FTI proudly throws its weight behind the third edition of Performance-Based Façade Design (PBFD), a prestigious international summit convening in Venice from September 11–13, 2025. This much-anticipated gathering of minds brings together architects, engineers, and façade technologists to chart the next chapter of urban sustainability through cutting-edge façade systems.
Technology Meets Nature: A New Material Order
PBFD 2025 launches with a thematic focus on Technology Meets Nature, a bold exploration of organic and innovative materials in façade systems. Presentations will highlight the integration of timber, pressed terracotta, stainless steel, and biobased glass composites into performative façades. Visionary keynote speakers include Michele Pasca di Magliano (Zaha Hadid Architects) and Agnes Koltay (Koltay Facades), whose work pushes the limits of material expression and thermal performance.
Glass: The Transparent Vanguard of Sustainability
The glass industry finds a central platform at PBFD. With leaders like Joan Tarrus (Sedak) and Ingo Stelzer (Kuraray) taking the stage, thin-glass technology, laminated safety innovations, and energy-active glazing will be critically examined. Their presence underscores the glass sector’s evolution, from passive envelope component to active climate mediator and aesthetic protagonist.
Debates That Shape Cities
Day two, moderated by Mikkel K. Kragh (Aarhus University), explores façades as engines of circularity. Discussions span adaptive reuse strategies by Eckersley O’Callaghan and predictive glass maintenance from Priedemann Façade Specialists. The day ends with Thomas Winterstetter (Werner Sobek) spotlighting high-tech glass façades that grow with the cities they envelope. 
Heritage Meets High-Tech
The grand finale unfolds at Palazzo Nani Bernardo, fusing Venetian heritage with future-forward thinking. Exclusive site visits, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Simeon glass-and-steel fabrication facility and the architecturally rich De Stefani winery, perfectly conclude this immersive event. PBFD 2025 isn’t just a conference, it’s where the future of façade design is written, in glass and beyond.
Source: Facade Tectonics Institute with additional information added by Glass Balkan
