Welsh university at forefront of groundbreaking project to use nature to tackle urban climate challenges

A Welsh university is at the forefront of a groundbreaking new project that uses nature to tackle urban climate challenges.

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) will play a leading role in the major UK-wide scheme that has secured £3 million in funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The project, Retrofitting for the Future: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation, brings together academic and societal partners to explore how biophilic design, working with nature rather than against it, can help urban areas adapt to the intensifying impacts of climate change.

The four-year transdisciplinary scheme, which is one of only three selected across the UK through the AHRC’s prestigious new Mission Awards, will investigate how older urban buildings and public spaces can be reimagined as sustainable, liveable places that promote human and ecological well-being.

‘Living building’

The project’s flagship case study is the transformation of Swansea’s former Woolworths building, now The Biome, into the UK’s first retrofitted “living building”, integrating housing, commercial, community and education spaces with nature at its core.

Dr Jeremy Smith, Dean of the Institute of Education and Humanities from University of Wales Trinity Saint David said: “This award reflects the bold, collaborative thinking required to address the climate and nature emergencies.

“I’m especially proud of UWTSD’s leadership in this work, which brings the arts, humanities, and sciences together with civic and community partners to explore how we can make urban life healthier, greener and more resilient.

“This is not only about buildings – it’s about people, place, and the futures we’re building together.”

Retrofitting

The research team at UWTSD will lead key strands of the project focusing on the cultural, social, ecological, and policy dimensions of biophilic retrofitting.

Working in close collaboration with industry, housing, health, education and policy partners, the team will identify and overcome the technical, regulatory and behavioural barriers that hinder the adoption of nature-based solutions in cities.

Dr Luci Attala, Deputy Executive Director of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES global coalition and Associate Professor in Anthropology at UWTSD, said: “Retrofitting for the Future aligns with Wales’s Well-being of Future Generations Act and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“We urgently need to rethink the way we live in cities not just structurally, but emotionally and ecologically.

“Our research is grounded in co-creation and lived experience, ensuring that the voices of residents, creatives, and communities shape the future of urban living.

“This project offers a blueprint for how we can retrofit not just our buildings, but our relationships with nature, each other, and the systems that govern us.”

With a consortium that includes University College London, Swansea University, Hacer Developments, Pobl Group, Natural Resources Wales, and the City and County of Swansea Council, along with a range of local and international partners, UWTSD says the project exemplifies the kind of deep, team-based collaboration that the AHRC’s Mission Awards are designed to support.