Martin Grisel on… the International Building Exhibition (IBA)

You serve on the IBA advisory board, the ‘Kuratorium’. Could you explain what an IBA is, and what makes it such a unique platform for urban innovation and experimentation?

IBA – in English International Building Exhibition – is a time-limited, mission-oriented framework for urban and regional innovation. Rather than a conventional exhibition, it functions as a real-world laboratory in which cities, regions and partners test new approaches to pressing spatial, social, economic and environmental challenges. IBAs typically run for ten years or more and combine a clear strategic theme with a curated portfolio of projects, policies and processes. What distinguishes an IBA is its emphasis on experimentation under real conditions: new forms of governance, planning instruments, financing models and design solutions are developed and implemented in practice, not only discussed. An IBA brings together public authorities, private actors, civil society and researchers, often with a dedicated organisation that coordinates, curates quality and safeguards ambition. Successful IBAs go beyond producing exemplary buildings or places. Their real value lies in creating transferable knowledge, changing institutional routines and leaving a durable legacy after the IBA organisation itself is dissolved. This requires strong political backing, delivery capacity and early planning for what will remain once the exhibition phase ends. When these conditions are met, IBAs can act as powerful catalysts for systemic urban transformation. When they are not, they risk becoming short-lived branding exercises or collections of isolated showcase projects.

At this year’s IBA Day, you participated in discussions on knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer cooperation. Based on your experience in international collaboration, what lessons or best practices from other European cities could help accelerate active mobility in metropolitan regions like Munich, and how can these be adapted locally?

The IBA in the Munich metropolitan region is a format under negotiation. The topic “space for mobility” relies on the interconnection between sustainable urban mobility, spatial planning and housing. Innovative mobility in the Munich metropolitan region today primarily means systemic change rather than isolated solutions: more space for cycling and walking, less dominance of the private car, a strong role for public transport, and intelligent digital integration of services. European examples such as the 15-minute city approach in Paris, the integrated digital mobility services in Helsinki, Amsterdam’s and Utrecht’s bike-friendly strategies, and Barcelona’s superblocks show that active mobility, Mobility-as-a-Service and zero-emission strategies work, when implemented consistently. For Munich, the key lies above all in close cooperation between the city and its surrounding region: suburban rail, cycling highways, fare integration, logistics and charging infrastructure must be conceived as a shared project of the entire metropolitan region.

Innovation in mobility often requires coordination across sectors and administrations. How can public authorities, policymakers, businesses, and civil society systematically learn from successful mobility innovations and integrate them into urban planning?

In the field of mobility, it is not only technical expertise that matters, but above all methodological knowledge. This type of knowledge is conveyed through real-world laboratories, temporary traffic experiments, participatory planning, digital twins, open data use and regulatory experiments in which all actors, including public administrations, actively engage in implementation. Method transfer is successful when it is practice-oriented, iterative and sensitive to conflict. A strong culture of learning and error is crucial: setbacks, resistance and political blockages must be explicitly recognised as part of the learning process.