NatCity: Cultivating Interspecies Architectures for Ecosystemic Transformation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.20252511767

Keywords:

Regenerative urbanism, NatCity, Ecosystemic pedagogy, Interspecies design, Assemblage, Experimental architecture

Abstract

Regenerative urbanism shifts the prevailing paradigm of sustainability toward a proactive model of ecosystem restoration, positioning cities as agents of biodiversity and socio-ecological resilience. Within this framework, the experimental teaching project NatCity, developed with undergraduate architecture students, explores the potential of architecture and public space as living infrastructures—capable of hosting, interconnecting, and amplifying multispecies biological interactions. Through the convergence of the interspecies assemblage and the ecosystemic semilattice, the project proposes a pedagogical methodology for reconfiguring the consolidated city as a dynamic metabolic fabric. This didactic experience frames architecture as both a tool for ecosystemic literacy and a medium for speculative design exploration in transforming the built environment. Rather than pursuing conclusive solutions, the approach aims to foster critical reflection on architectural practice from an eco-dependent and interrelational standpoint. The coexistence of humans and other species is conceived as a design grammar—a sensitive way of reading the territory and projecting affectively from within. This approach advocates for a situated design literacy that shifts the notion of dwelling-in toward dwelling-with, opening a path toward multispecies urban reconfiguration.

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Author Biographies

  • Eva Luque-García, University of Seville

    Eva Luque-García (Seville, 1972) graduated in Architecture from the Higher Technical School of Architecture, University of Seville, in 1999. Since 2009 she has been Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Design at the same school. She obtained her PhD in Advanced Architecture in 2023 and has been part of the Research Group TEP939 Architecture for the Creative City: Structures and Projects, Analysis and Records since 2017. She began her professional career under the pseudonym LosdelDesierto in 1999 and, in 2005, co-founded ELAP arquitectos ingenieros, where she has directed mainly publicly promoted projects and construction works. Her work has been shown in exhibitions, catalogues and specialized publications both in Spain and abroad. At present, her research focuses on ecosystem-oriented architecture and strategies for urban regeneration. ORCID: 0000-0003-1815-6698

  • Luz Fernández-Valderrama Aparicio, University of Seville

    Luz Fernández-Valderrama Aparicio (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1968) graduated in Architecture from the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Seville in 1993, where she ranked first in her class. She earned her PhD in Architecture in 2000 and has been Full Professor in the Department of Architectural Design since 2004, serving as its head from 2007 to 2010. She currently leads the Research Group HUM-985 IN-GENTES: Research on the Generation of Territories and the Interuniversity Cooperation Group ArTeS: Architecture, Territory and Health. She is the author of numerous articles in specialized journals, as well as the book La construcción de la mirada: tres distancias, and co-author of several volumes, including Atlas Potencial de Terapias Urbanas and the series Hojas de Arquitectura y Sostenibilidad. She has taught at universities in Germany, Chile, Bolivia, and Portugal, and has been principal investigator in projects on creativity, teaching innovation, and neighborhood regeneration. She is a member of Estudio Curtidores (estudiocurtidores.com). ORCID: 0000-0002-2797-3406

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Published

2025-12-23

Issue

No. 25 (2025): Regenerative Urbanism

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Topic papers

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Copyright (c) 2025 Eva Luque-García, Luz Fernández-Valderrama Aparicio

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How to Cite

Luque-García, E., & Fernández-Valderrama Aparicio, L. (2025). NatCity: Cultivating Interspecies Architectures for Ecosystemic Transformation. ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, 25, 90-103. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.20252511767