On 16 and 17 October, La Centrale Lavazza and Dorado Community Hub will host the second part of the tenth edition of the international city-making festival. Speakers include Sir Peter Cook, Wim Walschap, Zahra Ebrahim and Carolyn Steel, alongside urban projects and visions from around the world.
Following the success of its first event in Rotterdam, Utopian Hours returns to Turin on 16 and 17 October 2026 with a programme celebrating ten years of international debate on the future of cities. The Ten Years Edition / Part 2 brings the festival back to the venues that have accompanied its journey, La Centrale – Nuvola Lavazza and Dorado Community Hub, reaffirming Stratosferica’s commitment to promoting new ideas, practices and perspectives for rethinking urban spaces.
The festival will focus on the major issues shaping contemporary cities: social transformation, environmental challenges, political dynamics and the need to create more inclusive, sustainable urban environments capable of adapting to change. Architecture, design, culture and community engagement will come together in a programme aimed at exploring new ways of inhabiting and experiencing shared spaces.
“In Rotterdam, we experienced first-hand both the urgency of today’s urban challenges and the extraordinary creativity with which cities are responding to them. Now we’re returning to Turin with even greater ambition,” says Luca Ballarini, co-founder of Stratosferica. The second part of the anniversary edition aims to bring some of the world’s most innovative urban experiences and visions to the city, guided by the festival’s motto: Cities are mental weapons.
One of the most eagerly awaited guests of the 2026 edition is Sir Peter Cook, architect and co-founder of Archigram, the British avant-garde collective that helped revolutionise architectural discourse through experimental projects, visionary drawings and alternative scenarios for the cities of the future. His participation is particularly significant as it comes shortly before his ninetieth birthday, offering an opportunity to meet a figure who has spent his career challenging the traditional boundaries of architecture and demonstrating how imagination can become a tool for exploring new forms of urban organisation.
His creative universe will also be celebrated through The City is a Garden, an exhibition dedicated to drawings by Peter Cook and Archigram. Running during the festival and continuing at Dorado Community Hub for two months, the exhibition will offer visitors the chance to discover works that have largely never been shown in Italy, providing insight into the legacy of one of the most influential collectives in experimental architecture.
The programme will bring together professionals and researchers from different fields, all exploring new approaches to urban design and transformation. Wim Walschap, CEO and Senior Partner at Herzog & de Meuron, will share the experience of one of the world’s leading architecture practices, renowned for its ability to connect context, innovation and the memory of places. Zahra Ebrahim, co-founder of Toronto-based organisation Monumental, will explore the relationship between communities and institutions, focusing on the spontaneous forces that shape urban life, from informal economies to grassroots placemaking initiatives.
Another perspective will come from Carolyn Steel, author and researcher specialising in the relationship between food and the built environment. Through the concept of Sitopia, she invites us to consider food as a key to understanding and redesigning cities. The way we produce, distribute and consume food has a profound influence on spatial organisation, social relationships and the environmental impact of urban systems.
Alongside the speakers’ presentations, Utopian Hours will showcase international initiatives demonstrating how ideas can be translated into tangible projects. These include Rotterdam Rooftop Days, which explores the potential of rooftops as a resource for climate adaptation and the creation of new public spaces; Gleispool, a proposal for a large public swimming pool in a former railway site in Basel; and Crown Bridges, a project in Helsinki exploring new possibilities for urban connectivity. Other featured initiatives include Quatorze, a non-profit organisation promoting solidarity-driven architecture, and Nice Developers, which seeks to rethink the role of property developers in urban transformation. The programme will also feature Madrid-based ENORME Studio, known for its experimental, participatory and adaptable approach to architectural design, and Powerhouse Company, an international architecture practice working across housing, construction and urban regeneration.
Utopian Hours stands out for a format that goes beyond the traditional conference. Alongside keynote lectures and masterclasses at La Centrale Lavazza, the Urbanites Fair will provide a space for networking and exchange, bringing together projects, organisations and initiatives that are helping redefine how cities are designed and experienced. Dorado Community Hub will host the festival’s roundtables: participatory sessions designed to bring together different skills and experiences and develop responses to contemporary urban challenges. The venue will also host exhibitions, including The City is a Garden and Urban Frames, presented in collaboration with CAMERA – Italian Centre for Photography.
The festival will also renew its partnership with the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFFR), bringing a selection of films dedicated to architecture and cities to Turin. Cinema will offer an additional way to explore urban transformations, discover new perspectives and reflect on the relationship between people, buildings and public space.
The 2026 edition will further strengthen the festival’s international dimension through its guest cities. Rotterdam will be the European Guest City, with a dedicated space at the Urbanites Fair, a roundtable at Dorado and a presentation on the main stage. Having already featured in the first event of the Ten Years Edition, the Dutch city will provide an opportunity to explore experiences and strategies developed in one of Europe’s most active centres for urban experimentation.
Naples will be the Italian Guest City, continuing the initiative launched in 2025 with Brescia. Its presence will broaden the discussion around the specific characteristics of local contexts and the different ways communities are responding to urban transformation.
With this new edition, Utopian Hours reaffirms Turin’s role as a meeting point for those who study, design and imagine the cities of the future. Two days dedicated not only to presenting ideas, but also to building relationships and sharing tools to address the challenges of the present.
Utopian Hours 2026 – Ten Years Edition / Part 2 will take place on 16 and 17 October at La Centrale – Nuvola Lavazza, Via Ancona 11/A, Turin, and at Dorado Community Hub. Early Bird tickets are available on: utopianhours.it
