Matt is an idealist and thinks that group skills are underpriced in architecture school, often in favour of a competitive attitude to design, that has its endgame in an intractable and environmentally unfriendly building sector. At NBL he values the chance to collaborate with a huge variety of like-minded and inspirational people on projects which present a more hopeful vision for our shared built environment. His big wish is to inspire and empower NBL'ers to realise these visions in their own critical and collective spatial practice. Originally from the UK, Matt has been based in Berlin since 2011 and joined Natural Building Lab as a teaching and research associate in April 2018. He is part of the team responsible for teaching-related projects at NBL while working on his PhD dissertation.

As part of the exhibition YOYI! Care, Repair, Heal in Gropius Bau, 30 students from Natural Building Lab realised the Bee Hive - an 8m diameter dome, constructed from bamboo and earth - as a setting to exhibit films from artist Tabita Rezaire. The exhibition features perspectives from 25 artists on the entangled themes of care, repair and healing. Tabita’s works - including Singing Bee Garden (2021) - focus on how local, scientific and spiritual knowledge is handed down through generations and the installation should invite visitors to “rest within the womb of the earth”.

Im Rahmen der von der Arch+ kuratierten Ausstellung "Architectures of Cohabitation" haben Natural Building Lab zusammen mit Ingenieur Büro Blumberg und das Fachgebiet Molekulare Evolution & Systematik der Pflanzen der Uni Leipzig das unbenutze Potenzial des Berliner Dachs als möglichen Ort der Biodiversität identifiziert. Das Sumpfdach leistet einen Beitrag gegen das Artensterben von Insekten und Vögeln, indem es eine Grundlage für ein komplexes Ökosystem auf den Dächern über unseren Köpfen schafft.