Designing for Coexistence: Wild Cities Winter Semester Studio 2026 Successfully Completed

We have successfully concluded the Winter Studio 2025–2026 Wild Cities: Shared Landscapes for People and Nature in Stuttgart. Led by Prof. Dr. Leonie Fischer and coordinated by Angie Camacho, the course explored architecture, urban planning, and design from a more-than-human perspective, acknowledging and integrating the wildlife that actively inhabits the city.

Through in-depth research on plant communities, animal species, and urban ecosystems in Stuttgart, Bachelor’s and Master’s students in Architecture and Urban Planning developed proposals for shared urban landscapes where coexistence between humans and non-humans is a central priority.

This course was developed in the winter semester of 2025/26, we engaged with key concepts from urban ecology, including multispecies justice, human–nature interactions, and human–wildlife conflicts (HWC). The studio drew inspiration from Animal-Aided Design and nature-based solutions, reframed through a multispecies lens. The program included a collaborative workshop with the University of Massachusetts, an excursion to Munich, and multiple expert contributions. We are especially grateful for the generous support and exchange with:

• Dr. Paige Warren, University of Massachusetts
• Dr. Sophie Lokatis, Freie Universität Berlin
• Dr. Simon Sebastian Moesch, Ruhr Universität Bochum
• PhD Candidate Maria Claudia Valverde, Universität Stuttgart
• Konrad Bucher, Ackermannbogen e.V.
• Dr. Wolfgang W. Weisser, Technical University of Munich
• Dr. Monika Egerer, Technical University of Munich
• Research project CitySoundscapes, Technical University of Munich

Below, you will find a short overview of the students’ projects.

Wandering through the city centre of Stuttgart, one would rarely encounter a grasshopper or a bat. In general, biodiversity is not represented. This is especially true of the very grey sites, such as the squares we focused on most: the Kronprinzplatz and the Marienplatz. Interaction between species is minimal and the distinction between species is unclear. Whilst analysing the spaces, there were two factors that caught our eye: heat and noise. The Kronprinzplatz was overheated, and the Marienplatz was loud. The intensification of these two factors, in addition to the lack of integrated nature, would make the two squares unbearable in the near future.

Pergola structures create shade, and water parks cool down. Simultaneously, noise is diminished via micro-topography and noise walls. Furthermore, to not forget what the meadow landscape and water bodies have taught us, we added heat- and noise-mitigating trees and plants into our meadow-based expansions.

These interventions also created habitats for many species that are now able to live more comfortably in these grey squares. At last, to also make these squares attractive to the human species, social interventions such as interactive garden tables and a sensory path make the Kronprinzplatz and the Marienplatz into harmonious, architecturally appealing, and biodiverse spaces for everyone to enjoy.

By Yara Laua and Zoë Britt Bonin

In most of Germany, cemeteries are still perceived as closed-off, secluded places reserved for mourning and reflection, a world entirely separate from the everyday life unfolding beyond their borders. For decades, this was also the case with the Pragfriedhof, whose high walls reinforced its separation from Stuttgart and its emerging green network. Today, however, the cemetery has been given a literal and symbolic breath of fresh air by becoming part of the new Green-9, a wider system of parks, vineyards, pocket parks, and quiet, plant-filled streets.

Within its grounds, Pragfriedhof has transformed not only its infrastructure but also its identity. It supports lichens, birds, insects, and native plants through shaded groves, deadwood habitats, meadow patches, and moisture-rich stone areas. Visitors are invited to engage with these processes through quiet seating niches, bird-listening walks, and educational elements that promote awareness of the more-than-human world. These transformations turn Pragfriedhof into a porous ecological corridor and contemplative urban park integrated into the Green U.

By Adrian Jonikans, Sofia Sayritupac, and Rosanara Taing

The sacred act of remembrance is interwoven into a layered urban ecosystem, demonstrating a commitment to ecological vitality and community enrichment. Perpetual mosaics seek to transform the dynamic and important components of the Dornhaldenfriedhof cemetery into essential urban biosphere reserves, thereby elevating its status within Stuttgart’s infrastructure. These perpetual gardens embody a deep reverence for the natural world, actively cultivating and sustaining diverse native microhabitats through ecological design and regenerative land management practices.

