The conference opened with an inaugural speech by Lluís Comerón, the president of the Architecture Institute of Catalonia. Comerón called for rehabilitation to be approached with the same ambition as new build projects, and encouraged architects to go international and tap into global opportunities in urban transformation in cities growing at the rate of a million inhabitants a year. Comerón stressed the importance of using new resources and expressive languages based on innovation, efficiency and management in order to take advantage of these dynamics. He appealed to the government to implement a smarter tax policy “that encourages rehabilitation rather than discouraging it. If a building uses less energy after a successful rehabilitation project, it should pay less.”

Baena then explained how an initiative like one involving a public facility such as the Alt Maresme Nord wastewater treatment plant can contribute to the rehabilitation of a natural space like a quarry site.

Other presentations were delivered by design firms such as Sierras Rozas, NAN03 Arquitectura and Ruisánchez Arquitectes. The participants then engaged in a roundtable discussion to analyse the challenges, opportunities and threats involved in rehabilitation today.