DEBATE FORUM

Throughout the exhibition period of the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, a rich program of lectures, panels, and debates will take place at the Debate Forum. Here, you will find a list of this complete program, with links to registration, where applicable. Stay tuned! some activities require advance registration, subject to capacity.

We're counting on you to discuss the future of cities in the face of climate change! The event will take place in the Oca auditorium (where the exhibition is located) and is free. Join us!

Attention: 

The opening of FórumSP 25, on October 6th, will be at IABsp

The schedule may be updated, stay tuned for changes.

 

SCHEDULE

19/09 – Friday

OPENING OF THE DEBATE FORUM: CHINESE ARCHITECTURE

1:30 PM to 5:00 PM – China architecture exhibition day

Debate between China and Brazil with Brazilian and Chinese authorities and architects

6pm to 8pm – Sponge Cities

Opening Conference with Kongjian Yu (Peking University – China)

 

20/09 – Saturday

TRANSFORMING CITIES WITH SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

10am to 12pm – Breakfast with curators and exhibitors

2pm to 3pm – Reuse: European experiences

Debate with Martino Pedrozzi (USI/Mendrisio – Switzerland) and Fernando Rodrigues (Porto, Portugal)

3:00 PM to 4:30 PM – Niterói Experiences: Orla Piratininga Park – Nature-Based Solutions, and Caminho Niemeyer

Debate with Dionê Marinho Castro and Carlos Krykhtine (Niterói City Hall)

4:30 PM to 6:00 PM – Urban Mobility: Planning and Participation

Debate with Thomaz Richez, Luiz Cortez (Metro), Sérgio Avelleda (Insper)

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Circulating Together on a Metropolis Scale: The Paris Experience

Debate with Pierre Emmanuel Becherand, Madeleine Houbart, Marc Barani (Winners of the Grand Paris Express Prize) and mediation by Renata Falzoni

21/09 – Sunday

TRANSFORMING CITIES WITH SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

12:00 p.m. – Launch of The green dip. Covering the city with a forest

Audiovisual with Javier Arpa Fernández (Delft)

3pm to 5pm – Spatial planning, climate challenges and decent housing: Architecture and Urbanism on the COP30 agenda

Round table to discuss documents produced with Vera França e Leite and Henrique Barandier (IAB-RJ); Hannah Machado and Luiz Florence (GT Clima IABsp); Ana Paula Khoury (CPUAT CAU/SP); Miguel Buzzar (Anparq), Marcos Bros (IAB-MA); mediation Raquel Schenkman (IAB-SP).

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Waters: a dialogue between traditions – India, Holland and France

Panel with Eva Pfannes and Sylvain Hartenberg (Ooze – Netherlands/India), Kareena Kochery and Samidha Patil (urbz – India), Duplantier Martin (France). Mediated by Claudia Visoni

23/09 – Tuesday 

10am to 1pm – Pantanal Action – Table 1 

Readings and mapping of a critical territory. A history of socio-environmental transformations and projects developed in the area. A mapping of flooding, landfilling, occupations, and conflicting urbanization policies.

2pm to 5pm – Pantanal Action – Table 2

Innovative drainage and urbanization solutions / Guides and methodologies developed by public administration. New public policy parameters.

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Urban green infrastructure and technologies

Case studies with Lucas Padilha (Secretary of Culture of Rio de Janeiro), Pedro Fernandes (SPUrbanismo), Marcos Barral (Oterprem – Drainage Floors), and mediation by Camila Reis (Natureza Urbana and IABsp)

24/09 – Wednesday

SP MEETING

10:00 AM to 10:30 AM – Opening

10:30 am to 11:30 am – Real-World Laboratory for Water Security in the Pitimbu River Basin: Participatory Science and Adaptive Governance 

Researchers: Karinne Deusdará, Jonathan Mota, Coca and Vanessa, Joana Darc de Medeiros, Adelena Maia, Sandra Saad, Andreia Lema, Heber, Wagna Moura

11:30 am to 12:30 pm – Fog collectors for vegetation irrigation systems: possibility of sustainable climate adaptation to water scarcity in Portada de Manchay, Peru?

