The Future Environments Lab for Ecological Design is a transdisciplinary think tank advancing design, research, and education to co-create climate resilience in the built environment through integrative ecologies, human and artificial intelligence, and participatory urbanism for future-fit cities.
​History
The Future Environments Lab for Ecological Design was founded in 2019 by Oswald Jenewein, Associate Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Texas at Arlington. Emerging from a desire to approach architecture through ecological thinking, the lab was established as a platform for advancing climate-responsive design across spatial and disciplinary boundaries.
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Rooted in the belief that architecture is a tool for spatial transformation and collective agency, the lab was envisioned as a transscalar think tank that brings together integrative ecologies, hybrid forms of intelligence, and participatory design processes. From its earliest projects, the lab has operated at the intersection of teaching, research, and public engagement, using design as a method to address the urgent challenges of the built environment, including coastal adaptation, data-informed urban strategies, and community-centered futures.
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With a particular focus on the Central Alps and the US Gulf Coast, the lab engages diverse climatic and cultural territories to develop site-specific design intelligence that informs broader global conversations on resilience, sustainability, and spatial justice.
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Since its founding, the lab has secured more than 2.7 million dollars in federal and university funding, and contributed to over ten peer-reviewed conference papers and journal articles. Its work has been featured in international exhibitions, workshops, and public lectures, building a growing network of collaborators and advocates committed to shaping the built environment through research, pedagogy, and collective imagination.
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Vision
We envision future-fit cities that regenerate ecological systems, cultivate sustainable spaces, and empower communities to shape their environments. Our vision is grounded in a belief that design must respond to planetary urgency through design and collaboration across all scales.
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Mission
Our mission is to co-create design strategies that turn complex environmental and urban challenges into spatial transformation strategies. Through engaged design, research, and pedagogy, we connect human & artificial intelligence to envision future-fit urban ecologies.
​Dr. Oswald Jenewein, assoc. AIA, ACUE
Associate Professor of Architecture & Urbanism
Dr. Oswald Jenewein is an architectural and urban designer, researcher, and teacher in the field of Ecological Design and Urban Sustainability. His cross-disciplinary projects focus on co-creating climate resilience in the built environment as transscalar processes and include participatory dialogues in developing smart & connected cities.
Oswald is an Associate Professor of Architecture & Urbanism at the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington. He founded and directs FUELED - the Future Environments Lab for Ecological Design at UT Arlington – a design and research lab focusing on topics of climate resilience architecture and urban design. Furthermore, Oswald oversees international initiatives in his role as International Studies Coordinator, fostering academic partnerships and global relations. Oswald is also a Visiting Lecturer of Architecture at the Institute of Design, Department of Spatial Design at the University of Innsbruck, and served as a reviewer at the Technical University of Delft, University of Tallinn, Texas A&M University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and as HKS Top Projects Juror. Oswald is a certified fellow at the American Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) and was a 2022 Piper Professor Nominee and AIA Dallas Nominee for the Texas Society of Architects’s Award for Outstanding Educational Contributions in Honor of Edward Romieniec, FAIA.
Oswald has won several research grants over the past few years, exceeding $2.7 million in funding. He is the co-chair of the Smart Coast Initiative, which focuses on climate adaptation of vulnerable communities and cities along the Texas Coast, and received a Smart & Connected Communities Grant from the National Science Foundation.
Recent publications include “Co-Creating Climate Adaptation Pathways in Coastal Cities: A Practical Guide for Engaged Scholars and Urban Designers” and “Post-Oil Environments. Developing a Typological Approach to Climate Adaptation of Architecture and the City.” Oswald’s work was exhibited internationally. Most recently, he contributed the project “A Conflict of Settlement: Oil vs. Water” to the 2021 European Culture Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in Italy and "Spatial Regimes in Coastal Landscapes of Oil" at the Architecture Center of Tyrol in Innsbruck, Austria.
Oswald received his doctoral and professional degrees in Architecture from the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Collaboration
Our work is rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration. We are grateful for the ongoing exchange between architecture, civil and environmental engineering, computer science, urban planning, landscape architecture, and public policy. These connections help us approach complex challenges with shared knowledge and collective insight.
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We thank our more than 25 formal community partners, including city governments, nonprofit organizations, design offices, and industry collaborators, for their continued trust and commitment.
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We also thank our student assistants at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Your dedication, creativity, and care are essential to everything we do.
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