TOWARDS BIOTOPIA by Winy Maas

TOWARDS BIOTOPIA by Winy Maas

  • 29 Apr 2026
  • 06:00pm - 08:00pm
  • FREE
  • Location: 80.2.07
event header image

Join us for a public lecture led by Winy Maas, Co-Founder of the renowned international architecture and urbanism office MVRDV. TOWARDS BIOTOPIA is a bold vision for a living, evolving planet and a call to reimagine design, proposing a future where biology becomes the foundation of everything.

How can we transform our planet into a sustainable home for over 8 billion humans and countless other species? The lecture TOWARDS BIOTOPIA by Winy Maas is an invitation to dream and act: to imagine cities becoming forests, architecture growing like trees, and streets illuminated by bioluminescent lighting, alive with biodiversity. It envisions a world designed not just with nature, but as nature. 

At the heart of this Biotopia lies the vision of a global Sponge: a dynamic biomatter architecture that cools, filters water, generates energy, and shelters life while adapting like a living organism. This biomatter grows, shrinks, and regenerates, creating a seamless, sustainable integration of biology and technology.

 In his lecture, Winy Maas will discuss his research with TU Delft's think tank, The Why Factory, including studies such as Green Dip, Biodivercity, and Biotopia. He will also incorporate architectural projects that reflect this research, such as Rotterdam ROCKS! and Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Valley in Amsterdam, and La Serre in Paris. "Today, more than ever, everything is biology. Everything is nature," says Winy Maas. "What can we innovate, technically and spatially? How can natural sciences, automation, nanomaterials, robotics, biotechnology, and biomimicry contribute to establishing new relationships among humans and all other living organisms? Let's invent and dream. Let's imagine Biotopia."

Share

Upcoming events

rmit-games-day-reference-1220x732.jpg

Monthly RMIT Games Day 2026

Icon / Small / CalendarCreated with Sketch. 25 Jan 2026 - 14 Dec 2026
Icon / Small / LocationCreated with Sketch. RMIT City campus

RMIT are back for RMIT Games Day 2026 tournaments!

eoi-ref.jpg

Now accepting 2027 First Site Gallery project proposals

Student
Icon / Small / CalendarCreated with Sketch. 28 Sep 2026 - 01 Nov 2026

Are you an RMIT student with a creative project you’d like to share? We are calling for proposals from RMIT students, who are currently enrolled in the College of Design and Social Context, to exhibit in the 2027 First Site Gallery exhibition program.

gc-zd-ref.jpg

'Docile Anatomy' by Gina Corridore & Zoe Denton

Icon / Small / CalendarCreated with Sketch. 06 Oct 2026 - 30 Oct 2026

Through absurdist video and intricately crocheted metal, 'Docile Anatomy' examines how femininity is shaped and performed, exposing the hidden labour often expected of women and challenging outdated yet enduring societal expectations.

Load more
aboriginal flag float-starttorres strait flag float-start

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples