Acknowledging that long-term design for change or impact will inevitably require multiple authors and owners is a humbling realisation—one that echoes our smallness on the cosmic scale. “[This] really challenges the idea of complete control of the architect or the designer over every aspect of an object or a design,” says architect, researcher and educator David Benjamin—known for integrating living systems into the design process—in a conversation with STIR. Benjamin, together with his students from Columbia GSAPP’s Master of Architecture programme, was recently in Delhi on an exploratory study tour, during which they visited the STIR Gallery. He is also the founding principal of his New York-based studio, The Living, director of architecture research at Autodesk, and head of the Columbia GSAPP Incubator.

Benjamin bridges research and hands-on experimentation, using prototyping to explore new ideas for, and harness living organisms in, the practice of architecture. He has researched and created prototypes of materials produced from mycelium cultures, bacteria, luffa sponges and agricultural by-products such as rice straw.

Operating at the crossroads of biology, computation and design, he has developed three conceptual models for integrating living systems into the built environment: bio-processing, bio-sensing and bio-manufacturing. “I prefer to engage biology literally rather than metaphorically,” he explains. “This means exploring things like bio-processing—for example, using living fungi to compute paths for structural loads in low-carbon airplane parts. It may also mean bio-sensing—something like using living mussels to detect water quality in urban rivers. And it could involve bio-fabricating—which could take the form of using living mycelium to bind together agricultural byproducts and create low-carbon architectural bricks."  

Benjamin’s studio, The Living, founded in 2006 with an ambition of “creating the architecture of the future”, has received numerous accolades, including the Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League, the New Practices Award from AIA New York, the Young Architects Program Award from MoMA and MoMA PS1 and a Holcim Sustainability Award. Notable recent projects include the Princeton Architecture Laboratory—a cutting-edge facility for advanced design and construction research; Pier 35 EcoPark—a responsive floating structure in the East River that shifts colour with water quality; and Hy-Fi—a temporary installation for MoMA PS1 made from innovative biodegradable bricks.

Buildings are not static objects. They are dynamic systems. – David Benjamin, Associate Professor at Columbia GSAPP

In an era when continued construction risks accelerating ecological collapse—given that architecture accounts for a third of global carbon emissions, energy use and waste—the idea of proposing more architecture can feel paradoxical. Still, as partial custodians of the built environment, we have a responsibility to research and reimagine our methods, as irredeemable as it may sound—or at least the kinds of architectures we can get behind with intention, with research. That, according to Benjamin, begins with acknowledging there’s no singular formula to this. We could, however, confront the often-overlooked feature of embodied energy from the outset to make it actionable, apart from decarbonising architecture at the same amount or pace that it is being built.

During the course of the conversation, the American architect discussed how one approach could be to design architecture and physical systems that are intentionally adaptable, given the known uncertainty of the future. Can a building be designed to accommodate changing uses over time? Can materials be developed more proactively with ageing, maintenance or disassembly in mind? How might emerging technologies and material research and implementation challenge conventional assumptions about sustainability?

If we are serious about climate change and decarbonisation, we have to design pathways from prototype to impact at scale.

“It’s relevant to think that, since buildings themselves are dynamic systems rather than static objects—acknowledging that they are going to be worked on and changed both by the users and other designers in the future,” means embracing ‘change’ itself as part of the design process. “To admit that, and give up some of the control and sole authorship, is an interesting step in the direction of the unknowable future,” he conveys.

Across his work in research, teaching and architectural practice, Benjamin seems to offer a timely and succinct reflection on the theme of the OBEL Award 2025—Ready Made—to rethink modes of production, value and regeneration and re-evaluate and prioritise what already exists while challenging conventional notions of architectural aesthetics. When asked to share a guiding question or idea for architects and design students to carry into their research and practice, he leaves us with a thought that is both radically hopeful and quietly urgent: “The way things are is not the way things have to be.”

We do know for certain that the future is uncertain. Benjamin’s approach, as a practitioner and teacher, is to position architecture as a deep practise of investigation—one that invites us to rethink not just what we build but how. It’s a method that may begin with certainty, but always with possibility.

Tap the cover video to watch the full conversation with architect David Benjamin.