Symbiotic Infrastructures
SYMFRA advances the concept of Symbiotic Infrastructure — infrastructure systems conceived as integral components of ecological, biological and social systems, rather than structures that treat them as constraints.
Infrastructure systems are increasingly challenged by climate change, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, ageing assets, rapid urbanisation, technological change and growing societal demands for sustainability, resilience and inclusion.
SYMFRA explores how nature, materials and human actors can become active partners in enhancing resilience, sustainability and adaptability across the whole infrastructure lifecycle — from planning and design through operation, maintenance, adaptation and post-disaster recovery.
Work on Nature-based Solutions, bio-based materials, circular construction, infrastructure resilience, digital innovation and community engagement has largely evolved in parallel, within sectoral boundaries. That fragmentation limits the move from isolated interventions to integrated, scalable and evidence-based strategies.
SYMFRA brings these communities together across transport, energy, water, buildings, urban systems and communications to build a shared systems perspective — and a lasting international network behind it.
Four themes structure the community's work and the conference programme.
Nature-based and nature-inspired solutions, ecosystem services, biodiversity, ecological connectivity, climate adaptation, and resilience to floods, heat, drought, wildfires and landslides — supported by monitoring and digital tools.
Bio-based and local materials, circularity, reuse, modularity, low-carbon construction, durability, repairability and regenerative design — supported by lifecycle data and digital tracking.
Organisations, professionals, users and the public as active participants: community and organisational resilience, participatory planning, governance, equity, emergency response, operational continuity and recovery, Living Labs and knowledge co-creation, including inclusive digitalisation and access to essential services.
Whole-life and systems thinking, infrastructure interdependencies and cascading risks, digitalisation, AI and digital twins, multi-hazard resilience, LCA and LCC, standards and regulation, financing, skills and scaling.
The committee brings research, industry and the public sector together, so that each perspective shapes both the direction of the community and the conference programme. Entries marked TBC are still being confirmed.
Universities, research institutes and laboratories across the four conference themes.
Chair of Concrete Structures and Infrastructures Engineering, University of Rostock
Germany
Department of Civil Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace
Greece
Department of Landscape, Water and Infrastructure, BOKU University
Austria
School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Anglia Ruskin University
United Kingdom
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of La Laguna
Spain
Department of Civil Engineering, CY Cergy Paris University
France
School of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Greece
Department of Civil Protection, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava
Czech Republic
Institute of Material Technology, Building Physics and Building Ecology, Technical University of Vienna
Austria
BAM Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung, Berlin
Germany
Laboratory of Environmental Engineering & Management, Technical University of Crete
Greece
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
Italy
Consultancies, contractors, technology providers, materials suppliers, and asset operators.
Digitalization Innovation Center (DigInnoCent s.r.o.)
Czech Republic
Rhizoscope L.P.
Greece
International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure
United Kingdom
HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions
Germany
Public authorities, municipalities, regional administrations, civil protection agencies and standardisation bodies.
Authority, agency or operator
Country
Authority, agency or operator
Country
Authority, agency or operator
Country
Integrating nature, bio-based resources and human actors for resilient and sustainable systems.
SYMFRA 2027 is the founding edition of a recurring conference. It offers a cross-sector forum spanning transport, energy, water, buildings and building complexes of public interest, urban systems, communications and other critical infrastructure domains.
The conference is non-profit and committed to minimising its own environmental footprint through sustainable venue, travel, catering, materials, energy and waste practices — with impacts measured and transparently reported.
Participation and presentation are possible with a two-page extended abstract, with open-access publication in a repository. Authors may additionally opt to publish a full-length paper of 6–12 pages in an indexed online proceedings volume.
Extended versions of selected papers will be explored for special issues of suitable journals.
Reduced fees are foreseen for early-career participants, those returning from a career hiatus, and retired participants.
Kavala offers a practical setting for the 1st SYMFRA conference, with very good university facilities, accommodation options, and a compact city centre close to the waterfront.
Outside the conference programme, participants can explore the Old Town, local restaurants, and the surrounding cultural and natural sites, including the beautiful island of Thassos.
Announcements from the community and the conference. Placeholder entries — replace with your own.
The 1st International Conference on Symbiotic Infrastructure will take place in Kavala, Greece, from 13 to 15 September 2027. Venue details and registration information will follow.
We are inviting expressions of interest from researchers and practitioners willing to serve on the scientific committee across the four conference themes.
A first working definition and shared vocabulary has been circulated for comment within the network, ahead of consolidation at the founding conference.
SYMFRA begins as an international network connecting infrastructure research and practice with ecology, bio-based resources, digital technologies and human and organisational capacity.
Questions about the community, the conference, membership or partnership — write to us.
This opens your email application with the message addressed to symfranet@gmail.com, ready to send.
Kavala, Greece
13–15 September 2027
Ask to be added to the list and you will receive conference announcements, calls and community updates. We send a few messages a year.
