The UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 is an invitation for architects from all around the world to meet in Copenhagen to explore and communicate how architecture influences all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Science Track of the UIA World Congress has been tasked with the development of the agenda, Sustainable Futures – Leave No One Behind. For more than two years, its international Scientific Committee has been analyzing the various ways in which architecture responds to the SDGs. The work has resulted in the formulation of six themes: climate adaptation, rethinking resources, resilient communities, health, inclusivity, and partnerships for change. ArchDaily is collaborating with UIA to share articles pertaining to the six themes to prepare for the opening of the Congress on July 2, 2023.
While the 17 UN Sustainable Development goals only mention architecture in relation to Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, architecture and the built environment can have a significant impact on human and nonhuman wellbeing at a larger scale. The agenda of this year’s UIA World Congress of Architects aims to explore this principle in a more holistic manner. The chosen themes have resulted in the formulation of six thematical panels, each with identified subpanels, that examine the multiple ways in which architecture can shape our societies and its potential for aiding in the creation of a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future.
The Science Track and the Science Committee were formed to critically explore these subjects through dedicated exchange and debate-driven sessions. To further its reach, the Science Track has also initiated a call for papers, out of which 295 authors have been invited to present at the UIA World Congress in Copenhagen. The papers, which will be published in six proceeding volumes, expand the traditional research paper format to showcase narrative, visual, and argumentative essays.
In 2020 an international Scientific Committee of leading researchers and practitioners was appointed to lead the Science Track of the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 CPH. Headed by professor Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen and associate professor Martin Tamke, the Scientific Committee consists of 12 Panel Chairs and 4 Special Advisors. The main task of this committee was to identify and formulate the six panel themes in a way that reflects the 17 UN SDGs. The Panel Chairs are responsible for curating the sessions of paper presentations for their respective panels and their subthemes.
With only 7 years left to achieve the SDGs it is clear that real action must take place now. The UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 CPH Science Track aims to foster new research and knowledge exchanges needed for the architecture and the built environment disciplines to understand, build and fulfill their active role in achieving the SDGs. Together we have a collective responsibility to articulate and demonstrate architecture’s capacity to create impactful questions, approaches, and solutions across all 17 SDGs and help ensure that no one is left behind
- Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, professor and General Reporter for UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 CPH Science Track
All Science Track sessions will be held at the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 Copenhagen venue Bella Center on July 3 – 5, 2023. The Congress has also announced its keynote speakers invited to hold conferences from July 2 until July 6, 2023. The list includes names such as Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG, Francis Kéré, the 2022 Pritzker Prize winner, Architecture for the Blind founder Chris Downey, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Besides the keynote dialogues, the extensive program for UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 also includes Next Gen sessions, designed to give space to young architects and their voices; Paper Presentations from 250 contributors; Velux Daylight Talks to explore the significance of daylight in architecture; and the Obel Awards Talks that highlight architectural competitions for people and the planet. The UIA World Congress of Architects represents one of the most important events happening this year in Copenhagen, the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2023.
Highlighted speakers and keynotes at UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 include:
- Connie Hedegaard (Master of Ceremonies, Chair of the EU Commission Mission Board on Adaptation to Climate Change)
- Jerome Foster (Activist, Youngest Member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory
Council, Software Engineer, Co-Founder at Waic Up) - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Award-winning writerand feminist)
- Nyasha Harper-Michon (‘Archtivist’, Architect, LinkedIn Top Voice Green, Business Strategist,
Educator, Speaker, Writer) - Bjarke Ingels (Architect. Founder, BIG)
- Dorte Mandrup (Founder, Creative Director, Adjunct Professor & Architect MAA)
- Francis Kéré (Architect. Founder, Kéré Architecture)
- Kunlé Adeyemi (Architect, professor, and development strategist. Founder and principal of
NLÉ) - Jim Hagemann Snabe (Chairman, Siemens. Board Member, World Economic Forum)
- Mette Skjold (CEO & partner, SLA)
- Hans Joachim Schellnhuber (Founder & Managing Director, Bauhaus Earth)
- Elizabeth Timme (Architect. Co-founder, Office of: Office)
- Partha Dasgupta (Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge)
- Chris Downey (Founder, Architecture for the Blind)
- Jesica Amescua Carrera & Mariana Ordóñez Grajales (Architects & Founders, Comunal)
- Christian Benimana (Architect. Co-founder, African Design Centre. Director, MASS Design
Group) - Maria P. Neira (Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at WHO)
- H.Y. William Chan (Lord Mayoral Councilor, City of Sydney and Global Public Leadership Fellow, World Economic Forum)
The Scientific Committee consists of 12 Panel Chairs and 4 Special Advisors:
Panel Chairs:
- Panel 1: Design for Climate Adaptation - Panel Chairs: Prof. and Research Director Billie Faircloth and Prof. Maibritt Pedersen Zar
- Panel 2: Design for Rethinking Resources - Panel Chairs: Prof. Carlo Ratti and Prof. Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen
- Panel 3: Design for Resilient Communities - Panel Chairs: Prof. and Dean Juan Du and Senior Researcher Anna Rubbo
- Panel 4: Design for Health - Panel Chairs: Managing Director Christian Benimana and Visiting Prof. Arif Hasan
- Panel 5: Design for Inclusivity - Panel Chairs: Prof. Magda Mostafa and Prof. Ruth Baumeister
- Panel 6: Design for For Partnerships for Change - Panel Chairs: Visiting Prof. Sandi Hilal and Research Fellow Merve Bedir
Special Advisors:
- Leader of Foresight Hub Chris Luebkeman
- Prof. Katherine Richardson
- Head of Research Thomas Bo Jensen
- Research Director Camilla Ryhl
General Reporters and Heads of the Scientific Committee:
- Prof. Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen
- Ass. Prof. Martin Tamke
Stay tuned to the collaboration with UIA World Congress of Architecture 2023 and to our coverage of Copenhagen, the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2023.
