On Tuesday, November 21, the COAC of Barcelona hosted a conference focused on the topic of architectural decarbonization, bringing together prominent professionals from the sector. The event was marked by a great diversity of perspectives and a shared interest in a more sustainable future. It was divided into four round tables with the following names: The Agendas of Change, A New Paradigm, Tools for a New Architecture, and The Construction of the UIA 2026 Congress.<\/p>\n
The welcome and presentation featured participation from Guillem Costa Calsamiglia, Dean of the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC); Marta Vall-llossera, President of the Higher Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE); Carl B\u00e4ckstrand, member of the Executive Board of the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-CAE); Laia Bonet, First Deputy Mayor of the Barcelona City Council for Urban Planning, Mobility, and Housing; Marina Berasategui, Secretary of Housing of the Government of Catalonia.<\/p>\n
The round table on “The Agendas of Change” was moderated by Dolores Huerta, Director General of the Green Building Council Spain (GBCe), and addressed issues such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), with Pau Garcia, policy officer for Buildings & Products at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy; the EU taxonomy for sustainable economic activities, with Christine Lemaitre, CEO of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB); the Level(s) application, with Josefina Lindblom, policy officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment; the quality of architecture in the energy transition and the European New Bauhaus, with the participation of Carl B\u00e4ckstrand, member of the Executive Board of the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-CAE).<\/p>\n
A New Paradigm, A New Model was moderated by Marcos Ros, Member of the European Parliament, and explored the importance of the EPBD as a tool for change, with case studies such as long-term territorial planning presented by Ignacio de la Puerta, Director General of Territorial Planning and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government, and a new model for large-scale energy rehabilitation presented by Albert Cuch\u00ed, professor at the ETSAV (UPC) and Joaquim Arcas, co-founder of C\u00edclica.<\/p>\n
Tools for a New Architecture, moderated by Jade Serra, member of the Architecture and Sustainability Group (AuS), included topics such as sector decarbonization, with the participation of Francisco Cifuentes, founder of Aulets Arquitectes, and Joan Roig, co-founder of Batlleiroig and commissioner of the exhibition “The New Realists”; carbon-neutral construction and certification, with I\u00f1aki Alonso, director of sAtt \/ Natural District and founder and former president of Ec\u00f3metro; decarbonization of materials, with Jean-Marc Moulin, Director of Sustainability at the Hydro Group; and health as a key factor in decarbonization, with Sonia Hern\u00e1ndez-Monta\u00f1o, architect and health expert.<\/p>\n
Finally, the discussion focused on the construction of the UIA 2026 Congress, with participation from Maria Buhigas, Chief Architect of the Barcelona City Council; Beth Tu\u00e0, Coordinator of Actions for the Development of Urban Habitat and Territory Policies of the Government of Catalonia; and Teresa T\u00e1boas, Vice President of the International Union of Architects (UIA), moderated by Albert Cuch\u00ed, President of the Architecture and Sustainability Group (AuS).<\/p>\n
The event concluded with the presentation of the #DecarbonizingArchitectureBCN2026 decalogue, led by Greta Tresserra, a practical guide for transforming the architectural sector towards sustainability.<\/p>\n
In summary, the day was a testament to the collective commitment to fighting for a more sustainable future, led by the Architecture and Sustainability Group (AuS), driving real change in contemporary architecture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Tuesday, November 21, the COAC of Barcelona hosted a conference focused on the topic of architectural decarbonization, bringing together prominent professionals from the sector. The event was marked by a great diversity of perspectives and a shared interest in a more sustainable future. It was divided into four round tables with the following names:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n