The Architectural Forum for Sustainable Design 2006

At the Architectural Forum for Sustainable Design 2006, architecture and building industry professionals and academics heard leading minds on sustainable design from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China debate solutions to a looming environmental crisis.

The one-day forum, which took place on March 24 in Beijing, was organised by BCI Asia Construction Information and FuturArc magazine and hosted by Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA) and the Chinese Society for Sustainable Development (CSSD). It was supported by the Architectural Society of China and sponsored by Grohe, the manufacturer of sanitary fittings. Over 250 people from 10 different countries attended.

BCI Group Chairman and FuturArc publisher Dr. Matthias Krups, in his welcoming address, noted the relevance of sustainable design to the future of architecture and building, a point reiterated throughout the day. Green building and sustainable design will be a market force to be reckoned with in the future, Dr. Krups said.

The forum was a gathering of professionals committed to exploring both the potential and the challenges of sustainable developmentdefined by ARCASIA Chairman Yolanda Reyes as that kind of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Gan Shijun of the Chinese Society for Sustainable Development in his opening address reiterated the need for sustainable design, particularly in China where consumption is exploding. Other speakers included Jeremy Harris, Kazuo Iwamura, Edward Mazria, Ye Yaoxian, Kevin Yao, Qin Youguo, Peng Sizhen, Peter Kindel, Steven Townsend, Peter Pran and Gao Lin.