The event concluded a series of study visits held in recent months and provided a platform for strengthening collaboration and exchanging projects among partners. The conference was primarily aimed at professionals from cultural institutions and museums, and also included a public program showcasing some of the most interesting initiatives by both Polish and international participants.

We kicked off the first day of the conference with presentations from institutions working in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and architectural heritage preservation. During the opening panel, we reflected together on how architectural institutions can activate and energize cities.

Later in the day, we focused on international collaboration within the Common Space Platform, sharing experiences and inspirations from across Europe.

Next, we had the opportunity to take part in a guided curatorial tour of the exhibition Humanist Modernism. Maciej and Stanisława Nowicki, on view at the ZODIAK Warsaw Pavilion of Architecture. The story of this remarkable design duo was introduced by the exhibition designer, Karolina Częczek, and its curator, Kacper Kępiński.

The day concluded with a panel discussion exploring issues of gender, representation, and power in architecture. We asked ourselves: when we think of an “architect,” do we still default to imagining a man?

The conversation, titled Is the Default Architect Still Male? Rethinking Gender, Power, and Presence in Architecture, featured Eszter Davida (KÉK), Karolina Częczek (Only If Architecture), and Helena Huber-Doudová (National Gallery in Prague). The discussion was moderated by Dominika Janicka (Fair Building Studio / Bal Architektek).

The second day of the conference was dedicated to workshops and presentations. We began with the session Lviv Interactive Platform: Presenting History and Architecture Through Mapping, led by the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv.

In 2007, a team of researchers at the Center for Urban History in Lviv began experimenting with new ways to tell the story of the city. The result was a digital project centered around texts on architecture, enriched with narratives on a variety of topics, all visualized through an interactive map.

By 2025, the project had evolved significantly – the team grew, the interface and visual design were updated, researchers from diverse backgrounds joined, and a deeper understanding of the audience influenced the development of storytelling tools. During the session, the team shared their experiences, successes, challenges, and reflections on new approaches to architectural history.

ArkDes – the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design – holds one of the world’s largest architectural collections, comprising over four million drawings, models, letters, and sketches. To increase public access to these resources, they launched the Unboxing initiative – a live platform that reveals curators’ work directly within the exhibition space in real time.

The session Unboxing: A New Perspective on Museum Collections, conducted as a roundtable discussion, sparked a broader conversation about the role of museum collections today. How does making curatorial processes visible change the way exhibitions are experienced? How can museum objects serve as tools for knowledge, interpretation, and exchange? Participants reflected together on how greater transparency in institutional work can boost audience engagement, especially in the contexts of architectural education and research.

The workshop Better Together: How to Activate Cross-Sector Synergy, led by the Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre (KÉK), focused on strategies for building effective collaboration between the public and private sectors. The facilitators emphasized creating shared value, developing lasting partnerships, and overcoming complex challenges through coordinated efforts among diverse stakeholders.

During the final session, Sharing Experiences on Institutional Structures, organized by the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning (NIAiU), we took a close look at how our institutions operate from the inside. How are they organized? Are tasks carried out by specialized teams focused on specific areas, or by interdisciplinary groups targeting particular audiences? How do different departments collaborate? What challenges do we face on a daily basis?

In this session, we presented the operational principles of our organizations, discussed similarities and differences, and exchanged best practices in project management. Together, we also explored what an ideal architecture center might look like.

We wrapped up the second day of the conference with a panel discussion titled Data, Emotions, Predictions? Constructing Narratives About Architecture’s Role in the Climate Crisis. The panel featured Štěpán Bärtl (CAMP), Olle Lundin (ArkDes), Kika Krista Kjærside (DAC), and Kacper Kępiński (NIAiU), with moderation by Dorota Leśniak-Rychlak (Autoportret quarterly).

The discussion focused on how to talk about architecture’s responsibility in the climate crisis without falling into moralizing or catastrophizing. How can we engage emotions, data, and imagination to create constructive narratives? Researchers and curators from European architecture institutions shared strategies for climate communication in exhibitions, publications, and educational activities.

The final day of the conference was dedicated to study visits at two locations. First, we visited the Warsaw Uprising Mound and the “Burza” Action Park, exploring how nature- and people-friendly recreational spaces can be designed. Our guides were designers from the studios toposcape and Archigrest.

The final event of the conference was a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, where participants had the opportunity to explore the institution’s new headquarters and its exhibition program, as well as discuss the role of museums in shaping contemporary architectural culture.

Partners: Danish Architecture Center, ArkDes, Contemporary Architecture Centre KEK, Slovak Design Center, Czeskie Centrum Warszawa, Instytut Adama Mickiewicza, Goethe-Institut w Warszawie

The project was funded by the Kultura Inspirująca program of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.