The foundation of Anna Maria Orrù's work is embedded in artistic research, food and in curating performative research. She provides an alternate approach to the fields of ecological urbanism, architecture, art and design, working between disciplines bringing a variety of approaches and talents to the table to creatively tackle challenges around climate change. Orrù has worked as an ecological architect since 1999 in London, Los Angeles and Stockholm.

Notably, in forming her ecological and biomimic-based approaches, in London she worked with Exploration Architecture (Pawlyn), Grimshaw Architects, Arups, Shigeru Ban and Anne Thorne Architects Partnership. She left practice in 2010 to start her own studio consultancy, collaborating also with transdisciplinary studios FoAM (Earth, Brussels, Amsterdam, Kernow, Nordica). In 2017 she completed a PhD from Chalmers Technical University (Sweden) into ecological artistic-based spatial practices, furthering her previous experiences in sustainable architecture and biomimicry. Her projects cover the distinct topics of bodily engagement, urban food, biomimesis and critical feminist practice, explored through the study of organoleptic qualities and embodiments in urban-making.

In 2018, together Ethica's Lilli Linkola (Finland), Torben Lenau (Denmark) and Orrù (Sweden) completed a comprehensive study and publication 'Biomimicry in the Nordic Countries' on Nordic frontrunners in biomimicry and biomimetics commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers. She teaches and lectures at a number of Swedish universities and institutes on these topics, and recently also in Italy. In her spare time, she is an avid beekeeper and takes care of an olive grove.