The theme NEXT questions the direction in which architecture and society are already evolving—whether by conscious choice or through processes we have yet to fully recognise.
NEXT defines a condition of continuous critical reassessment: how to design in an age of uncertainty; how to conceive and transform space in response to the climate crisis; and how to reconsider the agency and responsibility of the architect in an era increasingly shaped by algorithms, data and collective decision-making systems. Across contemporary architectural practice, the imperative of growth is gradually giving way to strategies of reduction, adaptation, reuse and the transformation of what already exists. In this shift, sustainability is no longer treated as an isolated objective, but as part of a broader commitment to circularity, resilience and long-term spatial value.
NEXT is therefore not simply a question of what comes after. It is a question of ethical and intellectual positioning—of how we choose to act in the present, with the understanding that architecture no longer merely shapes space, but also participates in defining the conditions of life, coexistence and survival within it.