed into prototypes at the project partner's TSENTER workshops in Estonia.
Creative workshops will be hosted by Jānis Gailītis, the Project Manager of the AAL, Assoc. Prof. Kristians Brekte, Head of Department of Environmental Design, guest lecturer architect Uldis Lukševics, and project manager Vineta Kreigere.
Information published 11/11/2019
Within the framework of the project BaltSe@nioR2.0, Art Academy of Latvia (AAL) has created a platform “BaltSe@nior library”// “BaltSe@nior bibliotēka”, which gathers submissions of students' ideas for the daily improvement of seniors.
Since 2016, students, lecturers, and project management staff of the Design Department of the Art Academy of Latvia have been implementing the European Union's Interreg Baltic Sea Region Transnational Cooperation Program project’s BaltSe@nioR and BaltSe@nioR2.0.
Together with the project partners from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany and Russia, the project is looking for solutions to the global problem of population ageing.
In the creative workshops held during the project (2016–2019), with the use of different design methods students created design ideas for specially tailored products, which would improve the quality of life of seniors and prevent both physical and emotional discomfort.
On the “BaltSe@nior library”// “BaltSe@nior bibliotēka” platform, Art Academy of Latvia invites designers, furniture manufacturers, urban planners, public environment designers and everyone else to pay attention to the ageing society and the increasing need for solutions for the suitability of both private and public space.
The results and related resources of both projects (BaltSe@nioR and BaltSe@nioR2.0) in English are available in the Project Virtual Library www.baltsenior.com
Read more about the project on the AAL website here.
Information published 25/05/2020
