Local Accessible Urban Digital and Sustainable Factories: New European Bauhaus Approach to Open and Decentralised Urban Manufacturing

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COVID-19 pandemic manifested the vulnerability of industries, the unpredictability of external shocks and evidenced that traditional solutions do not suffice. Societal transformation and appropriate innovation models along with new technical solutions are seen as important pillars in solving environmental problems. Today, seeds of this societal and industrial transformation exist. Digital communities gather around open-source innovative projects, makers create collectives of professionals, artists and tinkerers in tier-places co-create solutions. SMEs, looking for more sustainable new business models, are inventing circular and sense-making businesses in various territories. User-centric, agile co-creation is a very well known development practice that can be expanded to the whole manufacturing chain. The transition to a low carbon, resource efficient, circular and sustainable bioeconomy, with its technological potentials and proven applications and initiatives like the New European Bauhaus offers solutions to the challenges society is facing today. LAUDS factories is an innovative concept aiming to create small, versatile factories in local and urban areas to co-create and produce customised products in small series. It seeks to incorporate innovative and active resiliency capabilities at production and supply chain levels to support a green, circular, and digital transformation. It can enable artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs to test new ideas and products, and reduce the carbon footprint by cutting transportation costs and time. It also aims to create a more personalised experience for customers, enhance their satisfaction, loyalty, and dynamize the job market. The key exploitable results include a sustainable model for local manufacturing, an updated digital product passport for transparency, and innovation services for makerspaces SMEs and creatives.