Community Building and Placemaking have recently emerged as two essential themes in architecture and urban planning. Prior to the Covid19 pandemic, facilitating the creation of communities related mainly to the workplace and the shared (living) economy, and was principally focused on co-creation, innovation, and productivity. Recent events have however highlighted the human need for connectedness on a broader scale and as an essential facet of human health. Placemaking, on the other hand, is understood by designers as a facilitator of community building and has therefore become an essential and increasingly important facet of any design. IE School of Architecture and Design welcomes Ben van Berkel, Founder and Principal Architect of UNStudio in this hybrid lecture, in which he will discuss why communities can make our lives healthier. He will talk about designing communities that have little impact on the planet, but a lasting impact on our cities and people. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Ben van Berkel studied architecture at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and the Architectural Association in London, receiving the AA Diploma with Honours in 1987. In 1988 Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos founded UN Studio, an international network specializing in architecture, interior architecture, product design, urban development, and infrastructural projects. Today, the firm, with its home base in Amsterdam, has five more offices around the world and about 200 employees. Well-known works by the firm include the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Arnhem Central Station in the Netherlands, Raffles City mixed-use development in Hangzhou, the Canaletto Tower in London, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design, among many others.