SHIFT 2026: Fernando de Mello Franco Curates Architecture and Sustainability Seminar in Matosinhos

The fourth edition of SHIFT — Seminário Internacional de Arquitetura e Sustentabilidade takes place on October 16–17 in Matosinhos, Portugal, organized by Casa da Arquitetura and curated by Brazilian architect and urbanist Fernando de Mello Franco. Under the theme "Continuidades — Recomposición socioecológica a través del diseño del paisaje," the seminar gathers architects, researchers and specialists from various countries to debate design's role in transforming territories and responding to contemporary environmental and social challenges. The 2026 program asks how design can help recompose the ecological, social and territorial relations that sustain life, shifting focus away from the city as an isolated unit toward the territories that support it. Peri-urban, rural and natural areas secure fundamental resources such as water, food, energy and raw materials, yet they also face environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, pressure on soils and water resources, and the growing impacts of climate change. The landscape is framed as a territory of transformation between nature, city and community. The original Portuguese version of the article is available via a link, and the piece was published on October 15, 2026.