Architectural spaces that “bio-learn” from cellular structures, building material with forms created from algorithms found in nature, architectural design and objects generated by artificial intelligence or digital technology applied to architecture were some of the topics that were discussed at the conference.

The Conference included talks and presentations by leading architects in biodigital architecture such as Karl Chu, Marcos Novak, Neil Leach, Kas Oosterhuis, François Roche, Claudia Pasquero y Marco Poletto, Emeline Raguin, Ferdinand Ludwig, Marcos Cruz, Pablo Lorenzo-Eiroa , Maria Vogiatzaki, Eric Goldemberg, Alberto T. Estévez and Yomna Abdallah.

The speakers addressed topics such as the nature geometry applied to architecture, generative algorithms, bionic design, digital manufacturing and robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and construction, smart cities, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things in architecture.

The Conference, which is organised every three years, and Forums, the annual series of conferences on architecture at UIC Barcelona, have come together this year in a major event on architecture from the biology and digitalization perspective.

This edition also coincides with UIC Barcelona’s 25th anniversary. Participating architects, pioneers in the field of biodigital architecture, pointed out how UIC Barcelona was already addressing these disciplines in 1997 when it was created.

Reflection on the future of architecture

Alberto T. Estévez, director of the Conference and Professor of Architecture at UIC Barcelona, emphasized the importance of biodigital and genetic architecture in addressing critical issues such as sustainability. “Someone must think about what the future should be. Our thanks to the conference speakers and participants whose work and research is focused on the future of architecture,” Estévez said.

“Our responsibility is to solve the problems of our generation and the 21st century, such as pollution, species extinction, resources scarcity, waste accumulation, melting glaciers and snow ice or deforestation,” Estévez explained.

Estévez added that “architecture and urban planning must use our knowledge of biology and digital tools to design and build self-sufficient buildings, with passive solar energy, urban agriculture, and that are active sustainability machines.” He stressed, “We must also think from an ecological as well as a social point of view and apply the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

The Conference was opened by Cristina Monforte, vice-rector for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at UIC Barcelona, and Víctor Echarri, director of UIC Barcelona School of Architecture. “25 years ago, we started this important line of research. We congratulate Professor Alberto T. Estévez and his research group, committed from architecture, from nature and with the use of computational techniques, to promote the welfare of people, in line with the values of UIC Barcelona,” Víctor Echarri explained at the opening of the conference.