Sanne van der Burgh is Director Research & Innovation at MVRDV and founder of MVRDV NEXT, the office’s climate and computation group. Working at the intersection of architecture, technology, and planetary urgency, she leads research into radically lower-carbon, nature-inclusive, and circular design. Sanne is also the founder of CarbonSpace, an open tool that helps architects design with embodied carbon from the earliest stages. As an architect, she has contributed to and led award-winning projects across the world, combining design ambition with measurable environmental impact. A frequent lecturer, teacher, and jury member worldwide, Sanne is a strong advocate for transforming architecture through innovation, computation, and climate intelligence. “Innovate like the planet depends on it, because it does.”
The way we build determines how we will live in the future: whether cities become overheated or livable, whether buildings consume resources or become part of regenerative systems, and whether neighborhoods foster connection or isolation. Yet technologically and architecturally, …
If visionary architecture asks what becomes possible, this session asks what it takes to make it happen. From circular materials and adaptive reuse to digital planning and new construction methods, many of the tools for more sustainable construction already exist. Buildings can b…