Carbon Stories: Shift Embassy
Can iconic architecture contribute to fundamental behavioural change? Or does the focus on spectacular buildings distract from the systemic change that is truly needed?
With the selection of MVRDV’s Rotterdam ROCKS! as the winning design for the international Shift Embassy competition in Rotterdam, this question is more relevant than ever. The ambitious sustainability landmark on the banks of the River Maas has sparked both admiration and criticism, opening up a fundamental debate about the role of architecture in addressing the climate crisis.
During this edition of Carbon Stories, we bring together diverse perspectives to critically explore the relation between ends and means. What is the purpose and necessity of spectacle architecture? And can architecture, in combination with art, science, and technology, inspire fundamental behavioural change?
Watch the event online for a dialogue about what the climate transition truly demands of architecture, design and the public imagination today.
Featuring:
- Don Ritzen – Founder of Shift
- Derk Loorbach – Director of DRIFT, Professor of Socio-economic Transitions at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and academic lead of the Dutch Climate Research Initiative (KIN)
- Geerte Paradies – Scientist Innovator, TNO
- Tracy Metz – Journalist, author and moderator
- Leo Stuckardt – Project Leader Shift Embassy, Associate and Architect MVRDV
- Reinier de Graaf – Architect, writer and partner OMA and co-founder of AMO
Shift Embassy: Vanity Project or Catalyst for Systemic Change?
Thursday, 24 September 2026
19:30–21:30 (doors open at 19:00)
Keilepand, Rotterdam
Language: English
Moderator: Geert Maarse
Carbon Stories is an initiative of GROUP A | CARBONLAB, Internationale Architectuur Biënnale Rotterdam and KeileCollectief, and is supported by Klimaat Academie Rotterdam.
Image by MVRDV
