What is the path from ideal communities to sustainable industrial ecosystems? How are megatrends; digitalization, new technologies, urbanization, climate change and the demands of sustainable development changing industrial fabrication and design? Factory environments have always inspired art, literature and film. Which kind of environments and architecture does the industrial productions create in the future? On the other hand, what are the possibilities for reuse and regeneration of progressive historical industrial premises? How is renovation carried out following the principles of sustainable development, and for the needs of the future? And not forgetting Alvar Aalto’s concern for the human scale.

The 15th Alvar Aalto Symposium – Future of Industry will be held in Jyväskylä on 12-13 August, 2021 and bring together top international speakers and the general public to discuss current architectural themes. 

The main venue for the two-day hybrid event is the Main Building of the University of Jyväskylä. 

The key themes of the symposium are: Reliable partner – industrial buildings in urban environments; Responsible action – industrial construction for sustainable development; and Building identity – the role of industrial architecture in regional planning. The seminar programme also includes urban art experiences in summertime Jyväskylä and tours of factory environments.

Providing the introduction for the discussion of industrial construction, urban planning and future visions are the symposium’s keynote speakers: architect Xu Tiantian (DnA_Design and Architecture, China), architect Thomas Bonde-Hansen (Gottlieb Paludan Architects, Denmark), architect, professor Ute Schneider (KCAP architects, the Netherlands, Switzerland and China), and architect Tuomas Kivinen (Virkkunen & Co, Finland). Beniamino de Liguori Carino, secretary general of the Adriano Olivetti Foundation, and architect Pippo Ciorra of the MAXXI MUSEUM will be bringing their greetings from Italy.

Symposium will be this year a hybrid event, onsite in Jyväskylä, Finland and virtual for audiences all around the world. The onsite venue will be the traditional main building of the University of Jyväskylä (Alvar Aalto 1955). 

The 2-day programme includes besides speeches and conversations, architectural excursions, exhibitions and various public events. Speeches will be held in English. 

Part of the additional programme will be in Finnish.The event is organized by the Alvar Aalto Academy together with the City of Jyväskylä and several other partners. The Alvar Aalto Foundation keeps monitoring the Covid-19 recommendations and restrictions. Changes possible.

Buy your tickets for the symposium on this page. Early birds prices continue until 30 June 2021. 

Read more about the program here. Read more about speakers here. 

Top image courtesy of Alvar Aalto Foundation.

> via Alvar Aalto Foundation