Researchers: Loyde Vieira De Abreu Harbich, Mariana Zuliani Theodoro de Lima, Sasquia Hizuru Obata, Anny Cardeli, Ariella Cristine Cabezas Piffer, Pearl Felipette Brocaneli, Andre Luiz Nery Figueiredo, Jose Alonso Pajuelo Bravo, Thiago Oliveira Leite, Taizy de Jesus Santos, Luan Fagner de Almeida Esteves, Julia Tiemi Martins Goia

2pm to 3pm – EMR Sagi, RN

Researchers: Venerando Eustáquio Amaro, Afonso Celso Vanoni De Castro, Ana Marcelino 

3pm to 4pm – Climate change and experiences and knowledge in local space: a Real World Experiment in Ponta Negra, Natal/RN

Researchers: Sarah de Andrade e Andrade, Ruth Maria da Costa Ataíde, Venerando Amaro Eustáquio, Zoraide Sousa Pessoa

4:30 PM to 5:30 PM – Climate change and experiences and knowledge in local space: a Real World Experiment in Ponta Negra, Natal/RN

Researchers: Judith, Jean, Thallysson, Ricardo, Roney

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – SP Meeting – INCT Klimapolis Conference: Climate Science, Actor-Network Theory and Real-World Laboratories

Lectures and debate with Tércio Ambrizzi (USP), Stelio Marras (USP) and mediation by Maria de Fátima Andrade (Klimapolis)

25/09 – Thursday

SP MEETING

10:30 am to 12 pm – How can science support the sustainable reuse of conversion areas in metropolises?

Author: Martin Gegner and Jonas Fahlbusch

12:00 pm to 1:30 pm – Climate monitoring in Latin American investigations

Author: Silvia Maciel Savio Chataignier

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM – Between policies and practices: popular territories facing the climate emergency

Author: Maria Isabel Imbrunito and Patrícia Rodrigues Samora

4:00 PM to 5:30 PM – Nature-based solutions for public spaces: reinventing the city through the water cycle

Authorship: Pierre-André Martin, Amanda Saboya and Caroline Fernandes

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – SP Meeting Conferences – Promoting the circular economy through reuse

Lectures and debate with Maarten Gielen (Halfwerk – Belgium), Jörg Schröder (Leibniz University Hannover – Germany) and mediation by Pedro Alban

26/09 – Friday

SP MEETING

10:30 am to 12 pm – Tree planting in climate mitigation and adaptation in cities: new paradigms

Author: Rubens do Amaral

12:00 pm to 1:30 pm – Contemporary Architecture and Climate Emergency: Sustainable Paths between Public and Private

Author: Renata Gilio – KAAN Architecten

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM – Climate federalism and sustainable local urban development

Authorship: Alexandre Fontenelle-Weber and Fernando Túlio Salva Rocha Franco

4:00 PM to 5:30 PM – Heritage at risk: ancestral cosmologies and climate action

Authorship: Bruno Amaral de Andrade, Sandoval dos Santos Amparo and Luana Cristina da Silva Campos

Sesc Architecture Competition Awards Ceremony

7:00 pm – Announcement of the results of the Sesc Architecture Competition – Presidente Prudente Thermas Unit

September 27th – Saturday 

SP MEETING

10:30 am to 12 pm – Urbanized coastal regions: amphibious and poikilothermic territory

Authorship: Fabrício Ribeiro dos Santos Godoi

12:00 pm to 1:30 pm – Cities in climate crisis: planning and resilience in vulnerable territories

Authorship: Angélica Benatti Alvim and Ruth Maria da Costa Athaíde

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM – Beyond architecture: the role of the architect in the climate crisis

Authorship: George Alexandre Ferreira Dantas and Francisco Ricardo Avelino Dantas Filho

4:00 PM to 5:30 PM – Community risk reduction plans in times of climate crisis

Authorship: Fernanda Accioly Moreira, Francisco de Assis Comaru, Leonardo Ferreira da Silva and Felipe Rakauskas

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – SP Meeting Conference on Climate Science and Cities Research 

