Sweco hosts satellite event during New European Bauhaus Festival in Brussels

From 9–13 June, Brussels hosts the New European Bauhaus Festival, bringing together urban practitioners, policymakers and researchers from across Europe. As part of the programme, Sweco hosts a one-day public satellite event on Thursday 11 June at the Urban Insight Lab in the centre of Brussels, in collaboration with three EU-projects in which Sweco is a partner: SEEDS, NexTArc  and HeriTace.

Register to secure your place.

What to expect?

During the event on 11 June, we explore how to develop climate-neutral and circular neighbourhoods, with a strong focus on practical exchange and collaboration.

You can expect contributions from city leaders, architects, engineers and other urban practitioners; researchers and policymakers across Europe.

Here’s a preview of the programme (subject to change):

• Take part of perspectives from European cities and EU initiatives
• Learn from keynotes on adaptive reuse and circular economy in practice
• Participate in interactive workshops on neighbourhood transformation, digital tools and capacity building

Throughout the day, we alternate between plenary sessions (possible to follow online), and hands-on workshops on-site. We close with a short reflection and an informal networking moment.

This event is particularly relevant for architects, urban planners and designers, city officials, researchers and professionals working on NEB-related projects.

Details

• Date: Thursday, 11 June
• Time: 9 AM to 5.30 PM
• Location: Urban Insight Lab @Sweco, Arenbergstraat 11, 1000 Brussel
• Theme: Sharing best-practices from Stockholm to Brussels, Ghent and Paris to engage architects and urban practitioners in circular urban economy and NEB values

Programme

08:30 – 09:00 | Welcome

09:00 – 09:15 Introduction (Opening remarks and overview of the day, Sweco)

09:15 – 10:30 | Cities in Transformation: Urban Pathways to Climate‑Neutral and Circular Neighbourhoods
(Online participation possible)

1. Stockholm – Double‑Duty Actions for Climate & Health, examples from Stockholm’s Cities Mission Pilot: Scale Stockholm
   Speakers: Lisa Enarsson, Project Leader, Environment & Health Department, City of Stockholm, and Stefan Swartling Peterson, Professor Global Transformation for Health, Karolinska Institute & Makerere University
2.  Paris – Methodes pour un regard transversal: Circular Urban Economy Approaches Transforming the City
   Speaker: Michéle Zaoui, Architect and Urban Strategist, Ville de Paris
3. Brussels – Spatial Strategy for the Eurodelta & Circular Built Environment (ASSET project)
   Speaker: Alexandre Ferrão Santos, Brussels Capital Region

10:30 – 10:45 | Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:00 | Workshop Morning Session– Enabling System Transformation at Neighbourhood Scale
(Three parallel workshops with the city representatives)

1. Double‑Duty Actions for Climate & Health
   Hosts: Scale Stockholm (Adam Sjödin, Ruth Boberg)
2. From Waste Heat to Warm Streets: Implementing Circular Neighbourhood Heating: HeriTAce & SEEDS (Ann Bruggeman, Nicolas De Vriendt, Nathan Vandenginste)
3. Circular Urban Economy Supported by a Digital Twin
   Hosts: NexTArc (Charlie Gullström, Baran Curuklu, Carlo Negri)

12:00 – 12:45 | Lunch

13:00 – 15:00 | Keynote Presentations – 15-20 mins presentation + Q&A
(Online participation possible)

1. Urban Dimensions of Cohesion Policy and other EU programmes – URDICO project
   Speakers: Benedek Jávor City of Budapest and Heidi Tency city of Gent
2. Adaptive Reuse – Rethinking the Built Heritage for Sustainable Cities
   Speaker: Bie Plevoets, Assistant Professor of Heritage and Adaptive Reuse at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts at Hasselt University
3. Circular Economy Models for System Transformation
   Speaker: Jeannot Schroeder, +IMPAKT / Sweco Luxembourg
4. Community‑Building Through Architecture for Local Communities
   Speaker: Anna Pashynka, Architect and founder CO‑HATY Architects, Ukraine (Erskine Award 2026)

15:00 – 16:30 | Interactive Workshop Afternoon Session – From Vision to Action: Implementing Circular and Inclusive Urban Transformation
Workshops and interactive formats focused on circular, inclusive and climate‑neutral urban transformation.
(Parallel workshops with expert and speakers in circularity)

1. Integrated approach towards more circular districts (NexTArc Adam Sjödin, Alper Kanak, Baran Curuklu, Jeannot Schröder)
2. Adaptive Reuse Strategies for Existing Building (Kenny Vande Walle)
3. Knowledge exchange and capacity-building in European cities (Carlo Negri, Charlie Gullström)

 16:30 – 17:30 | Plenary Feedback and Concluding Remarks
(Online participation possible)

17:30 – 18:30 | Networking Drinks and Mingle
Informal exchange at the Sweco Urban Insight Lab

Contact

Country Project Leader Sweco Urban Insight: ernesto.diez@swecobelgium.be

Sweco contact for EU-projects SEEDS and HeriTace: severine.hermand@swecobelgium.be

Sweco contact for EU-project NexTArc: charlie.gullstrom@sweco.se

The event is co-funded by the European Union and Vinnova.