Co-Founder Dr. Layla van Ellen Completes PhD in Living, Adaptable Architecture

Milestone Achievement for Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats Co-Founder

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Layla van Ellen, one of our co-founders, has successfully completed their PhD in living, adaptable architecture from Newcastle University. Dr. van Ellen's pioneering research focuses on the development of a framework for architectural design that adapts to the rhythms of their environment, and on characterising the responsiveness of various materials.

Dr. van Ellen's work presents tools for bridging scales and knowledge gaps to facilitate the use of biomaterials and biotechnologies for adaptable living buildings. A critical aspect of Dr. van Ellen's work was the challenge inherent in the interdisciplinary collaborations required to design adaptable living buildings:

The research highlighted the difficulties in interdisciplinary collaborations emerging from different approaches and ways of communicating. This intersection between architectural design, materials engineering, and biotechnology is intricate yet incredibly promising as we face widespread extreme climates.

Their work highlights the importance of interdisciplinary efforts in addressing complex and extreme environmental factors, demonstrating that collaborative innovation is key to developing resilient and adaptive architectural solutions.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. van Ellen on this outstanding achievement.