The founding principal of Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang has delivered an insightful Ted Talk about her firm’s design and city making strategies, and the ability of architecture to influence human relationships.

Jeanne Gang and her studio have been applying the principles of ecology to architecture to see how people relate to the physical spaces they create and how they can build stronger relationships among those engaging these spaces.

Using a number of Studio Gang projects as case studies, Gang demonstrates how drawing on ecological systems for architecture can foster stronger and healthier communities on both a local and city-wide scale.

Studio Gang are behind the design of some of the world’s most compelling architecture, including the Aqua Tower and Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

They are also in the middle of designing the expansion of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the next United States Embassy in Brasília, Brazil.

In 2014 Gang delivered a keynote for the University of Melbourne which explored new ways that cultural and science-based aspects of natural systems can aid in defining the city.

Watch the video below: