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Stirling Prize-winning architect Amanda Levete speaks with scientist Sonia Contera about ideas for reconciling nature and technology. Levete and Contera are collaborating on a research project that re-thinks how to use nature’s strategies in trees to grow the materials of the future. This conversation was recorded during lockdown in 2020.

Amanda Levete is a RIBA Stirling Prize-winning architect and principal of architecture studio AL_A. Founded in 2009 with directors Ho-Yin Ng, Alice Dietsch, and Maximiliano Arrocet, AL_A develop designs that are conceptualized not just as buildings, but as urban propositions – projects that express the identity of an institution, reflect the ambitions of a place, and hold the dreams of a community.

Sonia Contera is Professor of Biological Physics and Associate Head of the Physics Department at the University of Oxford. Her work lies at the interface of physics, biology, and nanotechnology. She is an expert in atomic force microscopy of biological systems and has a special focus on the role of mechanics in biology.