A Call for Visionaries in Visual Storytelling

Bringing a wildfire resilient future for LA to life: An invitation to visual artists, animators, and filmmakers.

10 January 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Los Angeles stands on the edge of transformation. As wildfire becomes an increasingly dominant force in the city’s future, we must go beyond technical solutions and inspire a bold reimagining of how we live with fire. We are calling on visual artists, filmmakers, animators, and architectural visualisation specialists to help bring this vision to life.

Through the power of compelling storytelling, cinematic visuals, immersive installations, and visionary artworks, we aim to create a wildfire-resilient Los Angeles that is not only practical and functional but also beautiful, engaging, and deeply connected to its natural rhythms. By collaborating with us, you will play a crucial role in shaping how the public, designers, policymakers, and urban planners engage with this future.

Our initiative will be populated with designs from a world-class team of architects, urban planners, and ecological thinkers who are crafting a nature-inspired, wildfire-adaptive vision for Los Angeles. Now, we need your creative expertise to translate these ideas into breathtaking visuals, animations, films, and experiences that communicate this vision with power and impact.

We are particularly keen to hear from those living and working in Los Angeles, wider California and the United States. Whether you are an independent creative or part of a company, there are many ways to get involved—including collaborative partnerships, in-kind contributions, and sponsorship opportunities.

Why Now? The Power of Visual Storytelling in Shaping the Future

The challenge of wildfire resilience is not just technical — it is cultural. To reimagine Los Angeles as a city that thrives with wildfire rather than fears it, we must capture hearts and minds through unforgettable storytelling. Visual art, film, and immersive experiences have the power to make abstract concepts tangible, complex ideas understandable, and radical possibilities feel inevitable.

Just as fire-adapted landscapes have evolved extraordinary survival strategies, we must now craft a new design language that draws from these principles — one that repositions wildfire as a force of renewal, rather than destruction. To achieve this, we need creatives who can translate architectural visions into captivating illustrations, animations, films, and interactive experiences that engage both professional audiences and the broader public.

Opportunities for Collaboration

We are seeking visionary visual artists, filmmakers, and architectural storytellers to collaborate with us in creating a powerful, multi-sensory exploration of a wildfire-resilient Los Angeles. Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Architectural Visualisation & Concept Art

We invite architectural illustrators, 3D artists, and concept designers to:

• Translate design concepts into stunning visual representations that bring Pyrophytic Architecture™ to life.

• Develop immersive renderings and animations that showcase wildfire-adaptive buildings and urban landscapes.

• Contribute to speculative world-building, envisioning neighbourhoods, structures, and cityscapes designed to work with, rather than against, fire.

2. Filmmaking & Animation

Filmmakers, animators, and motion designers can collaborate by:

• Creating cinematic narratives and short films that tell the story of a transformed Los Angeles.

• Producing animated sequences and visual effects that illustrate wildfire-adaptive designs in action.

• Crafting documentary-style storytelling that highlights the science, innovation, and philosophy behind the project.

3. Immersive Media & Installation Art

For those working in digital media, interactive storytelling, and installation art, we are looking for collaborators to create:

• Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences that allow audiences to step inside this wildfire-resilient future.

• Multisensory exhibitions and installations that explore the intersection of fire, nature, and design.

• Projection mapping and spatial storytelling that transform physical spaces into immersive wildfire-adaptive environments.

How You Can Support the Project

We welcome both individual creatives and companies to support this ambitious initiative through:

1. Direct Creative Collaboration

Join our team in shaping the project’s visual identity. Whether through illustrations, animations, short films, or immersive installations, your work will be an integral part of bringing this vision to life.

2. Showcasing Work in Exhibitions & Events

Contribute your talents to our exhibitions, screenings, and public installations, helping to communicate this vision to a local and global audience.

3. Sponsorship & In-Kind Support

Companies and institutions can support the project through:

• Funding and sponsorship to help produce films, animations, and visualisations.

• In-kind contributions, such as software, hardware, studio space, or production resources.

• Media and distribution partnerships to ensure the widest possible reach and impact.

4. Co-Producing a Landmark Visual Project

Help us create a feature-length documentary, immersive experience, or digital storytelling campaign that will redefine how the world envisions wildfire-adaptive design.

Why Work With Us?

This is not just a theoretical exercise — it is a pioneering collaboration between some of the most talented architects, urban designers, and ecological thinkers from around the world. By joining us, you will:

• Work alongside world-class professionals shaping the next era of urban resilience.

• Gain recognition through exhibitions, festivals, media features, and design showcases.

• Contribute to a groundbreaking visual project that has the power to influence architects, planners, policymakers, and communities.

• Help shape a Los Angeles that is not just fire-resilient, but an inspiring global model for nature-integrated urbanism.

Join Us in Creating a Wildfire-Resilient Vision for Los Angeles

This is an opportunity to shape the future of urban resilience through the power of visual storytelling. If you are passionate about architecture, cities, nature, and the transformative power of art and film, we invite you to collaborate with us.

Whether you’re an independent creative looking to contribute your talents or a company interested in supporting, sponsoring, or partnering, we would love to hear from you.

Contact us today to explore collaboration opportunities and be part of this groundbreaking movement.

Yours in resilience and renewal,

Melissa Sterry PhD, PGCert, BA (Hons), CSci, FIScT, FDRS, FRSA

Founder Design for Wildfire school

Reimagining Resilience through Nature-Inspired Design