More information about this event

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023
9am–12pm
Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco

Future Cities Trends is the opening session of our program and will provide a comprehensive outlook on the evolving landscape of urban development in Switzerland and the US, focusing on three sectors: construction, energy, and digital transformation. The 15 selected Swiss project will present their work followed by keynotes from San Francisco Bay Area experts. This session promises to set the stage for an engaging exploration of the future of cities.

Agenda

9–10:30am: Swiss Project Presentations
10:30–11am: Keynotes from SFBA Experts:

• Introduction Future Cities: Sarah Dennis Phillips, Executive Director at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development of SF Government
• Energy: Cole Roberts, Americas Urban Energy Business Leader at Arup with focus on Energy Systems
• Architecture/Construction: Kirsten Ritchie, Global Director Climate Action + Sustainability at Gensler
• Digital Cities: Joe Kaylor, Senior Transportation Planner on the Integrated Planning at Arup. He will address emerging trends and outlook in the Americas, in terms of data and technology transformation in city planning and operations, including utility and transportation, to accelerate equitable and sustainable development.

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

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Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023
2:45–4pm
Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco

Join us for a roundtable discussion on Urban Policy in collaboration with SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, a nonprofit public policy organization.

This panel will delve into the future of sustainable urban development in San Francisco, with a focus on infill projects, green buildings and infrastructure, and clean transportation in the face of climate change. Experts will explore innovative approaches to facilitating the transition to a carbon-zero city. With representatives in the fields of design, development, real estate, and public policy, the panel will address the role of city government, developers, and businesses in creating a more resilient city.

Speakers:

• Gregory Vilkin, CEO at The Baylands Development Company

• Eric Aronsohn, Vice President Energy and Sustainability at The Baylands Development Company

• Geeti Silwal, Head of the Cities+Sites practice at Perkins + Will

• Tyrone Jue, Director of San Francisco Department of Environment

• Joe Speicher, Chief Sustainability Officer at Autodesk

• Sujata Srivastava, San Francisco Director at SPUR (Moderator)

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

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Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023
9am–12:15pm
Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco

Fireside chats with three experts covering different aspects of urban innovation highlight possibilities and opportunities for more digital and circular cities.

Urban Energy Systems

• Michael Wetter, Staff Scientist at the Simulation Research Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
• Tianzhen Hong, Senior Scientist leading the Urban Systems Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
• Barry Hooper, Senior Green Building Coordinator at San Francisco Department of the Environment
• Sasha Roesler, assistant professor at the USI Academy of Achitecture
• Hooman Koliji (moderator), Associate Clinical Professor and Executive Committee Member, reACT ThinkTank

Digital Cities

• Jane Macfarlane, Director of the Smart Cities and Sustainable Mobility at UC Berkeley
• Zhecheng Wang, Human-Centered AI Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford
• Hooman Koliji, Creative Director Creative Director at Indigo Slate – moderator

Sustainable Construction

• Paul Mayencourt, Associate Professor at UC Berkeley – moderation
• Eric Law, CEO at Urban Machine
• Joe Speicher, Chief Sustainability Officer at Autodesk
• Suzanne Kim, Director of Real Estate Development at Northern California Land Trust
• Frances Yang, Structures and Sustainability Specialist at Arup

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

Register for the fireside chats

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023
1:45–3:15pm
Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco

Before we jump into creating solutions for the future of cities, we first need to consider the future landscape. What are the major forces that will shape our cities over the next 10+ years? What social, technological, economic, environmental, and political changes might impact the types of environments we live in, threats we might face, and new possibilities that never would have existed before?

In this session, led by Institute for the Future (IFTF) Research Director Sara Skvirsky, participants will be asked to put their heads together to map major drivers of change for the future of cities, and then share examples of specific new and exciting approaches, experiments, laws, behaviors, and more that point to the many ways we might approach the future differently.

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

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Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023
4:15–5:45pm
Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco

Decisions are being made right now in cities that we’ll see the impact of for a long time. In the past, these decisions have been made piecemeal, and human-centered design hasn’t played as big a role in urban systems as it should have. Moving forward, how might we realize the needs and realities of people amidst increasing physical, environmental, and technological pressures?

Former IDEOers Evanne Holloway (Urban Systems) and Madison Berger (Design Research) will lead a working session that explores the decisions being made in cities and how design thinking and human-centricity can support sustainable positive impact in the built environment, climate, and technology. Be ready to move and make!

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

Register for the workshop

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023
2:30–3:30pm
Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco

Presentation on the US market and ecosystem with Matthieu Soule, (Head of the innovation lab of BNP Paribas Group in San Francisco), and Sophie Lamparter (Founder & Managing Partner at DART Labs), followed by a VC Pitch Feedback Session.

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

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Participants will share their experience with global sustainability standards and how these are translated into actionable plans at the local level. Since, clients often have ESG missions that go beyond just reducing the carbon footprint, Architecture & Design (A&D) companies must learn how to navigate these multifaceted sustainability goals.

Speakers

Moderator: Thor Ochs, Vice President, Contract Sales North America at Vitra
Elizabeth Dawe, Associate (Sustainability Team) at M Moser Associates
Katharine Dwyer, Senior Associate (Sustainability Team) at Huntsman Architecture
Kwamina Monney, Associate Herzog & de Meuron
Götz Hilber, Co-Founder of Rematter (Swissnex Selected Project)
Anna MacIver-Ek and Axel Chevroulet, architects at MacIver-Ek Chevroulet (Swissnex Selected Project)

Organized in collaboration with Vitra.

General admission: $20 (ticket sale opening soon)
Free for Swissnex partners (get in touch with Alicia Rieckhoff)

Register for this session

Contacts

For questions about the program, please contact [email protected].

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].