KEYNOTE: The Ecology of Comfort: Cooling Cities through Living Infrastructure

Cities are heating up — and with them, so are the social, ecological, and spatial challenges of urban life. From rising heat stress and flooding to the disappearance of green space, our built environments are increasingly at odds with the systems that once made them habitable. Yet within this challenge lies an extraordinary opportunity: to rethink cities not as machines to be cooled, but as living systems that regulate themselves through design aligned with nature.

This lecture explores how living infrastructure — the intelligent integration of water, vegetation, and soil into the urban fabric — can serve as a foundation for both climate resilience and human wellbeing. Instead of separating ecological function from comfort, we can design spaces where the two reinforce each other: where shade trees, permeable soils, and rainwater become elements of thermal comfort, biodiversity, and sensory experience.

Through a series of international case studies and research-driven projects, Dimitra Theochari, architect, engineer, and landscape architect, presents how blue-green systems can actively shape the “ecology of comfort.” From the heat-mitigation strategies of Athens’ historic neighborhoods to large-scale campus and cultural projects in Central Asia and Northern Europe, she demonstrates how design grounded in ecological intelligence creates measurable environmental impact while enriching the human experience of place.

The lecture highlights the intersection between science, culture, and design, addressing questions such as:
– How can we quantify and design for microclimatic comfort?
– What does a regenerative approach to public space look like in dense cities?
– How can digital and computational tools support a new generation of responsive, nature-based design?

“The Ecology of Comfort” proposes a shift in mindset — from sustainability as mitigation to ecological performance as design culture. It argues that wellbeing in cities is not a luxury, but a function of how intelligently we weave natural systems into our everyday environments.

Ultimately, the talk invites planners, architects, and citizens alike to imagine cities as living ecologies of comfort — resilient, productive, and deeply human.