On November 16, 2024, the 8th Beijing International Urban Design Forum was held at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (BUCEA). Themed by "Change, Inheritance, and Inclusiveness", the forum brought together over 1,000 participants from home and abroad, including academicians, experts, scholars, university faculty and students in fields such as heritage protection, urban renewal, green and low-carbon development, artificial intelligence, and urban design. Topics for discussion included new strategies and approaches for architectural heritage protection and high-quality urban and rural development. During the forum, the Urban Regeneration Green Guidelines were published, compiled by several experts including Cui Kai, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Engineering Survey and Design Master, Honorary President and Chief Architect of China Architecture Design and Research Group, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Beijing International Urban Design Forum, Academician of BUCEA Academician Expert Workstation.

8th Beijing International Urban Design Forum

Co-hosted by BUCEA, the Architectural Society of China, and the China Architectural Culture Center, the forum was organized by Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Urban Design, Institute of Urban Design of the Architectural Society of China, and the Belt and Road Architecture University International Consortium (BRAUIC). It featured a series of activities including an opening ceremony, 13 keynote speeches, two parallel sessions, six themed forums, one roundtable discussion, one youth forum, and two special activities.

The forum was attended by numerous notable guests, leaders, experts, and academicians such as Jiang Wanrong, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Sun Shuo, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Mayor of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality; Lv Shiming, Member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Former Vice Chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation; CUI Kai, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Engineering Survey and Design Master, Honorary President and Chief Architect of China Architecture Design and Research Group, Academician of BUCEA Academician Expert Workstation, and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Beijing International Urban Design Forum; Wang Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor at the School of Architecture, Southeast University, and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Beijing International Urban Design Forum; Nie Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Foreign Academician of the Engineering Academy of Japan, Director of the Academic Committee of Tsinghua University, and Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering of Tsinghua University; Chen Jun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, and Former Director of the National Geomatics Center of China; Chen Shaopeng, Director of the Department of Building Energy Conservation and Science & Technology at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Li Yi, Deputy Secretary of Beijing Municipal Education Working Committee and Director of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission; Li Rusheng, Chairman of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture and Former Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Shi Xiaodong, Member of the Party Leadership Group of Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, Party Secretary and President of the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning & Design; Wang Xuemei, Second-Level Inspector and Director of the Urban Design Division at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources; Song Weiqi, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Association for Science and Technology; Sun Ying, Party Secretary and Chairperson of the China Construction Technology Co., Ltd.; Xu Quansheng, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design; Ddeng Dong, Vice President of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design; Cheng Xiaoxi, Vice Dean of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University; Zhang Yu, National Engineering Survey and Design Master, Former General Manager and Chief Architect of the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design; Shen Di, National Engineering Survey and Design Master and Professor-Level Senior Engineer at Arcplus Group PLC; Zhao Yuanchao, National Engineering Survey and Design Master and Chief Architect at China Northwest Architecture Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd.; Sun Yimin, National Engineering Survey and Design Master, National Distinguished Professor, Vice Chairman of the Institute of Urban Design of the Architectural Society of China, and Former Dean of the School of Architecture at South China University of Technology; Feng Zhenggong, National Engineering Survey and Design Master, Chairman and Chief Architect of ARTS Group Co., Ltd.; Hu Yue, National Engineering Survey and Design Master, Winner of the Liang Sicheng Architecture Prize, and Professor at BUCEA; Zhou Nansen, Executive Vice Chairman of the Urban Planning Society of Beijing; Liu Hongzhi, Senior Vice President of AECOM Asia Pacific and Leader for Strategy and Development in Greater China; Li Sen, Dean of the Digital Economy Research Institute at SenseTime; Giovanni Issini, Director of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape in Southern Marche region, Italy; Vladimir Lojanica, Dean and Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Serbia; Darko Reba, Professor at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia; Cristina Tedeschi, Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Italy; and Arkadiusz Wisniowski, Professor at the Department of Social Statistics at the University of Manchester, UK.

Leaders from hosting units attending the forum included Shang Shaoyan, Party Secretary and Director of the China Architectural Culture Center under the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Li Jixiang, Deputy Director of the China Architectural Culture Center; Wang Cuikun, Vice President of the Architectural Society of China and National Engineering Survey and Design Master; and BUCEA leaders Zheng Yu, Zhang Dayu, Li Junqi, ChenN Hongbing, and YangG Jianwei.

The forum was also attended by officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the General Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, the Beijing Association for Science and Technology, along with representatives from partner universities, research institutions, and leading enterprises.

Release of Urban Regeneration Green Guidelines

At the opening ceremony, the Urban Regeneration Green Guidelines were officially launched. Led by Academician Cui Kai of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, these guidelines were compiled over two years by over 100 experts from China Construction Technology Consulting Co., Ltd. (CCTC) as the first guiding document on green technologies for urban renewal in the industry.

Release of Urban Regeneration Green Guidelines

Students from six universities presenting renewal plans for Central Axis neighborhoods

As one of the signature practical events of the forum, the 2024 BUCEA Urban Design Student Exchange Camp opened on November 9. Themed by "Neighborhood Space and Multidimensional Reconstruction", the exchange camp brought together faculty and students from six universities, namely, Tsinghua University, BUCEA, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, and North China University of Technology. In the context of Beijing Central Axis on World Heritage List, students conducted problem-oriented design research on multi-dimensional ways to uncover its historical and cultural value and address modern urban development needs.

Experts sharing their insights into the industry

The forum lasted for two days. On November 16, 13 keynote speeches were delivered by renowned academicians, experts, and scholars on key research and innovation results in major fields including heritage protection, urban renewal, green and low-carbon development, safety and resilience, and artificial intelligence. The event was live-streamed, drawing an online audience of nearly 30,000 participants.

On November 16 and 17, 12 academic activities were held, including academic salons, themed forums, round-table discussions, youth forums, and special activities. A new book mainly by Hu Yue, National Engineering Survey and Design Master and Professor at BUCEA was released. Professional Committee on Resilient City and Building of the Architectural Society of China was established.