How can we imagine the future city and its 'biodivercity' ? How could we as architects create substantial relations between humans and other species, between buildings and nature? Join Winy Maas for his lecture  “Everything becomes bio” at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. 

Given the global climate crisis and the specific role of architects in constructing infrastructures that shape society, the discipline of architecture must tackle and consider current societal challenges in a variety of ways. Could ‘green’ ideology, as we know it, solve this complex situation? Winy Maas will take on this question Tuesday, April 25th in his lecture. Using researches by The Why Factory, MVRDV's think thank and examples from MVRDV ‘s broad portfolio, he will demonstrate the opportunities architecture brings in challenging the boundaries of established standards and producing ground-breaking solutions. Winy Maas will show how architecture can create a change in behaviour by creating meaningful relationships between humans, cities and the rest of the ecosystem.

The ‘M’ of MVRDV, Founding Partner and Principal Architect Winy Maas (Schijndel, NL - 1959), has received international acclaim for his broad range of urban planning and building projects, across all typologies and scales. These are often self-generated, innovative, experimental, and theoretical. Driven by this dedication to green, user-defined, sustainable cities and spaces, Maas’ leadership drives many of the office’s award-winning projects, amongst them Rotterdam’s Markthal (2014), Crystal Houses (2016) the Tianjin Binhai Library (2017), Valley (2022) and the first publicly accessible art depot in the world, Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, which opened its doors in Rotterdam end of 2021. In Maas’ broad portfolio are also several masterplans, including a vision for the future of Greater Paris, the Left Bank in Bordeaux, and the waterfront of Oslo. Maas supervised the world horticultural exhibition Floriade 2022 and Eindhoven city centre from 2017 until 2022. Maas challenges colleagues, clients, as well as students and collaborators at TU Delft’s The Why Factory – an internationally engaged think tank Maas established in 2008 – to challenge the boundaries of established standards to produce solutions that reimagine how we live, work, and play. Aside from his dedicated leadership role at MVRDV and professorship at TU Delft and elsewhere, Maas is widely published, actively engaged in the advancement of the design profession, and sits on numerous boards and juries, including the Spatial Quality Boards of Rotterdam, Eindhoven, and Barcelona.

• Date & time : April 25 – 19.30 (CET).
• Location : Main hall Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, C. de Pujades, 102, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
• More information and registration to the lecture here