On behalf of the Architects’ Council of Europe, we are pleased to invite you to participate in our Conference “Designing for the Future: Architecture and Quality of Life” that will be held on the 10th April 2008 in Brussels at the Flagey Building.

The Conference, which enjoys the patronage of Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, is addressed primarily to European leaders and decision makers from all levels, who act in matters relating to the built environment. It will present a number of ideas and concrete recommendations in relation to quality and planning that could be adopted and put in place very quickly.

The objectives of the Conference aim to:
- Promote qualitative developments through the adoption of diverse approaches during the conception and maintenance of the built environment, putting the citizen at the heart of all policies.
- Promote and manage policies that fully take the needs of sustainable development, territorial planning and effective, integrated management of the built environment into account.
- Notably include the cultural dimension of the built and urban environment without restricting it solely to heritage elements.
The economic policies adopted by the European Union continue to cause distortion by their strictly limited point of view –and by not adequately taking account of environmental, social and cultural dimensions, which are the very essence of a truly shared European project.

Many architects, citizens and an increasing number of political leaders are more and more convinced that the advantages of sustainable development in general and on a quality built environment in particular, are key elements for the future of the European economy and society. However, this glaring fact is still not brought to the fore in the specification of construction and planning projects to the extent where assessments and budgetary decisions are too limited to a short-term view thus penalising the possibility to have truly sustainable works.

Despite many and repeated calls, the progress in this direction of a more holistic and sustainable vision remains very modest both at community and national levels[1]. The Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities, which particularly underlines the role of “Baukultur”, is certainly a major political step on condition that it is put into place.

Over the past ten years, the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) has presented a series of proposals aimed at improving the quality and sustainability of the built environment in Europe, notably through its policy book entitled “Architecture and Quality of Life” that contains 21 key messages for the 21st Century.

By also identifying the questions that concern the profession, like those relating to qualifications and the commitment of architects to urbanism, the policy book underlines the necessity to constantly concentrate on sustainability, on the cultural dimension of architecture and on urban policies in which one of the objectives is to ensure the right to decent, quality housing for all.

Programme
10 April 2008
08:30 Registration of participants

09:00 Welcome and official opening by Jean-François Susini, Past-President of the Architects' Council of Europe: Objectives of the Conference

09:10 Opening speech by Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud

09:25 Keynote Speech by Riccardo Petrella, Professor of Human Ecology, Accademia di Architettura dell' Università Svizzera - Italiana

Session A - Social: Architecture & Its Role in Ensuring Social Cohesion
10:00 Gérard Collomb, President of EuroCities, Mayor of Lyon, France

10:20 Jan Olbrycht, Vice-President, Committee on Regional Development; First Vice-President, Inter-Group Urban.Logement, European Parliament

10:35 Round table 1: How Can Architects and Leaders Work Better Together?
- Sergio Chiamparino, Mayor of Turin, Italy, President of the European Regeneration Areas Network (QeC-ERAN)
- Wim Deetman, State Councillor, Former Mayor of The Hague, The Netherlands
- Françoise Favarel, Architect and Urban Planner, France
- Prof. Mark Kleinman, Director of Regional, Urban and Economic Policy, Department of Communities & Local Government, United Kingdom

Discussion

11:30 Coffee break

Session B - Economic: The Market and Quality of The Built Environment
11:45 Introduction by Richard Parker, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University, USA

12:05 Round table 2: Assuring Equilibrium Between Competitiveness and Sustainable Development
- Joan Busquets, Architect, Barcelona, Spain
- Jaroslaw Szanajca, President, European Union of Developers and House Builders
- Mateu Turro Calvet, Associate Director, Projects Directorate, European Investment Bank

Discusion

13:00 Lunch

Session C – Environmental
14:30 Assuring the Sustainability of the Built Environment, by Gary Lawrence, Principal, Global Leader for Sustainable Urban Development, Arup, USA 

15:00 Dialogue: The Leipzig Charter and the Quality Agenda - One Year Later
- Dr. Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, Germany
- Janez Podobnik, Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Slovenia

15:30 Coffee break

16:00 Round table 3: The Integrated Approach: The Challenge
- Jean-Marie Beaupuy, President, European Parliament Inter-Group Urban.Logement
- Eva Beleznay, Chief Architect, City of Budapest, Hungary
- Anneli Hulthén, Deputy-Mayor of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Charles Picqué, Minister-President, Brussels Capital Region, Belgium

Discussion

Session D – Cultural
16:45 The "Fourth Pillar": (Building) Culture Key to Balanced Urban and Spatial Development
- Christine Albanel, Minister of Culture and Communication, France
- Rob Docter, President, European Forum for Architectural Policies (EFAP Association); Director of the Berlage Institute, Rotterdam
- Hans Ibelings, Editor-in-Chief, A10 Architectural Magazine, The Netherlands
- Paavo Lipponen, Former President of the Finnish Parliament and former Prime Minister
Odile Quintin, Director General, Education & Culture, European Commission

Discussion

17:45 Conclusions by Jan Maarten de Vet, Facilitator of the Conference

18:00 Closing Speech by Janez Podobnik President-in-Office of the EU Council of Ministers responsible for Environment, Urban Development and Territorial Cohesion

18:15 Final Remarks - Juhani Katainen, President of the Architects' Council of Europe

Reception

Simultaneous translation: English and French

The conference is by invitation only, and only registered participants will be admitted.