REGISTRATION HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON 11.-12.06.2026

REGISTRATION HERE TO PARTICIPATE ONLINE 11.06.2026
REGISTRATION HERE TO PARTICIPATE ONLINE 12.06.2026

Architecture in Transition: Modernist Legacies and Sustainable Futures in the Mediterranean and Global South

This event is part of Istituto Svizzero’s Innovation series, which brings together artistic and scientific research through dialogue between Swiss, Italian, and international institutions. Within this framework, the conference addresses modernist architecture as a field where technological, material, and spatial innovation is rethought in relation to contemporary ecological, political, and cultural pressures.

Focusing on the Mediterranean and the Global South, it looks at how modernist architecture is being re-evaluated, reinterpreted, and transformed under conditions of environmental pressure, political instability, and social change. Particular attention is given to post-war architectural systems – often based on materials such as reinforced concrete – which are today confronted with processes of decay, obsolescence, and the urgent need for adaptation.

Rather than treating modernism as a closed historical period, the contributions approach it as an ongoing condition that continues to shape urban space, institutional frameworks, and design practices. The focus lies on the theoretical legacies and material realities of modernism, and on the challenges of conserving, retrofitting, or transforming buildings that are technically demanding, politically charged, and often climatically misaligned with present conditions.

The programme is structured around three concerns: the transformation of existing buildings through reuse, upcycling, and adaptive design; the reassessment of modernism’s political and infrastructural legacies in contexts marked by interruption, decay, or contested memory; and the reorientation of architectural knowledge through climate adaptation, vernacular intelligence, and experimental pedagogies.

The conference is guided by a set of interrelated questions: how can modernist architecture be transformed beyond the opposition between preservation and demolition, and what forms of innovation emerge from reuse, upcycling, and adaptive design? How do processes of decay, interruption, and abandonment reshape its meanings and values across different contexts? And how can colonial legacies, alongside climate adaptation and vernacular knowledge, inform more sustainable and socially responsive approaches to architectural practice, pedagogy, and policy?