Synthetic Landscape Lab

Yesterday I had the pleasure of once-again joining Prof. Claudia Pasquero and Maria Kuptsova, leaders of the Synthetic Landscape Lab at the Faculty of Architecture at University of Innsbruck, as one of the jury assessing its final diploma defences. The unit, which is focused on the application of recent scientific findings in microbiology and biotechnology to problems impacting real-world landscapes worldwide, attracts an international cohort of students, and works with field-leaders from across both academia and industry. Joining Claudia, Maria, and I for the defensio were examiner, ecoLogicStudio cofounder Dr. Marco Poletto, and transnational urban research network Spin Unit cofounder and Terreform, New York principal researcher Damiano Cerrone, and architect and researcher Annarita Papeschi. Notable projects included 'Barranco: Topographical Morphologies' (pictured above and below) by Synthetic Landscape Lab student Patrik Kuhelmann. Presenting a novel solution to water pollution, the concept is reminiscent of historic Asian hydrological systems, harnessing the city's topography in the water treatment process.