Instructor: Mark Shepard
ARC 626: Situated Technologies Graduate Design Research Seminar
Spring 2025

DESCRIPTION: 

Contrary to the commonly held belief that cities are agents of ecological degradation, recent research has found that urban areas are surprising refuges for biodiversity. These urban environments, evolving more rapidly than their rural counterparts, have become hubs of evolution where species quickly adapt to new environments, forming complex and dynamic ecosystems. However, despite this flourishing urban biodiversity, this remains largely ignored in traditional approaches to architecture, urban design, and planning, which have typically focused on accommodating human needs while neglecting the diverse communities of species that also inhabit the city.

This seminar investigates theories of multispecies design and interspecies interaction through the development of design criteria for (and with) nonhuman urban inhabitants. We will examine the design of spaces that not only accommodate but also engage both human and nonhuman urban life. Students will collectively research and develop a “field guide” that presents design criteria for more than human urban environments. Readings spanning the fields of philosophy, anthropology, science and technology studies, animal studies, environmental humanities and art provide a transdisciplinary context within which these criteria will be considered. This seminar fosters critical thinking, ecological literacy, and the ability to synthesize scientific research into design applications. Co-registration with the spring 2026 Situated Technologies Design Research Studio is highly recommended but not required.