2020 has impacted the lives of many people and society as a whole. Different Ever After is a festival hosted by the British Embassy Moscow about how the world is changing. It is about what lies ahead of us.

The main challenge is to make cities more resilient and protected from all sorts of threats, working in three key areas: greening urban spaces, developing the Smart City concept and adding more inclusiveness. To address this, Natalya Trunova, Vice President of the Centre for Strategic Research Foundation, hosted a discussion on how to ensure sustainable urban development in October 2020.

Scott Brownrigg Chief Executive Darren Comber joined the expert panel of British architects to participate in this event, organised by the Department for International Trade, Russia.

In his presentation, Darren addressed how architectural designs can fight the spread of the pandemic: embracing new modes of transport into cities, utilising tools like ‘digital twins’, and the call for special infrastructure in the urban realm.

“We need to create cities that people want to return to, where they feel safe, while taking into account not only human experience, but also robots, automation, drones and self-driving cars. Smart cities need to be built to ensure a secure future.”

Darren Comber , CEO

Watch Darren’s full presentation here: