His keynote “Sustainable architecture” observed that cities are losing their openness. He fears that the typical city is becoming a patchwork of disjointed, sterile, and partially inaccessible sectors, and argued for an understanding of the city as an open system.

Kees Christiaanse is Founding Partner of KCAP, an international design firm, for architecture, landscape design and urban planning with offices in Rotterdam, Zurich and Shanghai. He is an expert in the development of university campuses and in the revitalisation of former industrial, railway and harbour areas and is a supervisor of several international urban developments.

He studied architecture at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, graduating together with Art Zaaijer in 1988. His graduation project “Kavel 25” was realized as part of his urban plan for the housing festival in The Hague, a project for which he was awarded the Berlage Flag.

His urban planning works include the winning proposal for HafenCity in Hamburg, one of the largest European rebuilding projects to date (1999); the Olympic Legacy Masterplan for the 2012 London Summer Olympics; and the city plan for Zuidhavenkwartier, Rotterdam.

He was made an Honorary Fellow by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for 2016, for his contribution to world architecture “that not only represents the spirit of his country, but transcends it, by its references and its international influence”.