The Klimahouse Congress 2026, in collaboration with Agenzia CasaClima, returns to Bolzano focusing on a question that runs through the contemporary architectural debate with increasing urgency: is sustainability still a shared horizon or is it in danger of turning into a privilege for the few? The question, far from being rhetorical, orients the entire layout of the congress, which rejects idealized visions to focus on real conditions, economic constraints and cultural responsibilities of design. Under the moderation of Chiara Tonelli, the discussion opens to international contributions capable of returning a plurality of approaches, united by a constant attention to the concreteness and transferability of the proposed models.

The two-day congress, scheduled for Jan. 30 and 31, 2026, at the MEC – Meeting & Event Center Südtirol – Alto Adige in the Bolzano Fair District, in Bolzano, Italy, articulates the theme from a dual perspective. The first addresses the relationship between costs, benefits and financial instruments, questioning how to make sustainability a competitive lever and not a selective aggravation. The second day, on the other hand, focuses on social aspects, relating inclusion, participation and the quality of the built environment. Keynote speakers, including Diana Schaffrannek of David Chipperfield Architects and Oskar Norelius of White Arkitekter, will bring case studies that show how environmental policies can measurably affect spaces and communities.

At the same time as theoretical reflection, Klimahouse Tours 2026 offer a field extension of the topics addressed in the congress. Guided tours lead inside school buildings, production facilities, renovations and new architecture that apply advanced energy and construction solutions. Here sustainability is measured in everyday use, comfort, and durability of choices. Designers illustrate processes, critical issues and results, making legible the transition from principle to practice and returning a picture made of data, trade-offs and verifiable results.

The path to the 2026 edition was anticipated at a press conference held on December 11 in Milan at Michele De Lucchi's AMDL Circle studio. Opening the meeting, Thomas Mur, Director of Fiera Bolzano, reiterated the role of Klimahouse as a platform for discussion between the supply chain, institutions and research. Céline Faini, Brand Manager of Klimahouse, then announced the milestone of nearly one hundred nominations for the Wood Architecture Prize, confirming the centrality of wood in the European debate on circular building. Manuel Benedikter, Jury President, emphasized the design maturity of the finalists, while the value of the prize as an active community of experimentation and environmental responsibility was reiterated.

The conference also turned the spotlight on some of the devices that strengthen the operational character of Klimahouse: from the startups selected by Polihub, which present technological solutions for the ecological transition, to the Wood Architecture Academy by Klimahouse, a short master's degree presented by YACademy Bologna. Completing the picture are Davide Angeli's talk for AMDL Circle and the launch of Südtirol@Klimahouse, a new platform dedicated to South Tyrolean entrepreneurship, flanked by the exhibition "Alps. Architecture. South Tyrol",  curated by Kunst Meran. A set of initiatives that confirms Klimahouse as an advanced observatory, capable of holding together design, industry and culture, without simplifying the complexity of the present.

Opening Image: Photo © Francesco Moroni Spidalieri