Video: Julia Watson | How to build a resilient future using ancient wisdom

In her global exploration of Indigenous design systems, architect Julia Watson researches enduring innovations that could help us counter the challenges of climate change. From floating villages to living root bridges that strengthen over time, Watson introduces us to some of these resilient solutions — and shows how they can teach us to design with nature, instead of against it.

Running time: 8 minutes

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Julia Watson designs built environments with an eye towards sustainability, climate resilience and dismantling the barriers between urban environments and the natural world. A leading expert on Indigenous technologies and author of Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism, Watson teaches urban design at Harvard and Columbia while leading her eponymous experiential, landscape and urban design studio. She approaches design as rewilding, by bringing the language of botany and biodiversity back to our cities. Inspired by Indigenous knowledge and plants, her portfolio of projects includes the Rockefeller Center Summer Gardens, Bali’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, the Gateway to the City of El Segundo at LAX and private estates for the owners of PACE Galleries and the artist Rashid Johnson.