How do we shift to materials that minimise carbon impact in our designs? 

ON 17 May at ENSASE, senior project leader and architect Ana Melgarejo Lopez will discuss how Tour & Taxis presented a unique opportunity to champion sustainability on a large-scale project. Collaborating from the outset with our Climate and NEXT teams, Ana will explain how she was able push the boundaries of what was considered possible both within our organization and in the wider industry, and provided compelling reasons to move from business-as-usual full concrete building to materials which not only minimise carbon impacts, but remained financially attractive to the client as well as embracing new aesthetics linked to new construction methods. Join Ana as she breaks down how being realistic and pragmatic is not only not a barrier to integrating sustainability into future projects, but how it can serve as a model.

With over seven years at MVRDV, Ana has demonstrable expertise in managing projects across different scales and programs, ranging from mixed-use to historical refurbishment, residential, offices, and high-rise buildings. From international competitions to detailed design phases, her experience is diverse. In 2023, she became Senior Project Leader, leading Tour & Taxis, a significant sustainability-focused project in Belgium, while other projects on which Ana has worked include La Serre, a mixed-use development fully integrating nature into a compact urban space, and the transformation and reuse of a 1970s shopping centre in Lyon. Her autobiography showcases a versatile journey marked by a commitment to innovative design and a passion for creating environmentally conscious architecture.

• Date & time: 17 March, 18:00 (CET).
• Location: Amphithéâtre, ENSASE, 1 Rue Buisson BP 94, 42003 Saint-Étienne
• More information on how to join the talk can be found here.