Sustaining Identity Symposium
UNESCO and Arup Associates
Hosted by the RIBA Trust

This half-day symposium will focus on the role of architecture and the environment in maintaining local and traditional cultures under threat from increasing globalisation. It considers how architects, designers and engineers can help sustain a sense of local identity both in terms of cultural heritage and the conservation of the environment.

The speakers will discuss the ways in which we can aim for a process of whole life sustainability that places people first: considering differing aspects of value in different cities, rather than creating models that expect people, cities and places around the world to behave in identical ways. They will be looking at sustainability from a wider cultural perspective, and incorporating local identity into the design process through a reprioritization of human experience, senses and memory.

> Keynote speaker: Francesco Bandarin, Head of World Heritage, UNESCO.
> Introduction by: Cecil Balmond, Deputy Chairman, Ove Arup and Partners Limited.
> Case Studies by: Declan O’Carroll, Principal, and Associate Francesca Galeazzi, Arup Associates, who present the award-winning Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh; and by David Turnbull, Director of Atopia. Architect and renowned author, Juhani Pallasmaa will conclude the event.

As part of the V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership
Druk White Lotus School, Ladakh, Arup Associates and Arup © Christian Richters