What does it mean to be alive? And how is architecture designed when we take this question seriously, not only for humans, but also for trees, fungi, soils, animals, and the countless forms of life that co create our environments? 

Trees offer a clear insight into one essential condition: living is always co living. „Living Architecture“ placed this idea of the living at the center of architectural thinking. After readings such as Eduardo Kohn’s Wie Wälder denken, Jakob von Uexküll’s Streifzüge durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen, and Anna Tsing’s The Mushroom at the End of the World, we first focused on a particular plant species before analyzing eight different projects and social practices in groups: from the living root bridges in India to the tree houses in the Hambacher Forest.

This specialization seminar consisted of the sub-seminars „Socially and ecologically inclusive living spaces“, „Typology-related Climate and Plant Performance“, and „Urban Habitat“. It was taught by Patrik Drechsler, Marlene Schneider, and me, and took place in summer 2026 at TU Graz. Image credit: Jasmin Radwan and Mariez Abdo