Aurel von Richthofen is an architect and urbanist. He is a researcher and module coordinator at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore (FCL) affiliated to ETH Zurich. Aurel was trained in Switzerland and the USA and is a registered architect in Berlin and Zurich. Prior to moving to Singapore, Aurel spent four years teaching and researching on urbanisation in the Arabian Peninsula at the German University of Technology (GUtech) in Muscat/Oman. He was co-investigator on a research project on sustainable urbanisation patterns in Oman – sponsored by The Research Council Oman – and served as consultant to urban renewal projects and spatial planning strategies in Oman. In Singapore, Aurel leads a research module developing sustainable building materials. He is currently writing his dissertation on the topic of “Extended Urbanisation in Oman” at the Institute for Sustainable Urbanism at TU Braunschweig.