Panelist at the fantastic two-day conference "NEB goes to Osaka - From vision to practice: Towards beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive living spaces"

BLOGPOST: CARMEN GARCIA SANCHEZ / DATE 01.06.2024

Professor Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, architect, co-founder of Atelier BOW-WOW, Japan , Byoung Cho, architect, artist, founder of BCHO Architects, South Korea, Dr. Carmen García Sánchez, architect, assistant professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain, researcher at Centre for Privacy Studies, Denmark.

Announcement of the two-day conference

Professor Sou Fujimoto, and Dr. Carmen García Sánchez.

I took part in the fantastic two-day conference "NEB goes to Osaka - From vision to practice: Towards beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive living spaces" at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan!. The conference highlighted cross-cultural dialogue and EU–Asia cooperation in architecture, urban innovation, and sustainable design.

The first day of the conference explored the intersection of sustainability, architecture, and urban policy, fostering EU-Japan collaboration. Through speeches, keynotes, and panel discussions, experts exchanged insights on integrating traditional and modern building practices, addressing urban transformation, and strengthening connections between nature and architecture.

The second day of the conference offered a unique opportunity to explore how future skills, creative education, and sustainable design are key to building resilient and inclusive living environments. Featured by leading academics and practitioners across Europe and Japan, the session fostered mutual learning and cultural exchange, connected like-minded professionals and institutions, and paved the way for new collaborations within the NEB Academy network.

Through thought-provoking conversations and meaningful reflections on architectural design, we explored ways to address the significant challenges we face at global and local levels in architecture and design, bridging Europe and Asia. It was a memorable and meaningful opportunity to share knowledge and discuss innovative ideas on the topic.

I would like to thank the other participants, including the panellists and keynote speakers, for an inspiring session. Jessika Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Tom Gnocchi, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, panellists: Prof. Xu Tiantian, architect, founder and principal of DnA_Design and Architecture, China; Dr. Norihisa Kawashima, architect, founder and principal of Nori Architects, Japan; Marko Huttunen, architect, restoration specialist and Juulia Mikkola, architect, non-fiction author, partner at Livady oy Architects, Finland; Byoung Cho, architect, artist, founder of BCHO Architects, South Korea; Prof. Yoshiharu Tsukamoto architect, co-founder of Atelier BOW-WOW, Japan; Prof. Matti Kuittinen, architect Jaakko Torvinen, Aalto University, Finland; Prof. Yoshiyuki Kawazoe, University Tokyo, Japan; Andreja Kutnar, architect, Slovenia; the keynote speakers Claire Renard, Jean Sébastien Blanc from Studio 5.5, France,

Also, huge thanks to the New European Bauhaus team for the opportunity, guidance, and endless support Vera Winthagen, Lorenzo de Simone, Sandra Steinbruck and as well as to Prof. Atsushi Takano and Assoc. Prof. Seungho Park-Lee.

It has received funding from the European

 Union’s H2020 research and innovation

 programme under the MSCA grant

agreement 896651. The present action

reflects only the author’s view and it does

not engage in any way the views of the

European Commission