With a diverse range of target species including small mammals, nocturnal birds, amphibians, and insects, the mosaic takes a more-than-human perspective on potential habitats and movement areas, while respectfully intervening in a site of commemoration and memory that is still present in both its natural state and its buildings.

Habitat zoning is proposed to protect the historic zone and reconcile heritage and ecology. Beyond nature, these sites are curated as respectful, interactive public spaces with permeable paths and shaded groves, which are designed to encourage contemplation, movement and community gatherings. They function as open-air classrooms for ecological education, using subtle digital integration to connect visitors with the natural and historical narratives embedded in the landscape.

By Esther Coulibaly, Meghana Girish, and Štěpán Roletzki

Some people still refer to Stuttgart as Stuttgart am Nesenbach rather than Stuttgart am Neckar. But how come hardly anyone seems to talk about or even know this creek if it’s apparently crossing such a big part of the city? The reason for that is the Nesenbach flowing almost entirely underground, hidden from the visible surface. Successively turned into a wastewater stream, the Nesenbach grew into a completely artificial channel, covered to protect the city from its smell as well as forming new building ground above.

This project aims to re-establish the stream into the cityscape with the goal to enrich Stuttgart with a natural, free flowing shared landscape. The creek will no longer be serving as a waste water channel and instead be developed to mimic a natural flow. Therefore, we will work with non-enclosed shorelines from natural soil, forming a bridge between the stream and generous accompanying green spaces.

The landscape will serve as urban habitat for species that depend on riparian streams such as the Salix alba and the Calopteryx splendens. Furthermore, it’ll contribute to society in the way of loosening up the sealed surfaces in Stuttgart’s centre, making the city more resilient to heavy rain while simultaneously creating green spaces as grounds for social activities and free time.

By Moritz Bleyer, Roberts Pučko, and Samuel Rohatschek

For years, vineyards in Stuttgart have suffered from a lack of biodiversity. This makes crops especially vulnerable to pests and diseases, which in turn leads to an increased use of pesticides. As reliance on pesticides becomes the primary mitigation strategy, biodiversity does not improve, and vineyards remain stuck in a cycle of monoculture and chemical dependence. To overcome this situation and ensure long-term resilience, the vineyards must evolve. The key is cooperation. The first step is the formation of a symbiotic agreement between private landowners and public institutions. This makes it possible to shift the vineyards from purely productive land into multifunctional spaces that support and reinforce one another.

Through this vision, the vineyards of Stuttgart are transformed into a multifunctional ecological mosaic that preserves grape production while expanding ecological and social value. Through small-scale and carefully placed interventions, paths, gathering spaces, and diverse plantings are integrated without disrupting agricultural processes. Terraced slopes evolve into open-air theatres, seating landscapes, and accessible urban connectors. As a result, the vineyards become spaces for everyday use, learning, and cultural exchange. This landscape produces not only grapes, but also biodiversity, resilience, and a shared urban identity, where production and public life coexist.

By Laura Cano, Daniel Willcox and Malak Zaghloul

This design vision emerged from the analysis of two different urban ecosystems: wetlands and meadows; as well as from tracing mineral springs and groundwater systems in Stuttgart. The exploration led to Veielbrunnenpark, a space largely designed for human use alone.

The proposal reimagines the park as a connected, multi-species habitat where humans and wildlife coexist through shared experiences. Coexistence is understood not as symbolic or decorative, but as tangible and embodied, experienced through water and soil, sound and movement, pauses and crossings. By reconnecting ground, hydrology, and living systems, the park becomes a space that fosters an awareness of interdependence, where humans are reminded that they are not separate from nature, but part of it.

By Lilli Greuter

The findings from the "Wild CIties" project are currently being discussed in the blog post "More Wildness for the Urban Planning of the Future, Please!"