Session

Plenary Session / Keynote Speaker

Contemporary architecture and urban design increasingly embraces sustainability through green technologies and bioclimatic strategies. Yet, in the pursuit of environmental performance, beauty and inclusiveness are often overlooked. This imbalance produces spaces that meet technical standards but fail to inspire emotional connection—leading to neglect, abandonment, and even demolition, which contradicts sustainability goals.

Beauty is not a decorative luxury; it is a cultural and psychological necessity. Research shows that aesthetically pleasing environments enhance well-being, foster social interaction, and strengthen community identity. Inclusive design extends this principle by ensuring dignity and accessibility for all, while respecting local traditions and socio-economic realities. Together, these dimensions create architecture that resonates across generations and geographies.

This keynote argues that beauty, sustainability, and inclusiveness must converge as interdependent pillars of design. It explores the complexity of aesthetic experience, the role of heritage in climate adaptation, and strategies for creating solutions that are universal yet locally contextualized. By embedding beauty into sustainable and inclusive design, we not only reduce environmental impact but also secure societal acceptance and cultural continuity. People protect what they love—and what they love, they preserve.