Theme 04 explores the integration of radical care to enhancing ecological values, such as biodiversity, wellbeing, green transition, within architecture and promoting care and resilience in the built environment. ATUT 2025 will examine how ecological values can be prioritised and integrated in architecture, while critically reflecting on the potential unintended consequences of their implementation.
As architecture and urban planning increasingly embrace sustainability and ecological responsibility, radical care for nature and human wellbeing emerges as an essential guiding framework. Radical care emphasises a deep, ethical commitment to nurturing ecosystems and human communities in a way that is equitable, compassionate, and mindful of long-term resilience. However, the pursuit of these values must be carefully balanced with an awareness of unintended social, ecological, and economic impacts, ensuring that efforts to “green” the built environment do not inadvertently cause harm.
ATUT 2025 aims to foster dialogue on how architecture can incorporate biodiversity, promote wellbeing, and contribute to the green transition, while remaining vigilant to the risks associated with ecological interventions, such as the displacement of communities, gentrification, or over-reliance on technological fixes and lack of care of non-humans and the natural world. We invite interdisciplinary contributions from architects, urban planners, engineers, environmental scientists, social and political scientists. We welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Biodiversity in Architectural Design: How can architecture and urban planning integrate biodiversity and natural ecosystems into the built environment to promote resilience, and what are the potential unintended consequences of these efforts; how do we care for and who does the caring for the natural world and non-human?
- Wellbeing and Ecological Design: Exploring the relationship between ecological values in architecture and human wellbeing, including mental health, social cohesion, and quality of life in green spaces, co-benefits of humans when caring for nature and non-humans.
- Green Transition and Resilience: How can architects and planners contribute to the green transition in a way that ensures both environmental and social resilience, while addressing unintended outcomes such as gentrification, engendered aspects in who cares for the environment, community, etc., or unequal access to green spaces?
- Unintended Consequences of Ecological Interventions: What are the potential risks of ecological strategies in architecture, such as reliance on green technologies or scarcity of natural resources, that could lead to negative consequences for communities or ecosystems?
- Nature-Based Solutions and Resilience: The role of nature-based solutions (e.g., green roofs, urban forests) in building resilience, and the challenges or trade-offs involved in implementing these strategies.
- Ethics of Ecological Design: How can architects and urban designers ethically balance ecological values with social justice, ensuring that marginalised communities benefit from green transitions without facing displacement or loss of cultural heritage?
- Biodiversity and Urban Spaces: Exploring innovative ways to promote biodiversity in dense urban environments and the potential conflicts with urban development pressures and who looks after the spaces and biodiversity.
- Policy and Regulation for Ecological Architecture: How can policymakers support the radical care of ecological values in architecture through regulations, incentives, and urban planning frameworks?