What does it take to futureproof our metropolitan regions, our city鈥檚 neighbourhoods and buildings? Join our lab talks to explore innovative, holistic approaches for building resilient cities and infrastructures that can withstand the challenges of tomorrow.
About Futureproof
Climate change, urbanisation, digitalisation 鈥� the challenges of our times can only be addressed through collaborative efforts. Preparing our cities and regions for a partly unpredictable future 鈥� making them 鈥渇utureproof鈥� 鈥� means to think beyond the 2030 and 2050 political objectives. Interdisciplinary thinking, flexibility and integrative actions across all scales will move more to the forefront.
What transformative solutions are needed to help urban and regional systems adapt to future challenges? We must rethink and reshape the built environment 鈥� adapting infrastructure, buildings, public spaces and neighbourhoods to be more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable 鈥� while not being able to fully predict future challenges.
Futureproof is a 海角视频 lab talk series that explores holistic approaches to futureproofing regions, cities and buildings in an interdisciplinary dialogue with experts from politics, administration science and planning. After three successful lab talks in Berlin conceptualised with Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory we continue the series in European cities.
Upcoming events
Futureproof 鈥� Transforming to circular cities 鈥�
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
How can cities become truly circular by reimagining what鈥檚 already there?鈥�
As part of the Living Environment Mission Day on October 20th, 2025 at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, we will set the focus on circular cities.鈥�
The conversation will explore strategies and challenges for transforming existing neighbourhoods through circular design principles, material reuse and community-driven regeneration by looking at best practice examples from the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. We will discuss how engineering can support urban metabolism and reduce waste while enhancing liveability and share insights into engineering-led transformation.鈥�
Join us to discover how circularity can be a catalyst for sustainable urban transformation. We’ll start with a lab talk followed by a networking lunch and a tour across the Dutch Design Week. For more details and registration, please email us by clicking on the register button to the left.
Eric Frijters
Co-Founder and Director, FABRICations
Amsterdam
Eric is the co-founder and director of FABRICations and former professor of Future Urban Regions, an inter-academic research program focused on healthy urbanisation. As a spatial and strategic designer with more than 20 years of international experience, he is regarded as a frontrunner in thinking about sustainable cities and resilient systems.
Alexandra Jonca
Senior Sustainability Consultant, 海角视频
London
Alexandra鈥檚 work focuses on developing and delivering circular economy and sustainability strategies on UK building and masterplan projects. She also specialises in city and portfolio-level climate action frameworks.
Anika Buchmaier
Senior Consultant,
海角视频
Munich
Anika specialises in the field of circular economy, sustainability strategies and embodied carbon at both building and district scales.
Quirine Henry
Senior Sustainability Engineer, 海角视频
Rotterdam
Quirine is a sustainability engineer with particular expertise in net-zero carbon and circular economy and has performed CO2-impact and material flow analyses on building, portfolio and organisational levels.
Martin Probst
Associate Director Cities,
海角视频
Rotterdam
Martin works on complex urban and landscape regeneration projects. His strength is the integration of disciplines and scales as well as the development of innovative solutions in times of change.
Neue Mitte Tempelhof
Berlin, Germany
Developing measures to minimise CO2 emissions and ensure the circular use of resources for the 10-hectare development, which will deliver new housing and modernise and expand public facilities around Tempelhof town hall.
Nachteiland (Sluisbuurt 1C)
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
A hybrid timber tower with 61% of the building鈥檚 materials being bio-based, while 13% are recycled. Combined with the project鈥檚 end-of-life demountability strategy these measures aim to give the building an excellent Building Circularity Index (BCI) score of 61%.
Circular Economy City-wide Study
Middle East
海角视频 was engaged by the city鈥檚 local government to identify and prioritise initiatives to drive Circular Economy in the city as well as developing an implementation plan and policy framework for each viable shortlisted opportunity.
Futureproof 鈥� Transforming industrial areas
rotterdam, The Netherlands
Industrial sites hold immense potential for transformation.
