Lectures, talks, and more.
Select keynotes, lectures, and campaigns on bio-inspired design for wildfire by Dr. Melissa Sterry
Select keynotes, lectures, and campaigns on bio-inspired design for wildfire by Dr. Melissa Sterry
NCIS talks
Keynote titled ‘Pyrophytic Architecture: Design for living with wildfire modelled on the plants that evolved to live with wildfire’, discussing the paradigm, its context, and applications, delivered online for the National Coalition of Independent Scholars talks series.
FAB conclave
Keynote titled ‘Panarchistic Architecture: Exploring not how we humans might solve the problem of living with wildfire, but applying how flora and fauna already have’, presenting aspects of the paradigm, its context, and applications in architecture, urban design, and planning.
The Earth Convention
Speaker on wildfire and fire ecology as a source of inspiration and insight for building architectural, urban, and peri-urban resilience through nature-inspired design at The Earth Convention - The Four Elements: Fire, which was curated by 5x15 and sponsored by Rathbones
Future Cities Catapult
Closing keynote titled ‘Human Dot to Non-Human Dot: Connecting Human Places to Abiotic and Biotic Systemic Spaces’, explaining how wildland, and peri-urban and urban fires of past and present can inform built environment policy, planning, and design futures.
Canadian Institute of Planners
Closing keynote titled ‘[Re]Generation[s]: Once in Many Lifetimes Opportunities’, discussing how the disparity between human and non-human, and indigenous and non-indigenous systems may be reconciled if applying lessons learned from fire-adapted species and cultures.
World Bank / GFDRR
Closing keynote titled ‘At the Interface: Where Planetary and Human Systems Meet’, exploring how STEM-based innovations, including studies of fire-adapted biota, in concert with satellite, arial, and terrestrial sensing systems, offer novel approaches to building resilience to hazards.
5x15 at Wilderness Festival
Keynote titled ‘Wildfire in the Wilderness: Wildfire, Ecology, and Us’ presenting how human societies have embraced different fire cultures over time; how and why wildfire behaviour is changing; and how mimicry of fire-adapted flora presents compelling new opportunities in mitigating the risks that wild and urban fires present.
The Monument Masterclass
Masterclass delivered atop The Monument, as part of the national commemoration of the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, discussing how the event catalysed new approaches to building and the urban environment, and why climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss necessitate another paradigmatic shift in how we build.
Beautiful Thinking campaign
One of six sustainable innovation champions selected for Interface Inc’s year-long ‘Beautiful Thinking’ campaign, delivered a short-film, a keynote, and contributions to an exhibition and print and digital media , discussing how mimicry of fire-adapted and other flora can inform and inspire resilient, elegant, and novel design solutions.