Projects West-Sicily

ArtGeneration initiative

PROJECTS Save-A-Village

ArtGeneration: Save A Village - Future goes South

A European concept for sustainable future models in Southern Europe

In Northwest Spain/Extremadura, villages are increasingly being abandoned – as a result of rural exodus, a lack of future prospects, and climate change. Buildings are decaying, and social structures are breaking down. At the same time, interest is growing in new models of living and working, sustainable agriculture, tourism, health, and modern mobility.

ArtGeneration and Save a Village combine ecological regeneration, climate adaptation, social innovation and cultural diversity. Old villages are to be revitalized through modern technologies, sustainable construction methods, and new ways of living and working.

A development center/future lab is to be established in Northwest Spain, connected to high-performance data centers across the region.

A mix of practical, concrete use cases for later implementation throughout Spain and Portugal – and potentially in the Mercosur countries.

The project creates sustainable spaces and improves quality of life – ecologically, economically, and socially:

1. Construction & Renovation

Energy-efficient renovation with sustainable building materials (carbon-reinforced concrete, clay)
Repurposing existing buildings for housing, culture, health, care, tourism, and workation
Sustainable ecological building systems for new construction, extensions, agriculture, and tourism
Textiles for construction, climate control, and interior design: sun protection, heat protection, flood protection, textile-reinforced concrete, insulation, plaster systems, and textile facades
Textile solutions for the renovation of existing buildings, interior design, and temporary structures
Protective and climate-control fabrics for landscapes, smart decentralized greenhouses
Cluster apartments for community- living, learning and working
Smart technologies and sensors for sustainable use

2. Energy & Climate

Photovoltaics and agri-solar/voltaic systems, including recycling concepts
Storage solutions for energy supply (solar, hydropower), small hydropower turbines, and small rotorless wind turbines.
Decentralized water solutions (storage systems, subsurface irrigation, water purification)
Protection against floods, forest fires, and heat

Color a Village

Modernize a Village

3. Society & Culture

Academies for digital skills and new work models, workations
Workshops, studios, restaurants, libraries, co-working spaces
Cultural programs: exchange programs, climate au pairs, artist-in-residence
Preservation of crafts, traditions, and intangible cultural heritage

4. Health & Social Services

Medical practices, telemedicine, alternative practitioners, care assistant networks
Pop culture and natural healing therapies, wellness, sustainable health tourism
Accessible housing models (serviced apartments, boarding houses, care holidays)

5. Mobility & Infrastructure, including IT

Rental and sharing models: hybrid/electric vehicles, e-bikes, e-trikes, electric wheelchairs
Charging infrastructure for e-mobility, solar solutions, and storage systems
Protective and climate-control fabrics for roads, Construction of hiking and cycling trails and transport infrastructure
Development of a sovereign, sustainable, and data protection-compliant IT ecosystem that is largely independent of US technology companies. The entire architecture is primarily based on open-source software (e.g., Linux), open standards, and EU governance. The focus is on digital sovereignty, transparency, security, energy efficiency, and long-term control over data and infrastructure. Connectionto EU data centers and EU-based payment service providers is also included.

6. Agriculture & Nutrition

Self-sufficient gardens, climate-friendly gardens, therapeutic gardens, green care farms
Regional food production and innovative irrigation systems
Greenhouses, raised beds, smart agricultural technologies, aquaponics, and permaculture
Reforestation and renaturalization with climate-resilient plants, soil improvement/resoil

Green a Village

Revitalize a Village

7. Innovation Framework: The Save a Village Concept as a Testing and Learning Space

The pilot project will be tested in the "Future Lab" of Northwest Spain – a real-world development area that combines sustainability, community, and regional value creation, including cooperative solutions.

Here, sustainable solutions are directly applied: in construction, housing, landscape projects, healthcare facilities, and cultural venues.

The Save a Village projects will later function as a real-world laboratory where research, industry, municipalities, and the local population collaborate. This will create new production and value chains, new fields of work, and learning spaces. Examples:

– Personalized nutrition based on space-derived food (developed in the 1970s/80s)

– Production of organic products for food, medicine, and organic cosmetics

– Sustainable ecotourism incorporating national parks

– Care tourism incorporating AI developments and telemedicine

Economic and social benefits in Northwest- Spain:

Regional circular economy: promoting and expanding local businesses
New fields of work: research, design, crafts, care, tourism
Social innovation: quality of life, health, education, community
Climate adaptation: concrete solutions for heat, drought, and extreme weather (resilient building and housing)