Carbon Stories 20 April 2023. Photo: Jacqueline Fuijkschot

On 20 April, the third edition of the Carbon Stories debate series took place in Rotterdam with the theme Systemic Innovation in the Construction Sector. According to Peter van Assche (architect at bureau SLA and professor of Architecture & Circular Thinking), culture change is crucial in times of systemic crisis. Using examples from Indonesia, Mo Smit (architect, researcher and lecturer at Delft University of Technology) showed how economy and communities can come together to create new forms of culture. Thomas Wellink (senior advisor of Sustainable & Innovative Building at RVO) highlighted the importance of regulation and Jan Willem ter Steege (architect at Popma ter Steege) showed what kind of architecture systemic recycling can lead to. The evening, moderated by Geert Maarse, closed with a public discussion in which a plea was made to unite the architecture sector and create a register of ‘clean architects’.

Would you like to get more insight into CO2 and the role of architecture? Click here to watch the debate. (Only available in Dutch)

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The next editions of Carbon Stories will take place on Tuesday 13 June (main language Dutch) during the PROVADA real estate fair at the RAI Amsterdam, with the theme Money Is (Not) the Issue: sustainable is not more expensive?! What economy does a climate-positive built environment fit in? Pioneers in the development of climate-positive projects Onno Dwars (Ballast Nedam) and Constantijn Berning (Edge Technologies) engage in a conversation with sustainable innovator Norbert Schotte (Gideon), sector banker Leontien de Waal (ABN AMRO) and policymaker Thomas Wellink (RVO).

The next Carbon Stories will take place on Thursday 22 June (main language in English) in the Keilepand in Rotterdam, with the theme Sustainable Urbanization: how can we formulate principles and regulations to achieve a truly sustainable urbanization of the Netherlands?