The second talk that Dezeen hosted as part of Velux's Build for Life online conference focused on the importance of quality and beauty in sustainable architecture and placemaking.

Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs moderated the talk, which is titled Is the Future Beautiful?

Fairs was joined by Mary Parsons, commissioner for the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, Lorenzo de Simone, coordinator for the New European Bauhaus' high-level round table, and Dana Behrman, associate director at UNStudio.

The panel discussion examined the importance of quality and aesthetics in design and placemaking.

Speakers also discussed sustainable settlements and considered the role of homes as major levers for future change in sustainable architecture practice.

Parsons is currently a commissioner for the UK government's Better Building Beautiful Commission and a member of the University of Cambridge's property board.

Parsons is also a trustee of the Ministry of Building Education and Innovation, commissioner for No Place Left Behind, trustee of Design South-East and chair of the Town and Country Planning Association.

De Simone has a postgraduate in energy and climate from the University of Antwerp. He is part of the New European Bauhaus team at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and participates in the screening and analysis of public contributions.

He coordinates the activities of the New European Bauhaus' high-level roundtable, a group of advanced thinkers and practitioners in their field who act as community ambassadors for the New European Bauhaus.

Behrman holds degrees from the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths College at the University of London, the Architectural Association, the School of Architecture in London and the School of Visual Arts in New York.

She specialises in urban spatial analysis and joined the UNStudio in 2014 to lead the Urban Unit. She is also an urban strategist at UNStudio's start-up called UNSense. Her research focuses on the link between technology and the built environment.

Build for Life takes place from 15 to 17 November

Build for Life is a digital conference that will see more than 90 experts worldwide discuss climate-related challenges in the built environment.

Download the programme here and register for the conference here.

Velux's Build for Life conference takes place online from 15 to 17 November 2021. For details of more architecture and design events, visit Dezeen Events Guide.

Dezeen x Velux Build for Life

This article was written by Dezeen for Velux as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.