Lectures and debate with José Renato Nalini (Secretary of Climate Change), Edmilson Dias de Freitas (USP), Maria de Fátima Andrade (USP). Mediated by Renato Anelli (Mackenzie Presbyterian University and curator of the 14th BIAsp) and Judith Johanna Hoelzemann

28/09 – Sunday

SP MEETING

1:00 PM to 2:30 PM – Rethinking office buildings: adaptive reuse as urban strategies

Author: Elena Guidetti and Caterina Barioglio

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM – Shared mobility – Urban planning nexus for accelerating urban mobility system

Author: Aksel Ersoy and Diego Hernando Florez Ayala

4:00 PM to 5:30 PM – The urban microclimate: a thermal construction of socio-environmental imprints (Reforesing cities)

Author: Mariami Maghlakelidze

6pm to 9pm – SP Meeting Conference – Climate Urbanism

With Pedro Henrique HF de Christo (Principal +D, 4D and Harvard Climate Urban Resilience Brazil Group), Diane Davis (Charles Dyer Norton, Harvard Graduate School of Design and Harvard Climate Urban Resilience Brazil Group), Carlos Leite (FAU Mackenzie and Harvard Climate Urban Resilience Brazil Group), Elena Tudela (ORU-Office of Urban Resilience), Paulo Artaxo (IPCC-ONU and CEAS-USP)

 

1/10 – Wednesday

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Means of production

Conference with Jane Hall and guest panelists Felipe Carnevalli and Mariana Meneghetti. Opening remarks by Rafael Ferraz (British Council) and mediation by Marcella Arruda.

2/10 – Thursday

URBAN FORESTS

10am to 1:30pm – Amerindian Farms in Oca. Amazonia from the Margins to the Extremes: Labya-Yala of FAU-USP

Labya-Yala. Laboratory of Decolonial Studies at FAU-USP

3:00 PM to 4:30 PM – Trees and Thermal Justice 

Lecture and debate with Lucas Gobatti (MIT and ETH Zürich), Gabriela Alves (Perifa Sustentável) and Rodrigo F. Iacovini (Pólis Institute)

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Preserving Biodiversity in the City

Table with Patricia Sanches (Cashier), Ricardo Cardim, Adriana Sandre, and Oscar Bressane. Guest speaker: Marina Bragante. Moderated by Leandro Fontana (IABsp)

 

3/10 – Friday

REUSE FOR HOUSING AND CULTURE

10am to 1pm – Housing policies for the homeless population and the experience of the FICA Fund

With Father Julio Lancellotti, Marta Machado (Ministry of Justice), Élida Lauris dos Santos (Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship), Augusto Rabelo (Ministry of Cities), Carlos Hashimoto (Caixa Econômica Federal), and Simone Gatti (FICA Fund) – mediation and curation

2pm to 5pm – Innovating the Regularization of Affordable Housing

Panel with Fernando Damata Pimentel (CEO of Emgea), Antônio César Bochenek (Federal Judge of the 4th Region), José Carlos Alves (Director of Operations of Emgea) and guests

6pm to 8pm – To Connect: Radically and Poetically 

Lecture and debate with Li Hu (s)leisure Founder of OPEN Architecture) and mediation by Carlos Eduardo Comas

4/10 – Saturday

5pm to 6pm – Discussion round with Instituto Cambará and guided tour

6pm to 8pm – Film: When Brazil was modern

Preceded by a conversation and presentation by director Fabiano Maciel

5/10 – Sunday

CIRCULARITY IN THE CITY

2pm to 5pm –  Urban Agriculture: the circularity of food in the city

Lecture and debate with Lia Palm (Sampa+ Rural), Roberta Curan (Food of Tomorrow), Luisa Haddad (Bean Stalk), Leyuan Li (Office For Roundtable), and mediation by Vitória Leão (CPDA/UFRRJ)

6pm to 8pm – Cycles of construction and deconstruction: circular design

Lecture and debate with Akemi Ino, Leticia Grappi, Natalia Lessa, Karina Schwartzman and mediation by Graziela Nivoloni

6/10 – Monday

SP FORUM 25

7pm to 9pm – Opening at IABsp – Bento Freitas Street, 306

Lecture with Carlos Nobre and organizers of the SP 25 Forum

7/10 – Tuesday

SP FORUM 25

2:00 PM to 3:45 PM – Thematic Session 1. Environmental heritage, climate change and public policies

Presentation of works.

