Each year, Arctic terns undertake the longest migration known to the animal kingdom, flying between the Arctic and Antarctic and back again. Navigating across oceans and continents, they rely on the sun, stars, earth’s magnetic field and subtle environmental cues. Their journeys reveal an intimate relationship with the living world—one built on attention, memory and connection to place. During fieldwork (not to mention walking through urban landscapes like New York City), I often find myself relying on GPS to navigate unfamiliar terrain, when I would do better to slow down and orient myself using landmarks and other features of my environment.
Beavers: Regenerative design
Among nature’s greatest engineers, beavers transform landscapes through dams, ponds and wetlands. But unlike much human engineering, they don’t impose order on nature. Instead, they work with natural processes. Their dams slow water rather than fight it, creating wetlands that reduce flooding, improve water quality and increase biodiversity, from fish and amphibians to birds and plants. As climate change worsens, beavers are even being reintroduced to restore degraded landscapes and make ecosystems more resilient. These semiaquatic rodents invite us to see that the most successful architecture is not about controlling or mastering nature but working with it.
Sequoias: Long-term thinking
