Between the Parts

Between the Parts: A Relational Methodology for Ecological Design is my doctoral dissertation, developed at the University of Innsbruck between 2020 and 2026 and defended in May 2026, with research stays at the Bartlett School of Architecture and at The University of Texas at Austin. Kristina Schinegger and Kathy Velikov supervised the work. The dissertation develops the concept of the ecological void, the interstitial space where environmental, social and technological systems meet and produce new spatial possibilities.

The project understands the architectural work as a relational field. Not the single object but the relationships between functions, material flows and actors stand at the center. Four coordinated design operations, typological variation, dimensional translation, synthetic multiplicity and interdisciplinary integration, generate spatial cycles out of these relationships. Artificial intelligence serves as a compositional instrument, one that produces variants not randomly but as a steered design space. Where these cycles overlap, a new spatial type emerges. It is not drawn, but forms wherever material flows of sufficient density converge. In this in-between space of technology and nature, community arises as a result of encounter and use.

The dissertation argues across three scales, from composition to building to city, and its material feeds directly into my teaching and into the circular design studios documented on this site. Building on the doctoral work, my research now develops circular design strategies, such as circular plazas and technology-supported community hubs, that make water, energy and food cycles visible and public.