BUSarchitecture

Understanding Resilience in Urban Systems

Augmented perspectives to explore, question, and decode the forces shaping our collective urban destiny

AR Workshop (2 hours) including Augmented Reality

We live within systems that we rarely see until they fail. This two-hour workshop uses Augmented Reality to make these hidden structures visible, showing how disturbances affect social, environmental, health, infrastructural, and economic layers. Guided by the URBAN MENUS ecosystem and its AR tool and cards, participants explore aspects of urban systems, identify disturbances, and reflect on the impacts they create.

Rather than predicting the future, we use the four resilience pillars — resist, recover, adapt, and transform — to guide collective sense-making. In group discussions, participants examine how different strategies might strengthen resilience. The session is less about answers than it is about awareness: learning to see connections, recognizing vulnerabilities, and imagining ways of living that remain resilient in the face of change. This Think Tank becomes a space for shared perspectives, where planners, artists, city administration, investors, developers, and citizens build bridges of understanding — not only about what must change, but also about how to change together.

Website: https://trainingresilience.eu/

BUSarchitecture

BUSarchitektur was founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina and subsequently expanded and consolidated in Vienna, Austria, where it is currently based. Led by Dr. Mag. Arch. Arch. Laura P. Spinadel , BUSarchitektur operates as an independent architecture and urban strategy practice specializing in climate-resilient housing, circular urban development, institutional and governance frameworks, and implementation-oriented planning. The firm has maintained continuous professional activity over several decades, working across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia, and acting as Lead Consultant in complex, multi-actor assignments involving public authorities, private sector stakeholders, academia, and civil society.

A defining characteristic of BUSarchitektur's work is its focus on decision-oriented processes rather than stand-alone studies. Assignments typically combine strategic diagnostics, participatory validation, and implementation frameworks, ensuring that outputs are usable within real institutional, regulatory, and market conditions. This approach has been applied in projects funded by international financial institutions, the European Union (Erasmus+), national development banks, and public-sector clients, particularly in contexts where limited resources require clear prioritization and risk-aware sequencing.

BUSarchitektur is the creator and long-term developer of the URBAN MENUS methodology , a best-practice approach developed to support early-stage decision-making in complex urban and territorial contexts. It combines method, process, and digital tools to create trainings and to enable actors with different roles to engage with the same reality, explore scenarios and build informed consensus before irreversible decisions are taken.

A current project is Circularity Optimizer , which builds on the URBAN MENUS approach. Rather than evaluating single technologies in isolation, the Circularity Optimizer simulates technology pairings and their interactions. It enables comparison of scenarios based on multiple impact dimensions and makes visible where synergies emerge and where conflicts arise. This is particularly relevant when decisions involve multiple actors with different mandates and risk profiles.

Bio Workshop Team

Bianca Severin is a multimedia developer and architect based in Vienna, Austria. Since 2017, she has been a member of the URBAN MENUS team, specializing in the development of 3D software for participatory and impact-oriented urban planning. Additionally, she focuses on using Virtual Reality and Open Data to streamline the urban analysis process and support architects in the early stages of project development.

Catalina Pedraza is a skilled architect and designer with diverse experience in Concept Design, Design, Multimedia & Communication. Studied architecture in Bogotá and spatial design in London. involved in developing innovative creative content from concept inception to final production. Joined the team in 2016.

EN

Understanding resilience in urban systems

Expanded Perspectives to Explore, Challenge, and Decipher the Forces Shaping Our Shared Urban DestinyAR Workshop (2 Hours) Including Augmented RealityWe live in systems that we rarely see unless they fail. This two-hour workshop uses augmented reality to make these hidden structures visible and shows how disruptions affect the social, environmental, health, infrastructure, and economic spheres. Guided by the URBAN MENUS ecosystem and its AR tool and cards, participants explore aspects of urban systems, identify disruptions, and reflect on their impacts. Rather than predicting the future, we use the four pillars of resilience—resilience, recovery, adaptation, and transformation—to guide collective sensemaking. In group discussions, participants explore how different strategies can strengthen resilience. This session focuses less on answers than on awareness: learning to see connections, recognize vulnerabilities, and imagine ways of living that remain resilient to change. This Think Tank becomes a space for sharing perspectives, where planners, artists, city government, investors, developers and citizens build bridges of understanding – not only about what needs to change, but also about how to change together. Website: https://trainingresilience.eu/

BUSarchitecture

BUSarchitektur was founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and subsequently expanded and consolidated in Vienna, Austria, where it is currently headquartered. Led by Dr. Mag. Arch. Arq. Laura P. Spinadel, BUSarchitektur operates as an independent architectural and urban planning office specializing in climate-resilient housing, circular urban development, institutional and governance frameworks, and implementation planning. The firm has maintained continuous professional activity for several decades, operating in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, acting as a lead consultant in complex, multi-actor engagements involving public authorities, private sector stakeholders, academia, and civil society. A characteristic feature of BUSarchitektur’s work is its focus on decision-making processes rather than stand-alone studies. Projects typically combine strategic diagnostics, participatory validation, and implementation frameworks, ensuring that the outputs are applicable in real institutional, regulatory, and market contexts. This approach is applied in projects funded by international financial institutions, the European Union (Erasmus+), national development banks and public sector clients, especially in contexts where limited resources require clear prioritization and risk-sensitive sequencing.

BUSarchitecture

is the creator and long-term developer of the URBAN MENUS methodology, a best-practice approach developed to support early-stage decision-making in complex urban and territorial contexts. It combines a method, a process and digital tools to create training and allows actors with different roles to deal with the same reality, explore scenarios and build informed consensus before making irreversible decisions. A current project is the Circularity Optimizer , which builds on the URBAN MENUS approach. Instead of evaluating individual technologies in isolation, the Circularity Optimizer simulates combinations of technologies and their interactions. It allows scenarios to be compared based on multiple dimensions of impact and makes it visible where synergies arise and where conflicts arise. This is particularly relevant when multiple actors with different mandates and risk profiles are involved in the decision-making process.

Bio Workshop Team

Bianca Severin is a multimedia developer and architect based in Vienna, Austria. Since 2017, she has been a member of the URBAN MENUS team, which specializes in developing 3D software for participatory and impact-oriented urban planning. She also focuses on using virtual reality and open data to streamline the urban analysis process and support architects in the early stages of project development.

Catalina Pedraza is an experienced architect and designer with diverse experience in conceptual design, design, multimedia and communication. She studied architecture in Bogotá and spatial design in London. She is involved in the development of innovative creative content from initial concept to final production. She joined the team in 2016.