Intelligent Ecologies in Architectural Research and Practice
A special issue of Architecture (ISSN 2673-8945).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 2000
Special Issue Editor
Interests: architecture theory and practice; architectural experimentation; environmental visualization; urban regeneration; shared heritage; design for climate change; nature-based design; regenerative design; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), architecture, and ecological principles is transforming the design of built environments, making them more adaptive, sustainable, and able to respond dynamically to both the environment and users. Architects, engineers, urban planners, and designers are exploring how intelligent ecosystems (Intelligent Ecologies) can redefine architectural research and practice through emerging technologies from a two-pronged perspective: the intelligence of both natural systems and advanced technologies. Likewise, there are implications for architecture and architectural design in both research and practice, because integrating the intelligence found in natural systems with that of emerging technologies enables architecture that has the potential to move beyond traditional sustainability models toward more dynamic, regenerative, and adaptive design methodologies. This Special Issue is inspired by the themes of the 19th Biennale Architettura, curated by Carlo Ratti with the aim to “explore how diverse forms of intelligence—natural, artificial, and collective—can collaborate to rethink the built environment in response to the accelerating climate crisis”. Within this context of radical changes, the concept of Intelligent Ecologies could pave the way for a new architectural paradigm where design is informed by emerging technologies, such as AI and responsive systems, and inspired by nature—leading to resilient, efficient, inclusive, and ecologically harmonious built environments.
The general goal of this Special Issue is to invite academics and professionals from architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, design, engineering, photography, film, and art to participate, with the aim of bringing together knowledge from across research, practice, and education to generate new perspectives and strengthen connections between disciplines.
The general objective includes, but is not limited to, defining the concept of Intelligent Ecologies and its role in architecture, analyzing the influence of emerging technologies (AI, IoT, machine learning, and intelligent materials) in the design of spaces, identifying innovative case studies that exemplify the integration between artificial intelligence, ecology, and architecture, and exploring the social and environmental impacts of these approaches in urban and architectural design. To achieve these objectives, contributions could include literature reviews on computational architecture, biomimicry, smart materials, and automation, analyses of existing projects to identify innovative design strategies, explorations of the use of generative AI in architectural research and creativity through case studies and adaptive design, and assessments of the environmental and social impact of the integration of AI and sustainable design.
Dr. Tiziano Cattaneo
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Architecture is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- architectural design and theory
- computational and generative design and digital fabrication
- landscape architecture and landscape urbanism
- urban ecology and urban design and planning
- regenerative design
- adaptive and responsive design
- environmental and knowledge visualization
- participatory design
- architecture for emergency and vulnerability
- sustainable architecture
- architectural heritage
- circular and low-carbon architecture
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