Background

Responsive Cities is a bi-annual international symposium on the future of cities organized by the Advanced Architecture Group of IAAC.
The 2021 edition focuses on “Design with Nature” and takes place within the framework of the Building Urban Intelligent Living Design Solutions (BUILDs) project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and developed by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia - IAAC- (Spain), Université de Lorraine -UL- (France), Vienna University of Economics and Business -WU- (Austria), Ersilia Foundation (Spain), ECONICK (France), Plant-e (Netherlands), City Facilitators -CF- (Denmark), and GreenTech Challenge -GTC- (Denmark).
The project aims to develop new transdisciplinary educational models in the fields of Biology, Design, and Business.
For more information visit BUILDs Project

About

Despite cities having strengthened their economy, efficiency, and liveability over the last decades, they are still facing major issues such as pollution, rising inequities, and unemployment. These already harmful conditions are furthermore aggravated by catastrophic events such as the current pandemic. New planning paradigms that recognize the importance of ecology to respond to these challenges are being developed, by integrating living systems in urban environments aimed at improving cities’ socio-economic and environmental conditions.
Living systems integrated in cities are also known as Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), defined as “living solutions inspired by, continuously supported by, and using nature, which are designed to address various societal challenges in a resource efficient and adaptable manner and to provide simultaneously economic, social, and environmental benefits'' (European Commission, 2015). NBS can help address several challenges through the provision of multiple ecosystem services such as life support (soil formation and oxygen production); procurement (production of food, drinking water, raw materials or fuel); regulation (climate control and tidal waves, water purification, pollination); and cultural values, including the aesthetic, educational, and recreational values. Design-optimized strategies can help reintegrate nature in cities by transforming urban spaces into liveable, productive, and biodiverse systems.
Advances in digital technologies open new opportunities to facilitate the integration of NBS in the urban environment and to increase the number and the quality of the ecosystem services provided. For example, digital technologies, such as simulation tools, open the possibility to test in a virtual environment how the system performs, while digital fabrication allows for the production of non-standardized elements (like green facades, floor tiles, public space furnitures, etc) for a tailored integration of nature in cities. The convergence between biology and ecological sciences and information technology applied to landscape and urban design can create powerful synergies to address the current socio-economic-environmental challenges.
The Responsive Cities Symposium_Design with Nature is organized around the following topics:

DESIGN: bio-design | environmental feedback | collective intelligence
BUILD: reintegrating nature | digital fabrication | new bio-inspired planning paradigms
ADAPT: nature-based solutions | biotechnology | black ecologies
PERFORM – living systems | increased liveability | ecosystem services
SHARE: participatory design  | novel virtual environments for co-design | symbiosis
LEARN: new educational models | applied research | making

Speakers

DEBATE ON DESIGN WITH NATURE EDUCATION WITH

Symposium Chairs

Barcelona - 11th and 12th of November 2021

Access will be granted upon presentation of the Covid EU passport proving that the applicant has been vaccinated with the complete vaccination regimen, has had a negative antigen test (taken 48h before accessing the festival) or a negative PCR test (taken 72h before) -in an accredited center-, or has had recovered from the infection within the last 6 months. Presentation of DNI or Passport is obligatory, in order to check your identity against the Covid passport or test.
Following the protocols facemasks are compulsory in all areas of the event.

Papers - (Call Closed)

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) with the Advanced Architecture Group and the BUILD Solutions project partners are launching the Call for Papers for Responsive Cities 2021, a global platform to experiment and rethink urban environments in response to today’s global challenges.
This Call aims to boost the reflection on how the integration of technologically enhanced NBS in cities can generate innovative visions, methodologies, and solutions.
- Can the use of  technologies support NBS integration in cities with the final goal to enhance the provision of ecosystem services?
- How can we strengthen social relations through the implementation of innovative NBS?
Will the technology-mediated implementation of NBS in cities lead to the development of innovative business models targeted at addressing current urban challenges? 
The Responsive Cities Symposium: Design with Nature is organized around the following topics:
DESIGN – bio-design | environmental feedback | collective intelligence
BUILD – reintegrating nature | digital fabrication | new bio-inspired planning paradigms
ADAPT – nature-based solutions | biotechnology | black ecologies
PERFORM – living systems | increased liveability | ecosystem services
SHARE – participatory design  | novel virtual environments for co-design | symbiosis
LEARN – new educational models | applied research | making
DEADLINES
  • Extended Abstract Submission: 30th September 2021
  • Selection of participants: 8th October 2021 
  • Deadline for full paper: 31st October 2021
  • Symposium dates: 11th-12th November 2021
LANGUAGE
The proposals must without exception be drafted in English.
HOW TO APPLY
Papers
The paper submission will take place in two stages. The first stage will include a submission of an extended abstract that will be subject to a blind peer review process. Those abstracts selected will be invited to submit the final paper as part of the second stage and will receive the submission details. 
Extended Abstracts Details:
Extended abstracts should have 1000 to 1500 words. They should include the following information: title, abstract, keywords, session that best fits into (design/ perform/build/adapt/share/learn), main text (introduction, methodology, findings/conclusions) and references. Extended abstracts can also contain figures, tables, and/or images, which are not included in the word count. Author/s and affiliation should not be included in the extended abstract submission, as they will be subject to a blind peer review process. 
Please upload your extended abstract here as a single Word (.doc or .docx) and .pdf document using the template provided by 19th September 2021.
Copyright: all parts of the submitted materials (including text and photographs), must either be authored by the person/people submitting, or they must have the rights to use and publish them.
 
