In May 2019, the United Nations released the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warning that human activities will drive nearly one million species to extinction in a few decades. The primary reasons for this are habitat loss and biodiversity demise caused by changing climate, pollution, introducing nonindigenous species, clearing of land, and overpopulation and consumption. 

These findings present the following challenge:  how might the design and development of the built environment contribute to the flourishing of a variety of species? 

The call for transpecies design proposes that humans, as codenizens of a shared planet, must shift from an anthropocentric mindset in exchange for a worldview in service of the earth’s magnificent biodiversity. Some neighbors are known and familiar, such as plants, birds, and bees. Others, like microbes and subterranean organisms, remain abstract and easily overlooked. 

Adrian Parr, with the generous support of Sue & Mort Fuller and Larry Bruton, recognizes that through design there is an opportunity and responsibility to improve not only the quality of human lives, but also those of symbiotic neighbors, both big and small. Through design, humanity can acknowledge the harm inflicted by their predecessors upon the earth by restoring and revitalizing damaged environments, leaning on and learning from nature’s own incredible designs. 

The exhibited works explore various approaches on how to realize and put to work transpecies design principles. These projects are integral to the University of Oregon’s Environment Initiative and they represent current research by faculty and students in the College of Design, along with work from designers and artists across the United States who participated in the Overlook transpecies design retreat. The scope of work ranges from regional forest management to microbial ecosystems within individual homes. Exploring the exhibition will show the promise of a transpecies designed world.  

May 20 - November 26, 2023
Venice, Italy
ECC Website

Metropolis Magazine, Transpecies Design at the 2023 ECC Architecture Biennale, August, 21, 2023

Dezeen, Time Space Existence show in Venice spotlights solutions for a planet under pressure, May 25, 2023

Urban areas such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex face increasing pressures with population growth, pollution, suburban sprawl, aging infrastructure, and a changing climate. Under these circumstances, there is a rising need for cities to reconsider how and where they grow and what they will champion as they grow.

The momentum around creating thriving, healthy, vibrant, dense, and environmentally friendly cities is mounting. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is no exception. As one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States and situated along the waterways that make up the Trinity River watershed, the Metroplex is experimenting with bold visions for the future. These plans involve crafting a new relationship between hard and fluid environments to toy with the impermeable boundaries previously separating cities from their waterways.

Watershed Urbanism and the DFW Metroplex showcases pioneering design projects that respond to the challenge of how to design built environments that enlarge with and incorporate waterflows and aquatic life. The Watershed Urbanism exhibit has been curated by Adrian Parr, a UNESCO Water Chair and Dean of the College of Design, University of Oregon. Featuring both speculative work in the Envisioning room and actual projects in the Visions room, the exhibition includes Harold Simmons Park, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, a project of the Trinity Park Conservancy; Fort Worth’s Steams and Valleys and Panther Island; Arlington’s River Legacy Park; Lewisville’s 2025 Plan; HKS; Perkins & Will Dallas office; as well as studio work conducted with students from UTA under the leadership of Brad Bell, Dennis Chiessa, Oswald Jenewein, Heath May, and Kevin Sloan.

May 22 - November 21, 2021
Venice, Italy
ECC Website

MyArlingtonTX, ‘Watershed Urbanism’ Exhibit Comes to UTA After Debut in Venice, March 9, 2022

Community Design Fort Worth, Worth Knowing Wednesdays: THE Watershed Urbanism Exhibit, May 18, 2022