World Scenarios



Toward Ecological Accountability


Modern urbanization prioritizes human convenience and economic growth at the expense of ecological integrity. Expanding cities replace porous landscapes with impermeable surfaces, fragmenting habitats, intensifying climate instability, and accelerating biodiversity loss. Architecture plays a crucial role in either perpetuating or mitigating these impacts, with conventional construction methods embedding long-term vulnerabilities into urban environments.

A shift is needed—from designing for humans to designing with nature. Instead of treating ecosystems as secondary to urban life, cities must be seen as part of them, fostering resilience and coexistence. Four key scenarios—Overdevelopment, Decay, Flood, and Drought—illustrate the consequences of unchecked anthropocentrism and the urgency of integrated ecological strategies.

These interconnected scenarios reveal the need for proactive design strategies that integrate resilience, adaptability, and ecological accountability. Cities must function as living ecosystems, capable of evolving with environmental changes rather than against them.


Overdevelopment sacrifices natural buffers for dense construction, worsening biodiversity loss and climate risks. As flood-prone areas are built over, impermeable surfaces increase water runoff and disrupt ecosystems. Decay envisions human abandonment, where collapsing structures allow for ecological resurgence. While seen as neglect from a human perspective, it fosters biodiversity and natural habitat expansion. Floodingintensified by climate change, overwhelms urban infrastructure and disrupts fragile river ecosystems. Floodplains, already diminished by development, struggle to absorb excess water, leading to habitat destruction. Drought depletes water sources, leaving landscapes dry and unable to sustain flora and fauna. Reduced vegetation worsens urban heat islands, making cities increasingly inhospitable for both humans and wildlife.



How Do We Want to Live Together?

From Human-Centered Design to More-Than-Human Coexistence


The increasing frequency of climate-driven disasters makes it clear that traditional, human-centered design approaches are no longer viable. Architecture and planning must move beyond the idea that humans are separate from their environment and instead embrace the reality that we are deeply interconnected with the ecosystems we build within. As scholars like Maibritt Pedersen Zari, Peter Connolly, and Mark Southcombe have argued, the dominance of human influence in the Anthropocene demands a radical rethinking of design—one that recognizes the vital interdependence of all living organisms.

This shift is already emerging across various disciplines. Global platforms such as the Venice Architecture Biennale and the New European Bauhaus are increasingly questioning how we can design for coexistence rather than dominance. However, the challenge remains in translating these discussions into real, implementable solutions. Too often, sustainability is treated as a marketing term rather than a fundamental design principle. Green spaces are added as decorative elements rather than integral systems, limiting their ability to mature and function as true multi-species environments.

This thesis proposes a new framework for more-than-human design, embedding ecological considerations into the architectural process from the start. Instead of retrofitting sustainability onto completed projects, it explores how built environments can emerge through coexistence with water, flora, fauna, and human life alike. The aim is not just to mitigate harm but to actively contribute to urban ecosystems that are resilient, regenerative, and adaptable.

As the previous analyses have shown, the human perspective has long dominated architectural discourse. It is now time to shift the lens—to examine the site through the needs of other elements that shape and sustain it. By doing so, we can begin to answer the essential question: How do we want to live together?







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