Best Paper Prize 2025 (Joint winner): Wolfgang W. Weisser and Thomas E. Hauck

Weisser and Hauck received the prize for Animal-Aided Design – planning for biodiversity in the built environment by embedding a species’ life-cycle into landscape architectural and urban design processes, published in Landscape Research. The paper presents a structured method for integrating biodiversity into the design of urban landscapes from the earliest stages of planning.

The method is structured around the full life-cycle of a species, identifying requirements for breeding, feeding, shelter, courtship, hibernation and long-term survival. These needs are translated into spatial design components and incorporated into the layout of buildings, planting schemes and open space.

The process follows a clear sequence: species selection, development of species portraits, design responses to critical needs, implementation during construction and post-occupancy evaluation. This structured approach allows biodiversity to be integrated into projects in a systematic and measurable way.

Species-specific examples demonstrate how this works in practice. The house sparrow case shows how nesting modules, food sources, shelter, dust baths and water can be located within a small home range, ensuring that all critical needs are met within the designed environment. These elements are integrated into façades, planting and everyday public space rather than treated as decorative additions.

Full article: landscaperesearch.org