Studio Animal-Aided Design (SAAD) was founded as a spin-off from the research projects of the same name at the University of Kassel and the Technical University of Munich. The goal of the up-and-coming start-up is to establish the Animal-Aided Design (AAD) method in international planning practice with professional and economic success, and thus to realize urban development, landscape architecture and architectural projects that promote urban biodiversity and urban nature. The central idea of the Animal-Aided Design (AAD) method is to integrally plan the occurrence of animals as part of the design of open spaces. The practical experience of Studio Animal-Aided Design with the planning of animal-human relations in the context of the application of the Animal-Aided Design method shows that a new conception of urban animal-human relations, e.g. under the guiding concept of co-habitation, is socially possible and can find acceptance. Reasons for this include the adaptation of animal species to the environments of urban areas, the increasing acceptance of the occurrence of wild animals by urban residents and the importance of cities as areas of high biodiversity.

Polinna Hauck Landscape + Urbanism deals with strategic questions of urban development on different scales. (www.polinnahauck.de)