Aspire Gibraltar have announced Michael Pawlyn as the keynote speaker at the upcoming conference on the 6th June. 

A statement from the Government follows below:

Aspire Gibraltar are pleased to announce the keynote speaker at the upcoming conference on the 6th June. Michael Pawlyn is a renowned British architect who has built a reputation as a thought leader in regenerative design and the circular economy. 

He established his firm Exploration Architecture in 2007 to focus on high performance buildings and solutions for the circular economy. The company has developed a ground-breaking office project, an ultra-low energy data centre, a zero waste textiles factory and progressive solutions for green cities. Michael Pawlyn jointly initiated the widely acclaimed Sahara Forest Project;the latest version of which was opened by the King of Jordan in 2017. 

Prior to setting up Exploration, Michael worked with Grimshaw for ten years and was central to the team that designed the Eden Project. He is regularly booked as a keynote speaker on innovation and his TED talk has had over 2 million views. 

He has written two books - Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency (co-authored with Sarah Ichioka) and Biomimicry in Architecture – both of which have been the respective publisher’s best-selling title. In 2019 he jointly launched ‘Architects Declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency’ – a global call to action which has spread to 28 countries with over 7,000 firms signed up. 

He has delivered a numbered of high profile lectures including as part of the following programmes: Cambridge University Darwin College Lecture Series, The Genius of Nature Series at the Natural History Museum of Utah, The CE100 Annual Summit organised by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 

He has been featured in The Financial Times, National Geographic, The Economist, Wired and The Guardian as well as in a large number of design magazines. His television and radio appearances include ‘Animal Einsteins’ on BBC television and a number of programmes on BBC Radio 4. 

In his keynote address, Pawlyn will share his thoughts on how the building and construction industry can rise to the twin challenges of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. He is one of a number of speakers and panellists in an exciting line up that will address the very real problems that Gibraltar faces in trying to achieve its climate change targets whilst meeting the social and economic demands for more development.

The conference will bring together industry professionals, policymakers, researchers, and sustainability enthusiasts to encourage dialogue, promote innovation and inspire action across all levels. 

Tickets for Aspire Gibraltar are on sale via www.buytickets.gi.