Circular & City: Driving urban innovation

Programme for the Day

The programme opens with a keynote from Lisa De Visscher, the fourth Chief Architect of the Brussels-Capital Region, a position she has held since late 2025, and the first woman to do so. With 25 years of experience in architecture, research and criticism, including 15 years researching adaptive reuse and circular approaches at the University of Liège, her ambitious 2025–2030 plan puts circularity, reuse and the climate transition at the heart of Brussels’ construction sector.

Next keyspeaker, Alexander D’Hooghe (ORG Permanent Modernity / MIT) addresses the provocation at the heart of the programme: he argues that urban planning has lost the trust needed to fundamentally transform cities, leaving the field open to engineers and property developers. His question is whether design can regain the ambition to rethink how a city produces, uses and closes its material cycles.

This is followed by thought-provoking pitches from Sebastian Moreno Vacca (A2M Architects), who has designed and built more than 370,000 m² of passive, energy-efficient and circular architecture in Brussels and its surroundings; Pieter Ballon (VUB / imec SMIT), Vice Rector for Research and Brussels’ first Smart City Ambassador; Joachim De Clercq (Architecture Workroom Brussels), co-initiator of La Grande Transformation 2020–2030; Bart Becks (AI Polis / Genisys), former CEO of Belgacom Skynet; and Luc Van Muysen co-founder and architect at V°ast, and Gwenny Thomassen, Professor Sustainable Systems Management at VUB and member of the House of Sustainable Transitions, a transdisciplinary research platform. 

After the coffee break, participants can choose between two in-depth sessions.

Session 1: AI in the Circular City

Curated and moderated by Karen Boers (co founder of BeCode and BeCentral, former Managing Director of FARI), the session brings together Pieter Jan Devos (FARI), Sarah Dehasque (MultiRoofs, City of Mechelen), Nicolas Braem (Polyperception), Ella Fleer (Het Facilitair Bedrijf) and Jelle Defraye, Head of Technology & Data Solutions (Befimmo) to explore the development and implementation of AI tools in Brussels’ construction and real estate sectors.

Session 2: Heritage as a Material and Cultural Resource

Curated and moderated by Paul Dujardin (former CEO of BOZAR, now Commissioner General for Heritage of the Brussels Capital Region), the session brings together Audrey Henry (Secretary of State for Urban Development, Spatial Planning and Public Cleanliness), Laurent Ney (Ney & Partners), Marie Moors (University of Hasselt / DOCOMOMO Belgium), Valérie Vermandel (Whitewood), Harold Vermeiren (51N4E), Nupur Tron (Foundation Frison-Horta) and Ans Persoons (Secretary of State for the Brussels-Capital Region) to explore how Brussels’ heritage can become a true driver of the city’s future.

Your registration also gives you access to a choice of Fast Tracks. Registration for the Fast Tracks will open at a later stage, and registered participants will receive an email to indicate their preference.

Discover the Fast Tracks available below:

https://www.ftifestival.be/programma/brussel/fast-track-van-biomateriaal-tot-bouwrevolutie

https://www.ftifestival.be/programma/brussel/fast-track-slimme-energie-voor-een-leefbare-stad

https://www.ftifestival.be/programma/brussel/fast-track-bezoek-de-fari-cave

https://www.ftifestival.be/programma/brussel/fast-track-second-lives-circulair-brussel-vier-stops

https://www.ftifestival.be/programma/brussel/fast-track-art-nouveau-een-radicaal-precedent