Greentech is Radical Nature at the Barbican
Posted on 07. Sep, 2009 by annied in WWF, greentech
Last weekend I went to see the “Radical Nature” at the Barbican. The Exhibit features 23 designers who integrate green principles into their designs.
Some of it is indeed “radical,” like Luke Fowler’s schzoid musings, some how related to the construction of a bog (?!) and like Henrik Hakasson’s 16 meter square fragment of rainforest growing on it’s side. The plants dying and sopping over, made me feel sad that they had been separated from the rain forest.
The most practical design by far is the little square meditation room by A12 designers. It is a tall wooden construction, from the outside resembling a square outdoor storage unit. Inside its walls are mirrored to give the illusion of space and the floor is a small green garden. It would be a lovely thing to have in the middle of the city.
Click to watch a short film about how trawling damages reefs
The true gem of the exhibit is Biorock (c) by Wolf Hilbertz. Biorock (c) is greentech at it’s finest: a metal structure is created and using electricity generated by solar power, is used to regenerate coral reefs. The exhibit includes a video of the pilot project in Bali, though it has been recreated in many places around the world. Coral reefs are doubly in danger from rising ocean temperatures which causes reef “bleaching” and from irresponsible, mass market, fishing practices. 120 million people in the Coral Triangle (click here to watch a short film on the Coral Triangle) in the Pacific depend on reefs for their livelihood.
If you have time before it ends 18 October, it’s definitely worth a look.