4:00 PM to 5:45 PM – Thematic Session 2. Living with water, adapting infrastructure and redefining waste

Presentation of works.

6:00 PM to 8:45 PM – Panel 1: Environment, Infrastructure and Urban Risks

With Joice Berth, Fernando Nogueira (UFABC), Marussia Whately (Institute of Water and Sanitation), Renato Anelli (Klimapolis/INCT/Mackenzie). Coordination/mediation: Nabil Bonduki (FAUUSP). Reporting: Carolina Heldt (Escola da Cidade)

8/10 – Wednesday

SP FORUM 25

2:00 PM to 3:45 PM – Thematic Session 3. Rehabilitating architectural and urban heritage, valuing pre-existing structures and building green

Presentation of works.

4:00 PM to 5:45 PM – Thematic Session 4. Circulating and accessing a sustainable city together

Presentation of works.

6:30 pm to 9:00 pm – Panel 2: City Production, Mobility and Heritage

With Adriano Borges (Insper), Bianca Tavolari (Cebrap/Tide Setubal), Evaniza Rodrigues (UNMM), Flavia Brito (FAUUSP). Coordination/mediation: Angélica Alvin (Mackenzie). Reporting: Maria Cristina da Silva Leme (FAUUSP)

9/10 – Thursday

SP FORUM 25

2:00 PM to 3:45 PM – Thematic Session 5. Promoting decent housing and climate justice

Presentation of works.

4:00 PM to 5:45 PM – Thematic Session 6. Governing with inclusion, participation and social control

Presentation of works.

6:00 PM to 8:45 PM – Panel 3: Governance, Representation and Social Participation 

Andre Lerner, Maria Lucia Refinetti Martins, Eduardo Della Manna, Silvio Oksman, Sidney Pita and José de Abraão. Coordination/mediation: Daniel Montandon (Uninove). Reporting: João Meyer (FAUUSP)

10/10 – Friday

RISK-FREE OUTSKIRTS

2:30 PM to 3:30 PM – Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm to 6pm – Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

 

11/10 – Saturday

ARCHITECTURES AROUND THE WORLD

11am to 12pm – Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

Lecture with Wellington Cançado (Piseagrama)

EU TALKS

2pm to 3pm – Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

With ⁠Gustav Düsing & Max Hacke (Germany – MIES Award Winners), ⁠Matheus Seco (Bloco Arquitetos) 

3pm to 4pm – Culture and Public Architecture

With Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano (EUmies 2024 Revelation Winner), Carlos Aberto Maciel (Associated Architects) 

4pm to 5pm – Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

With Florian Foerster (Representative of Bauhaus Earth – Germany), ⁠Gloria Cabral (Pending)

5pm to 6pm – Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

With Amélia Tavella (French architect finalist for the EUmies 2024 Prize), Adriano Mascarenhas (Sotero Arquitetos – Bahia)

Palmas, the ecological capital of Tocantins for 36 years

[CANCELED] 7pm to 8:30pm – Round table with guests and launch of Palmas City Hall contest

12/10 – Sunday

TRAINING, CITIZENSHIP AND NATURE

10:30 am to 12 pm – Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

Ateliê Navio, Casa Ecoativa, Coletivo Flutua, Descubra Brincando, Ecobairro, Paisagem Design Regenerativo, Flora: nature in motion, Parliamentary Front for Childhood, Brazilian Network of Collaborative Urbanism, Urban 95

3pm to 4pm – Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition

Lecture with Esteban Benavides (Al Borde, Ecuador), mediated by Pedro Rossi (Cultural Director, IAB-DN)

4:30 PM to 5:30 PM – Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future 

Table with Alain Briatte, Anaïs Guéguen-Perrin, Argus Caruso, Francisco Barros, representative of the MST 

5:45 PM to 8:00 PM – French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

With Rachel Gregório, Anaïs Guéguen-Perrin and Daniel Bicho (Dieu & Bicho Architectes). Mediation by Valter Caldana (FAU Mackenzie)

