Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism at the MOMA, NYC

The Museum of Modern Art presented a new exhibition - Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism. This exhibition explores the birth of environmentalism after World War II and its development.

It was interesting to see the introduction of some of the first environmental ideas. They were widely discussed among scientists, journalists, and even citizens. What surprised me the most was that even though the reason for the rise of such ideas was similar - people were worried about the future of our planet - the ideas themselves were nothing like the ones we hear today.

Back in the 20th century, people were mostly focused on self-sustaining ecosystems that would become homes for thousands of people. Such projects were planned to be constructed on Earth and even in space in case the Earth would get destroyed by the increase of experiments with nuclear weapons.

Today we focus more on preserving nature and making sure the planet stays safe rather than thinking of ways to live if the planet is destroyed by human activity.

All of the projects looked very futuristic even for today’s world: scientists designed enclosed environments that had multiple floors, the first one designed to grow crops and plants, and the second one being apartments for people. Some of the other projects looked like an enclosed piece of land with one tall apartment building in the middle surrounded by a forest as well as fruit and vegetable plants.

Some scientists believe that each ecosystem should be built in a way that mimics the natural world. For example, Carolyn Dry proposed a housing construction method that would mimic the way corals build their reefs. Another proposition was presented by Ant Farm, an environmental design practice, who offered to create technology that would let people speak with dolphins to understand their ethics and apply their principles of living to humans.

Of course, none of those projects ever came to life, and we don’t know if they were ever possible, but the exhibition gives a new perspective on environmentalism and lets us see it from another angle.

I was excited to compare the environmentalist ideas from six decades ago and today. My biggest question coming out of this exhibition was: are those ideas actually undoable, or were people just not technologically advanced enough back then? Are self-sustaining ecosystems our future, or is it another fantasy, an unreachable goal?

The exhibition offers a lot to think about, and you should absolutely go and see it for yourself. Maybe, looking at some of the first environmental projects and having the knowledge of today’s technology, you will get inspired to create a new plan for saving the environment.

Article and photos by Mary Zakharova