Re Renovate 2: From Heritage to Future: Rethinking Architectural Conservation in a Time of Crisis

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Following the success of its inaugural symposium in Oulu, Finland in August 2025, Re Renovate returns for its second edition in Venice, bringing together leading architects, researchers, cultural producers, and policymakers to challenge conventional approaches to architectural conservation and renovation.

Held at the historic Palazzo Badoer, Università Iuav di Venezia, the two-day symposium coincides with the closing of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 and is co-organised by Factum Foundation and Gamified Cohousing with the School of Advanced Studies in Architectural Heritage and Landscape (SSIBAP) of Università Iuav di Venezia.

The symposium will inform the development of new guidelines for participatory renovation, to be finalised and published during Oulu 2026 European Capital of Culture. The initiative will continue its trajectory towards Évora, Portugal, European Capital of Culture 2027, building a lasting network of innovation across Europe’s cultural capitals.

RE RENOVATE: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE AND SUSTAINABLE RENOVATION

Re Renovate is an international growing platform born from the urgent need to rethink architectural conservation in an age of displacement, climate emergency, and systemic neglect of heritage spaces. The platform bridges architecture, design, innovation, and policy through events, research, and exhibitions. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, connecting local case studies with global insights, and contributing to a culture of sustainable transformation, Re Renovate supports a renewed vision for the built environment.

Re Renovate is more than a conference—it is a call to action for those who believe that the future of Europe’s built environment depends on radical rethinking of how we preserve, adapt, and inhabit our architectural heritage.

The Venice edition will further explore critical questions facing the renovation sector: How can smart retrofitting technologies harmonise with heritage structures? Which regulations hinder meaningful renovation? How do we involve communities in decisions that shape their built environment? And how can renovation become not just technically viable, but financially scalable across neighbourhoods and cities?

Among notable key speakers, Re Renovate Venice is honoured to host Piia Rantala-Korhonen, Oulu 2026 European Capital of Culture, Charlotte Skene Catling, Skene Catling de la Péna, Venanzia Rizzi, Honorary Vice-Consulate of Italy in Oulu, Costanza Blaskovic, Factum Foundation, Hana Laššová, Trencin 2026, Elisabetta Nervi, Concreto Academy, Nikolaos Skoutellis, Technical University of Crete, Pierre-Antoine Gatier, Chief Architect and General Inspector of Historical Monuments, Francisco Javier Gallego Roca, University of Granada, and more.
BRIDGING PRACTICE, POLICY, AND CULTURE

Organised by Factum Foundation, Aaltosiilo, Università Iuav di Venezia, Gamified Cohousing, and Architectural Democracy, with support from the New European Bauhaus, Business Oulu and additional public and private partners, Re Renovate 2025 goes beyond academic discourse. The event will showcase hybrid solutions that integrate innovation into existing restoration processes whilst creating networking opportunities for professionals and business actors in design, architecture, and culture.

The symposium will be live-streamed and recorded for wider accessibility, with a podcast and publication curated by Architectural Democracy.

PROGRAM

13th November by Re Renovate team

9.00 Accreditation and coffee service

10:00 Welcoming words by prof. Benno Albrecht, Rector of the Università Iuav di Venezia and prof. Paolo Faccio, SSIBAP Director

10:15 Re Renovate team, Valentino Tignanelli, Pedro Aibéo and Anna Niemelä
– “Towards new guidelines for Renovations in Europe”

– Lessons from Oulu– key points from the Re Renovate symposium Oulu

– Venice symposium topics overview – introduction of the speakers and sessions

10.30-13.00 MORNING SESSION – Case studies from Oulu, moderated by Anna Niemelä
10:30 Cultural Climate Change in the Built Environment Regarding European Capitals of Culture, Piia Rantala-Korhonen, Oulu2026

10:50 Challenges of Reuse of Materials in the High North, Kasper Karjalainen, Arctic Construction Cluster
11:10-11:30 Short break with coffee service

11:30 Material Continuity in Industrial Heritage: the Alvar Aalto Case in Meri-Toppila, Charlotte Skene Catling & Venanzia Rizzi
12:00 A Model of Community-Driven Renovation, Pedro Aibéo, Gamified Cohousing

12.20 Oulu School of Architecture exhibition, Northern Finland SAFA – Finnish Association of Architects

13:00-14:00 LIGHT LUNCH

14:00-16:30 AFTERNOON SESSION – Case studies from international partners, moderated by Valentino Tignanelli

14:00 Renovation in Seismic area – Nepal Case, JK Associates

14:30 Innovation as a Tool in Factum Foundation Restoration Efforts, Costanza Blaskovic, Factum Foundation

15:00-15:30 Short break with coffee service

15:30 Project Manager for Public Space, Hana Laššová,Trencin 2026

16:00 Educating for Continuity: Preserving Pier Luigi Nervi’s Legacy Through Education and Innovation, Elisabetta Nervi and Irene Matteini from Concreto Academy, and Cristiana Chiorino, expert in modern conservation for the Pier Luigi Nervi Foundation

16:30-17:00 Q&A and Closing words by Re Renovate team

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14th November by University Iuav of Venice -SSIBAP

9.00 Accreditation and coffee service

9:15 Welcoming words by Paolo Faccio, Francesco Trovò, University Iuav of Venice and Roberto Beraldo, OAPPC Venice

09:30 European Capitals of Culture 2025 and 2026, moderated by Saša Dobričić, University of Nova Gorica
– Stojan Pelko, GO! 2025
– Piia Rantala-Korhonen, Oulu 2026
– Stanislav Krajči, Trencin 2026

11:00-11.20 Short break with coffee service

11.20 MORNING SESSION – Case studies from Europe, moderated by Francesco Trovò
11:30 Conservation of Historic Buildings case studies in Greece, Nikolaos Skoutellis, Technical University of Crete

12:00 Renovation by conservation: Palazzo Farnese and Paris Bourse de Commerce, Pierre-Antoine Gatier, Chief Architect of Historical Monuments and General Inspector of Historical Monuments

12:30 Conservation of Historic Buildings case studies in Spain, Francisco Javier Gallego Roca, University of Granada, Spain

13:00-14:00 Light Lunch

14:00 AFTERNOON SESSION – Case studies from SSIBAP, moderated by Francesca Salatin and Carlotta Galeazzo

Elisa Mantovani, The UNESCO MAB area of the Veneto Po Delta. Heritage, water landscapes and climate change, 2024; supervisors Margherita Vanore and Francesco Trovò

Francesca Campagnoli, The conservation of traditional masonry and wooden architecture in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Case study: the Jalahma residence in Muharraq, 2022, supervisor Paolo Faccio

Elisabeth Steinberger, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna and St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice: comparison of restoration methods for the development of a project proposal for the conservation of St. Margarethen calcarenite, 2025, supervisors Mario Piana and Fabrizio Antonelli

15.30-16:00 Short break with coffee service

16:00 Round Table + Q&A – Role of built heritage for a sustainable future, moderated by Pedro Aibéo and Margherita Vanore

Roberto Beraldo, OAPPC Venice
Pierre-Antoine Gatier, Chief Architect of Historical Monuments and General Inspector of Historical Monuments
Francisco Javier Gallego Roca, University of Granada, Spain
Debora Rossi, La Biennale di Venezia, ASAC director
Saša Dobričić, University of Nova Gorica

17.30 Closing Words