Start Symposium SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT

Admission to the event costs €27,50 (a ticket for the symposium also grants access to the exhibition).
The language of the event is English.

How can architecture contribute to a more just, resilient and regenerative future?

The exhibition SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT is based on the realisation that today’s societal challenges are historically rooted. Across the globe, ecological, economic and social systems are under pressure. Cities, landscapes and buildings form part of these systems and are directly affected by issues surrounding water, energy, raw materials and social justice. Many of these trends are the result of long-term patterns of growth and depletion. Hence the distress call:_SOS_.

Building Value, the Start Symposium of IABR 2026 SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT brings together designers, researchers and thinkers featured in the biennale to explore how design can contribute to new forms of value creation and systemic change.

Across three thematic sessions, curators Wouter Veldhuis, Carola Hein and Martina Muzi introduce key themes, questions and projects from the exhibition. They explore how the systems behind water, energy, materials and information shape our living environment, and how design can contribute to fairer and more sustainable alternatives.

Through presentations and conversations, the symposium offers a first introduction to the ideas, projects and perspectives that define SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT.

Program

Shared Values | Curated by Wouter Veldhuis
On value extraction, collective action and alternative ways of organising society.

Flows and Architecture | Curated by Carola Hein
On the role of water, energy and material flows in shaping the built environment across time.

Pedagogies Intercepting Infrastructures | Curated by Martina Muzi
On learning, repair, knowledge production and new forms of engagement with social and ecological infrastructures.

The symposium concludes with a collective reflection on the role of design in shaping future systems of support.