The International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) gathers architects, engineers, and practitioners worldwide interested in conceiving, designing, and constructing shells and spatial structures. The last IASS Symposiums were held in Melbourne, Australia, in 2023 and in Zürich, Switzerland, in 2024. The next IASS 2025 Symposium will be held in Mexico City.
Mexico has already held two previous editions of this symposium, the first time in 1967 in Mexico City and the second in 2008 in Acapulco, Guerrero. The third edition will be held at the Faculty of Architecture, located within the Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City — the capital and a major cultural metropoli, home to around 170 museums, 100 galleries, and 30 concert halls. Additionally, Mexico’s gastronomy is well worth experiencing.
Mexico City has plenty of examples of well-known reinforced concrete shells. Félix Candela, in collaboration with many other architects and engineers, constructed several hundred shells throughout the city and the country. Those interested in Candela’s legacy can visit these remarkable lightweight structures.
Welcome to IASS 2025, which will be held from 27 to 31 October 2025 and generate an exchange of knowledge. The latest scientific advances and cutting-edge technology will be available within a sustainability framework and care for natural resources.
Mexico’s cultural richness and constructive tradition have gone hand in hand since time immemorial. This is how the past and the present coexist daily in our territories, architectures, structures, and spatial solutions. The IASS 2025 theme symposium, “The living past as a source of innovation,” will look towards novelty: learning from good construction practices and using the new technologies and materials of our time to project ourselves into the future.
What lessons can we transmit from the historical tradition, from projection, technical, geometric, project, and structural solutions? What can we implement in the future in a world in perpetual transformation? The invitation opens to a rich discussion and deep reflection: let us raise, listen, and learn together from experiences worldwide.
The Faculty of Architecture of UNAM will host the IASS 2025 Symposium from October 27 to 31 at the Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles de México (CICM), located in the southern part of the city, near UNAM’s Central Campus — about a 10-minute drive away.
The Organizing Committee of the IASS 2025 Mexico City Symposium expresses its sincere gratitude to all participants, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and institutions who made this event possible.
The success of the IASS 2025 Mexico City Symposium has been the result of the collective effort, enthusiasm, and commitment of professional teams—both administrative and technical—and of a truly engaged academic community devoted to advancing the field of shell and spatial structures. Your presence, ideas, and collaboration have transformed this symposium into an unforgettable experience of exchange, learning, and friendship.
Thank you for sharing these inspiring days with us in Mexico City. We hope that the memories, knowledge, and connections built here will continue to strengthen our community in the years to come.
Welcome to Mexico City. Welcome to IASS 2025.
¡Mi casa es tu casa!
Organizing Committee of the IASS 2025 Mexico City Symposium
