Lecture - Carbon Confessions: The Architecture of Understanding Emissions

How is carbon reshaping architecture and cities? An MVRDV keynote on design, policy, and the future of the built environment.

As part of their travelling exhibition on sustainability, Carbon Confessions, MVRDV presents a keynote conversation with Nathalie de Vries (Founding Partner, MVRDV) and Sanne van den Burgh (Head of MVRDV NEXT), moderated by architecture critic Alex Bozikovic.

The keynote builds on the themes of the exhibition and explores how carbon is reshaping architectural practice, from individual buildings to the scale of the city. Drawing on MVRDV’s “Carbon Cases” – a series of projects and reflections developed over time – Nathalie and Sanne will share insights into the ambitions, challenges, and trade-offs involved in working towards lower-carbon design.

It will touch on strategies used in projects in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada, including mixed-use development and intensifying the use of buildings over their lifetime. It will also consider broader questions around the role of architects in addressing carbon at the urban and regional scale.

Set within the context of Toronto, the event opens up a wider reflection on the relationship between buildings, mobility, and emissions, and the tensions that arise between reuse, intensification, and new development.