XENOS as Climate: Ecology, Comfort, and the Unfamiliar City

Dimitra Theochari

CEO of ensphere

 

Abstract

Climate change is often discussed through data, targets, and technical solutions. Yet before it is measured, it is experienced. It transforms not only ecosystems and urban environments, but also our perception of place, comfort, and familiarity. The lecture explores the concept of XENOS — the unfamiliar — as a framework for understanding how cities are changing under climate pressure. Increasing heat stress, shifting ecological conditions, biodiversity loss, and changing weather patterns are gradually altering the environments we once considered stable and familiar. Drawing from contemporary landscape architecture, climate adaptation practice, and the concept of the Ecology of Comfort, the presentation examines how public spaces, blue-green infrastructure, urban microclimates, and ecological systems can contribute to more resilient and livable cities. Rather than asking how cities can resist change, the lecture investigates how urban environments can adapt while maintaining human wellbeing, ecological performance, and a sense of belonging.

At its core, XENOS as Climate explores a central question:

How can we design cities that remain comfortable, meaningful, and resilient in a future that is increasingly unfamiliar?

Biography

Dimitra Theochari is Founder and Managing Director of ensphere GmbH, a Hamburg-based practice working at the intersection of landscape architecture, ecological urbanism, and climate adaptation. With nearly 15 years of international experience as an architect, engineer, and landscape architect, she specializes in climate-resilient public space, blue-green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, biodiversity strategies, and regenerative urban development. Her work focuses on the relationship between ecology, urban life, and human wellbeing, exploring how landscape architecture can support more resilient, adaptive, and comfortable cities in the face of climate change. Dimitra has worked on projects across Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, ranging from public spaces and university campuses to cultural institutions, climate adaptation strategies, and large-scale urban transformations. She is also actively engaged in research, public discourse, and interdisciplinary collaborations on the future of ecological urbanism. Her current work is guided by the concept of the Ecology of Comfort, a design approach that positions environmental quality, climate resilience, and human experience as interconnected dimensions of contemporary city-making.