SELECTED ENTRIES
Extended abstracts will undergo blind peer reviews and those accepted will be invited to submit a paper. Submission of extended abstracts implies the author’s agreement to publish the extended abstracts and paper in the conference proceedings publication, including the website. 
All contributions will be collected in a digital publication with an ISBN code.
FEES*
Senior 350,00 € / Junior 200,00 € (VAT included) 
Note: over 40 are considered Senior (details on payment method will be given to all selected authors) The fee also includes the participation to the social dinner for one person.
* Note the Symposium is free to attend. The fees are solely for the call for papers.
CONTACT
If you have any specific question about this Call, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]
DOWNLOADS

Contest - (Call Closed)

DESIGN CONTEST
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and the BUILD Solutions project partners are proud to announce the Design with Nature Contest, a global platform to experiment and rethink urban environments in response to today’s global challenges.
This Call aims to boost the reflection on how the integration of NBS in cities through technologies can generate innovative visions, methodologies, and solutions.
  • Can technologies help integrate NBS in cities in order to enhance the provision of ecosystem services? 
  • How can we strengthen social relations through the implementation of innovative NBS? 
  • Can the technology-mediated implementation of NBS in cities lead to the development of innovative business models targeted at addressing current urban challenges? 
This Contest is looking for innovative visions for the city of the future where design optimized to integrate nature can transform urban spaces into systems to live, produce, and restore the environment. 
WHO CAN APPLY
This Contest is oriented towards students and professionals from all over the world to make a design proposal. It is targeted at professionals and students coming from all disciplines, including design, engineering, landscape, biology, agronomy, business, and arts. 
HOW TO APPLY
The Registration is FREE, and the competition entries should be submitted digitally in PDF files via an online form (see below).
The proposals should comply with the following criteria:
  • Being a design proposal, it should address one of the following scales: global, regional, urban, neighborhood, architectural, product design. 
  • Every proposal should be presented in three (3) vertical DIN A-3 panels
  • The panels should contain the following information: title, short description, drawings. Optional: renders, pictures of prototypes. 
  • Proposals should be submitted in English. 
  • Panels should be anonymous. At the bottom right part of each panel you need to insert a code of six mixed letters and numbers (which you will need to insert this code in your application form).
  • Each panel should be submitted in PDF format. The size of each file must not exceed 1MB.
  • OPTIONAL > Video: In addition to the 3 DIN A-3 panels, you have the option to submit a 1 minute (maximum) video to explain, in a few words, the key concepts of your proposal. Please use English subtitles even if you are speaking English. (It is not mandatory to speak in the video, you may also use text, images, animation etc). To submit the video: First upload the video to YouTube, then paste the YouTube link to the video section of the submission.

SELECTED ENTRIES
This Call is a great opportunity for students and professionals to showcase their talent:
  • The best project will win a scholarship for the Master in Advanced Architecture 1 year program at IAAC, for the academic year of 2022/23
  • Selected projects will be published in a online publication with ISBN
  • The best 10 entries will be exhibited in the BUILDs final event exhibition to be held in November 2021. Moreover, they will be promoted in the BUILDs webpage and social media accounts and their authors will be included in the BUILDs talent network. 
DEADLINES
  • The Call will be open until 30 September 2021, 23:59h CEST.
  • Selected entries will be announced by 15 October 2021.
DOWNLOAD

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY HERE

Exhibition

The Responsive Cities Symposium will also host an International Exhibition where BUILDs students and selected companies will showcase their Nature-Based Solutions prototypes.

UILDs Exhibition Opening
November 10th 17.00 - 21.00
Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
Carrer de Pujades, 102, 08005 Barcelona
The exhibition will showcase the work developed by the Student Start Ups from the BUILDs programme, nature-based solution prototypes and the winners from the Design with Nature Contest.

Venue

CaixaForum: The Social and Cultural Centre of “la Caixa” Banking Foundation in Barcelona
Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 6-8, 08038 Barcelona, Spain

Videos

Pictures

Organised by


General chair: Areti Markopoulou
Program chairs: Chiara Farinea and Mathilde Marengo
Symposium coordination: Fiona Demeur

Scroll to top