Performance-Based
Façade Design
22–24 Sept. 2027 | Venice, Italy
2027
Seminar and Workshop on
Value in Façades: More with Less
Off-site Activities & Grand Finale
22–24 Sept. 2027
Venice, Italy
Façade Promenade
Venice Art Kilometer
May–Nov. 2027
PBFD 2027
Value in Façades: More with Less
PBFD 2027, the fifth edition, will take place in Venice from 22 to 24 September 2027. Every edition of PBFD follows a question the industry is asking. For 2027 the seminar and the workshop are organised around value: what a façade delivers, and what it takes to deliver it.
SEMINAR
Day 1, 22 September 2027
The seminar takes the broad view of value in façades. Presentations and keynotes address what the building envelope delivers to owners, occupants and cities. We invite contributions on the economics of the envelope, including return on investment, life-cycle cost and the allocation of risk, as well as on value creation across design, procurement, construction and operation. Perspectives from developers, investors, insurers, contractors and regulators are as welcome as those from designers and engineers. The seminar leads to the Springer Nature book PBFD: Value in Façades: speakers who wish to contribute develop a full chapter.
WORKSHOP
Day 2, 23 September 2027
The workshop is the technical counterpart: a working day for specialists, with keynotes and technical presentations that leave generous room for detailed discussion. The focus is on materials and on how choices in specification, testing and detailing can achieve more performance with less mass, carbon and cost. Test data, open technical questions and work in progress are encouraged. Selected contributions will be published in the new online workshop proceedings with ASTM International.
OFF-SITE ACTIVITIES
Grand Finale and technical visits
The Grand Finale takes place on the evening of 23 September, on an island in the Venetian lagoon to be revealed, and the third day, 24 September, is dedicated to technical visits to selected sites in and around Venice. A Welcome Reception opens the conference on the evening of 21 September, and the Advisors’ Dinner, by invitation only, takes place on the evening of 22 September.
PBFD 2027 is the fifth and last annual edition. From 2029, PBFD will be held every two years, in parallel with the Venice Architecture Biennale; the Façade Promenade 2027 is the first step.
22–24 SEPTEMBER 2027
CONFERENCE DAYS
Programme at a glance
Day 0, 21 September - Welcome Reception
Evening of 21 September, the night before the seminar. Add-on ticket required.
Day 1, 22 September - Seminar on Value in Façades: More with Less
Full day in the auditorium.
Day 1, 22 September - Advisors’ Dinner
Evening of 22 September, by invitation only.
Day 2, 23 September - Workshop
Full day, for specialists.
Day 2, 23 September - Grand Finale
Evening of 23 September.
Add-on ticket required.
Day 3, 24 September - Off-site activities
Technical visits to selected sites in and around Venice.
Add-on ticket required.
9 NOVEMBER 2026 – 8 JANUARY 2027
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Contributions to PBFD 2027
Opens - 9 November 2026
Closes - 8 January 2027
The call for abstracts for PBFD 2027 is open to contributions for the Seminar (22 September) and the Workshop (23 September).
Route A - Open call for abstracts
All remaining speaker slots are assigned through peer review by the PBFD Advisory Group.
Route B - Sponsor presentations
The 20-minute presentation slots included in the sponsorship packages, curated by PBFD with the partners to fit the programme. This route remains open after the call for abstracts closes on 8 January 2027.
PBFD 2027: IMPORTANT DATES
9 November 2026
Call for Abstracts Opens
31 December 2026
Façade Promenade Applications Close
8 January 2027
Call for Abstracts Closes
18 January 2027
Façade Promenade Results
1–5 May 2027
Façade Promenade Set-up
Partners set up their exhibition areas.
6–7 May 2027
Façade Promenade Opening
Biennale opening days: the Promenade opens with the Biennale preview.
8 May – 21 November 2027
Façade Promenade Open to the Public
Three exhibition areas open through the season; dismantling by 30 November.
21 September 2027
Day 0: Welcome Reception
Evening, the night before the seminar. Add-on ticket required.
21–24 September 2027
Guided Visits to the Façade Promenade
Two guided visits for PBFD 2027 participants.
22 September 2027
Day 1: Seminar and Advisors’ Dinner
Seminar: full day in the auditorium. Advisors’ Dinner: evening, by invitation only.
23 September 2027
Day 2: Workshop and Grand Finale
Workshop: full day, for specialists. Grand Finale: evening, on an island in the Venetian lagoon, to be revealed. Add-on ticket required.
24 September 2027
Day 3: Off-sites
Technical visits to selected sites in and around Venice. Add-on ticket required.
Façade Promenade, Calle Nova Sant’Agnese
The three exhibition areas of the Façade Promenade are in Calle Nova Sant’Agnese, Dorsoduro, between Rio Terà Antonio Foscarini and Piscina Venier, a few steps from the Ponte dell’Accademia. They are part of the Venice Art Kilometer, about 1 km on foot from the Gallerie dell’Accademia, past Palazzo Cini and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, to Punta della Dogana.
Façade Promenade partners can collaborate with an internationally renowned architect, selected by PBFD and its Advisory Group. Applications close on 31 December 2026, and results are announced on 18 January 2027. To learn more about the exhibition areas, please write to the curator.
The three exhibition areas: Area 1, 24 m² (5.20 × 4.60 m, ceiling height 3.30 m); Area 2, 10 m² (3.70 × 2.75 m, ceiling height 2.70 m); Area 3, 24 m² (6.15 × 3.90 m, ceiling height 2.70 m). Each area has shop-front windows on the calle, and no staff is needed: the exhibition is visible from the street.
1 MAY – 21 NOVEMBER 2027
FAÇADE PROMENADE
Venice Art Kilometer, 2027
Three exhibition areas on the Venice Art Kilometer, open for the whole season of the Biennale, where partners present façade ideas, mock-ups and videos to a street audience, by day and by night.
Partners’ work is shown through the shop-front windows on the street. Each window can be personalised, and QR codes on the glass can lead the architects, designers and façade enthusiasts passing by to the partner’s website or to a specific page of interest. Openings and special events can be organised in the spaces, and PBFD can support partners with what they need.
1–5 May 2027 - Set-up
Partners set up their exhibition areas.
6–7 May 2027 - Opening
Biennale opening days: the Promenade opens with the Biennale preview.
8 May – 21 November 2027 - Promenade
Three exhibition areas open to the public through the season; dismantling by 30 November.
21–24 September 2027 - PBFD 2027
Two guided visits to the Promenade for PBFD 2027 participants.
2027 Event Venues: To Be Announced Soon
PBFD 2027 Sponsorship Opportunities
PBFD 2027 offers several ways to take part as a partner: exhibition areas at the Façade Promenade on the Venice Art Kilometer, sponsorship of the conference moments from the Welcome Reception to the Grand Finale, patron programmes for keynote speakers, special guests and the open-access publication of the book PBFD: Durability, targeted opportunities, supporter packages and custom industry partnerships.
Why sponsor PBFD 2027
Be in the room and find new partners and collaborations. 150 participants are expected in 2027: specifiers and decision makers.
Align with the questions the industry asks next. Each edition sets the agenda a year ahead, and sponsors are part of it.
Invest in a community and a body of knowledge. A platform that builds over editions, not a one-off stand.
Programme content is selected by PBFD and its Advisory Group: sponsors are supported by the curator to gain visibility at the conference, and do not shape what is presented in the peer-reviewed programme.
To receive the PBFD 2027 sponsorship packages, please write to the curator, Angela Mejorin, at amejorin@performancebasedfacadedesign.org.