October 14th – Tuesday

TRAINING, CITIZENSHIP AND NATURE

10am to 1pm – Urgent Overview

2pm to 5pm – Urgent Overview

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

Jerá Guarani (indigenous leader and activist of the Guarani Mbya ethnic group), Pedro Linhares (FNDE), Luiz Miguel Martins Garcia (UNDIME), Jaume Barnada (Climate Refuges project, Barcelona)

October 15th – Wednesday

TRAINING, CITIZENSHIP AND NATURE

10am to 1pm – For an Anti-Racist Adaptation

With Diosmar Filho and Gisele Moura. Mediated by Marcella Arruda

3pm to 5pm – Academic Meetings: Escola da Cidade talks with the curators

Conversation with curators: Marcella Arruda, Karina Silva and Renato Anelli

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Technical assistance to communities in Bahia

With Thais Rosa (Periphery Living in the UFBA Residence), Débora Didonê (Collective Flowerbeds), Glória Cecília dos Santos (FAUUFBA), Zara Francisco Rodrigues (Show Your Neighborhood), Flora Tavares (TRAMA), Daniel Morastegan (FAUUFBA)

October 16th – Thursday

CAU/SP

10am to 1pm – Presidents' Forum

2pm to 5pm – Presidents' Forum

REUSE IN LARGE URBAN CENTERS

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Revive the Center

Panel with Eduardo Paes (Mayor of Rio de Janeiro and president of the National Front of Mayors), Alê Youssef (former Secretary of Culture of São Paulo), Marta Moreira (partner at the MMBB office) 

 

October 17th – Friday

PERIPHERIES IN CLIMATE ACTION

10am to 1pm – Citizen Science in Climate Adaptation

With Luisa Gusmão (Escalar Collective), Marta Raquel da Silva Alves (Brazilian Observation Network), Rian de Queiroz, mediated by Clevio Rabelo

2:00 PM to 3:30 PM – Black Women for Climate: Strengthening Urban Peripheries 

With Ana Claudia Barbosa (leader of the Promised Land Occupation – São Paulo/SP), Bizza Araújo (Coordinator at the MTST Solitary Kitchen in Sol Nascente – Brasília/DF), Dayane Monteiro (leader of the Aratu Collectors Club – João Pessoa/PB), Lília Melo (leader of the Terra Firme Film Club – Belém/PA) and Simone Sigale (Co-coordinator of the Collective Women of the Quebrada – Belo Horizonte/MG)

3:30 PM to 5:00 PM – Territorial climate action and justice

With Luana Alves (Periphery Without Risk), Claudia Gibeli Gomes (Casa Fund), Vitor Mihessen (Casa Fluminense), mediation by Alan Brum

6:00 PM to 8:30 PM – Living Periphery

With Guilherme Simões

October 18th – Saturday

THE ROLE OF ARCHITECTURE IN CLIMATE ACTION

10am to 1pm – Taking action for climate adaptation from the Public Authorities

With Tainá de Paula (City of Rio de Janeiro), Tamires de Oliveira (City of São Paulo), Cecilia Sá (MinC), Rafael Passos (Iphan-RS), Flávio Tavares (SNP), Thiago Reis (Secult-Bahia). Mediation Raquel Schenkman (President of IABsp and architect of SMC – PMSP)

2pm to 5pm – Achieving decarbonization and resilience in the built environment

C40 Cities & Consulate of Denmark

6:30 PM to 8:15 PM – Closing Session + Awards Ceremony of the 14th BIAsp International Schools Competition

With Camila Camargo (CAU/SP), Taynara Gomes (CAU/PA), Pedro Rossi (IAB Cultural Director), Cid Blanco (SDG/UIA Commission), Raquel Schenkman (IABsp president), curators, Lucas Fehr and competition jury

October 19th – Sunday

4:00 PM to 6:30 PM – Let the water flow…A tribute to architect Kongjiang Yu and cinematographers Luiz Ferraz and Rubens Crispim

We thank everyone who participated and visited the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, from September 18 to October 19, 2025

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.