Scaling up sustainable practices - architecture & territories

This discussion tackles the challenge of moving regenerative architecture from niche experiments to the mainstream. Moderated by Jean Souviron (ENSA Paris-Est), the panel confronts the question of scale and why promising local initiatives remain fragmented while "destructive" industrial construction continues to dominate.

A discussion about systemic barriers to change. The conversation will explore the political, economic and technical barriers preventing sustainable practices from being scaled up, and will question what kind of knowledge, governance and collaboration are needed to make a systemic shift possible.

The panel features three guests approaching this issue from distinct perspectives:

Alexia Ménec (Karbon' architecture et urbanisme), focusing on material reuse and territorial approaches to sustainable design.
Elsa Marchal Bouwmeester Meester Architect, the public institution shaping Brussels' urban and architectural policies.
Guillaume Habert (ETH Zurich), Professor holding the chair of Sustainable Construction, whose research focuses on the ecological impact of building materials and the transition to sustainability.

Together, they reflect on how their different fields, research, policy, and practice, can help identify the barriers and define the actions needed to scale up sustainability across territories.

This round table was recorded during the October School 2025, a four-day intensive event in Brussels dedicated to regenerative architecture. The school brought together 120 students, teachers, and practitioners from five European universities: KU Leuven, UHasselt, RWTH Aachen, the Estonian Academy of Arts, and TU Wien.

Participants were immersed in the theme through lectures, site visits, and three practical workshops focused on bio- and geo-sourced materials.

Co-financed by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.