In focus: Saxony-Anhalt's largest NEB_PROJECT, the “Zekiwa Zeitz Real-World Laboratory” /
Kick-off for the anniversary year “100 Years of Bauhaus in Dessau”
On September 4, 2025, Ekaterina Zakharieva, EU Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation, visited Saxony-Anhalt's largest NEB_PROJEKTE project, the “Reallabor ZEKIWA Zeitz (RZZ)” (ZEKIWA Zeitz Real-World Laboratory), located on the inner-city site of the former Zeitz pram factory. The visit marked the start of the “100 Years of Bauhaus Dessau” anniversary celebrations and was a great opportunity for the city: “Zeitz shows the future!” Accompanied by the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, Dr. Reiner Haseloff, and the Mayor of Zeitz, Christian Thieme, two items were on the agenda during the visit to the city on the Elster River: a visit to an exhibition by the project partners on and about the project, and a roundtable discussion between Zeitz residents and the EU Commissioner. The message of the visit: The New European Bauhaus brings the historic idea of the Bauhaus into the 21st century and develops it further for our time!
All partners involved in the project, the administrative department “Structural Change in the Central German Mining Region,” the NEB_NETZWERKBÜRO, and many others at NEB, Zekiwa, and Zeitz had come to the historic inner-city site of the pram factory, not only to give the EU visitors a fitting welcome, but also to listen carefully, reassure themselves, and strengthen each other. The common tenor: the historic Bauhaus and the New European Bauhaus are places of new beginnings, inspiring innovation and a focus on the future! This Messages are important in turbulent times. They also shaped the discussion in which residents of Zeitz from the youth parliament, the municipal neighborhood management, the digitization center, and the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design as network partners had their say.
The Zekiwa Zeitz real-world laboratory embodies this aspiration, aiming to be both a laboratory for the future and a model project for Zeitz and other cities and regions affected by structural change. During his visit, Haseloff emphasized the importance of innovation and cooperation: “The structural change in the Central German mining region is a major challenge that we can only overcome together and with a great deal of perseverance. Projects such as the Zekiwa real-world laboratory show how creativity and cooperation can shape the future.” By 2027, the former factory district is set to be transformed into a vibrant, forward-looking urban quarter, fully in line with the three NEB_CRITERIA: BEAUTIFUL. SUSTAINABLE. TOGETHER.
The EU Commissioner gained her first practical insight into this at the exhibition set up in the “Room of Opportunities” in the already renovated Zekiwa main building. Representatives from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences gave a presentation and showed examples of innovations in furniture construction and interior design, including a 3D-printed armchair made from recycled or bio-based granulate, as well as digital solutions such as the “Citizens' App: Your Zeitz, your ideas, our future.” Another exciting project was the Bauhaus Agentinnen Zeitz's “City You Can Touch.” The NEB_NETZWERKBÜRO presented digitally the www.neuebauhaeusler.com/neb_projects/ location map of the “applied NEB_PROJECTS”, including the “Family Center” in Kleinpaschleben and the “LEHM-BAU-KULTUR” in Halle's Schwemme district.
After her brief visit to Zeitz, the EU Commissioner traveled on to Dessau to attend the official celebrations marking the start of the Bauhaus anniversary. Meanwhile, a large public festival was held on the Zekiwa site, focusing on the old factory and the new plans, where people came together to discuss cooperation and visions. In short: Zeitz showed the future!
Impressions
