It has been one year since the BIOARC project began, and the consortium recently came together to reflect on the progress made so far and align on the next steps.
The third BIOARC General Assembly was held on 20–21 May 2026 in Newcastle, UK, hosted by Northumbria University. Over two days, project partners gathered to discuss all aspects of BIOARC: scientific progress, material development, design directions, sustainability assessment, stakeholder engagement and the next phase of project activities.
The assembly also included an exhibition visit: the ‘Living Construction’ exhibit that showcased the achievements in biomaterial development, by the hosting project team from Northumbria University. We also had a chance to visit their laboratory at UNN where these very materials were developed.
The most dynamic session, which engaged everyone present for a whole afternoon, was probably the EcoDesign Workshop conducted by WeLoop from France. Their role in the BIOARC consortium is primarily to cover the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the materials developed within the project, and this workshop gave the chance to all project partners to contribute to this process.
At the heart of BIOARC is a simple but ambitious question: how can Europe’s agricultural by-products become part of a new generation of sustainable construction materials? Over the past year, partners have been exploring this question from different perspectives. Scientific teams have been investigating biomineralisation processes and the role of locally available biological resources. Design and architecture partners have been looking at possible applications. Sustainability experts have been assessing environmental implications, while regional partners have been helping connect the project with farmers, producers, architects, industry actors and local communities. All of this was re-examined and discussed at the General Assembly in Newcastle.
During the first project year, the consortium has made important progress in understanding which material pathways are most promising and where additional research is still needed. Early testing and development activities are helping partners refine material formulations and identify possible applications. At the same time, co-creation activities and bioregional workshops are ensuring that the project remains connected to local reality and needs.
After the Newcastle meeting, we can now be certain that BIOARC is moving from the initial phase of setting up processes and gathering knowledge towards more tangible outputs. In the next phase, the focus will increasingly shift to prototype development and demonstration. This means bringing together the various strains of knowledge generated so far and translating it into material prototypes that can be tested and eventually showcased.
Another important direction for the coming period is the continued involvement of regional actors. BIOARC is built on the idea that future building materials should be developed with an understanding of local resources and local realities. Hence the ‘bioregional’ keyword in many of our activities. So: farmers, producers, designers, architects, researchers and industry representatives all have a role to play in shaping the materials that BIOARC is developing.
Stakeholder engagement remains as another priority in the next phase of the project. Over the past year, BIOARC has started building visibility through events, project stories, publications, collaborations with related initiatives, conversations with stakeholders across Europe, and so on and so on. The growing interest around what we do shows that BIOARC is contributing to a wider European conversation about how we build, what we build with and how material innovation can support more sustainable futures.
After its first year, BIOARC is still a research and innovation project in progress. As we move forward, the project will continue working towards a future where construction materials are inseparable from landscapes, communities, circular value chains and new ways of thinking about the built environment.
