Marie Davidová, María Claudia Valverde Rojas, and Hanane Behnam
More-than-human perspective to co-design
The gigamap and synthesis map were developed during the CoLife Winter semester 2024/25 studio at the University of Stuttgart, focusing on a more-than-human, co-designed intervention to enhance biodiversity and ecological connectivity in and around the Hoppenlaufriedhof cemetery. The project proposes site-specific, modular habitat structures for species such as solitary bees, birds, bats, lizards, and small mammals, responding to their specific thermal, spatial, and protective needs. Alongside physical prototypes, the intervention incorporates public engagement through participatory workshops, guided biodiversity walks, and an outdoor exhibition. QR codes embedded in the exhibited maps connect visitors to detailed design guidelines, species information, and citizen science platforms, encouraging replication and adaptation of the interventions in other urban contexts. Carried out by a transdisciplinary student team, the work integrates Systems Oriented Design methods (gigamapping and synthesis mapping), environmental simulations, and full-scale prototyping to enable interaction between human and non-human stakeholders in real-life conditions. The gigamap synthesises the complex relationships between species, habitats, and human interventions, evolving through iterative feedback loops between analogue (stakeholder workshops, field observations) and digital (student co-design) processes. The synthesis map distils these systemic insights into an accessible communication tool that bridges ecological knowledge with design strategies. This submission is related to the accompanying paper on CoLife biodiversity interventions, documenting the translation of ecological and climatic data into adaptive architectural and spatial strategies aimed at fostering multispecies cohabitation and ecological resilience in urban environments.
KEYWORDS: systems-oriented design, gigamapping, more-than-human, synthesis map, urban biodiversity, multispecies cohabitation, ecological connectivity
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank all participants. Namely, the participating students: Yang Yu, Tomáš Veselý, Jiuyuan Liu, Feng Jiao, Alejandra Pérez del Solar, Carolina Barros, Yu Fu, Luis Pommerening, Emilia Tietz, Oriana Gabriela Ventura Saavedra, Blerta Preni qi, Sherry Hany, Jan Kuhn, Tadeo Benavides, Maria Vigueras García, Álvaro Escriche Narvión, Eloisine Carraud.