In this session, we鈥檒l delve into the evolution of harbours, energy transition and the adaptive reuse of industrial zones. We鈥檒l explore how engineering can unlock new value from legacy infrastructure while supporting climate goals and economic resilience. Discover how industrial landscapes can be reimagined for a sustainable future.
Futureproof 鈥� Transforming existing buildings
rotterdam, The Netherlands
Retrofitting and adaptive reuse are key to reducing carbon emissions and preserving cultural identity.
This talk focuses on transforming existing buildings, using our work on the Rotterdam Library as a case study. We鈥檒l explore how engineering solutions can breathe new life into aging structures and how computational engineering helps to identify the best viable option balancing sustainability, functionality and design.
Previous events
How do we define futureproofing at the regional and city scale and what does a futureproof metropolitan region look like? Can we anticipate future challenges and opportunities and what role do concepts like sustainability, resilience, and adaptability play in this context?
The event “Futureproof 鈥� Engineering Resilient Cities” in Berlin focused on addressing urban challenges like climate change and digitalisation. Experts discussed making the Berlin-Brandenburg region more resilient through sustainable and adaptable urban planning.
The concept of “polycrisis” was highlighted, emphasising the simultaneous occurrence of multiple crises in cities. The event showcased strategic narratives and innovation policies as key to developing resilient cities, with examples like the NeoCity and Berlin-Lausitz corridors.
Speakers:
- Prof Dr Lech Suwala, Professor of Urban and Regional Economics at TU Berlin
- Ute Schneider, Partner KCAP, Z眉rich and Professor for Urban Planning at TU Wien
- Benjamin Herkommer, Partner and Director of Analytics, Realace, Berlin
- Dr Sebastian Seelig, Partner, 海角视频, Berlin
- Anika Buchmaier, Senior Consultant, 海角视频, Munich
What do futureproofing and resilience mean in the context of urban planning and retrofitting our cities to adapt to climate change?
The second Lab Talk in the “Futureproof 鈥� Engineering Resilient Cities” series discussed renewing urban districts and creating climate-resilient neighbourhoods. Experts from Manchester, Berlin and Vienna shared insights on repurposing existing areas and the political measures needed for adaptable urban areas.
The event addressed challenges like the housing crisis, migration and climate change, highlighting solutions such as modernising urban districts, implementing sponge city principles and creating child-friendly spaces. Successful projects like Manchester’s Climate Loop and Vienna’s Mariahilferstra脽e were showcased.
Speakers:
- Maria Vassilakou, Founder & Managing Director, Vienna Solutions, former dpt. Mayor Vienna
- Oliver Schulze, Architect and Partner Schulze+Grassov, Kopenhagen
- Dr Karim Rochdi, Founder and Managing Partner, Aventos Group, Berlin
- Thomas Kraubitz, Partner, 海角视频, Berlin
- Felicitas Leithner, Senior Consultant, 海角视频, Berlin
What does futureproofing and resilience mean in the context of developing new climate-neutral buildings for our cities?
The third Lab Talk in the series focused on making futureproof buildings the norm. We discussed the necessary regulatory frameworks and political instruments to support widespread implementation and emphasised the importance of adaptable, low-emission buildings that integrate circular approaches and promote biodiversity.
Despite knowing what futureproof buildings should look like, progress remains slow due to outdated practices, complex regulations and societal barriers. The event highlighted the need for collaboration across the construction sector to accelerate change and achieve resilient, sustainable cities.
Speakers:
- Noel Justesen Wibrand, Head of Sustainability and Partner at Dorte Mandrup
- Martin L枚cker, Group Head of Development, CA Immobilien Anlagen AG
- Bettina Dorendorf, Senior Sustainability/ Sustainable Finance Manager, Prokuristin, KfW
- Sabine M眉ller, Associate Director, Structures at 海角视频
- Peter Scheibstock, Associate Director, Sustainability at 海角视频
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