URBAN BATS DESIGN SCHOOL emerges from an urgent curiosity about how urban environments shape and are shaped by the species with whom we share space. Rooted in critical sustainability discourse, our project explores bats as indicators of ecological health and as agents who challenge how cities are planned, perceived, and inhabited. The school in 2025 was a site-specific exploration at post-industrial territory Veldze, in Riga, Latvia.

Bats are unique creatures, often surrounded by myths and pop culture, while also playing a vital role in local biodiversity. Although the human-made urban environment seems unsuitable due to noise and light pollution, bats have always coexisted with humans. They have found shelter in building cracks, attics, and park trees. Their presence is a reminder that the city is a shared home for both humans and other species.

During the Urban Bats Summer School, students of design, biology, and environmental sciences worked in multidisciplinary groups and explored innovative methods that critically and creatively address climate and biodiversity crises locally, beyond the human-centered approaches. They explored multispecies system thinking, regenerative design principles and speculative design. Students engaged in placemaking and built on-site interventions that help communicate the complexities of urban ecology with hope and care.

Among the project’s most successful aspects is its interdisciplinary engagement, making ecological knowledge tangible and embodied. Participants have reported transformative experiences, shifting perceptions of urban spaces and the design process itself.

The school program was developed in collaboration with critical education currator Ieva Laube.

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