“Age of Nature”展览丨丹麦

Opening on World Architecture Day, October 6, 2025, “Age of Nature” is a new exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center (DAC), on view until May 17, 2026. Presented in DAC’s largest exhibition space, the show examines how architecture can evolve to support both human life and biodiversity, addressing one of the most pressing challenges of the time: redefining the relationship between the built environment and the natural world.

Through a range of installations, models, and interactive elements, “Age of Nature” presents speculative yet achievable visions for future living. A tower of live mushrooms grows as a vertical field, freeing ground space for wilderness; facades are reimagined as miniature ecosystems; and filmmaker Liam Young’s The Great Endeavor envisions a global workforce collectively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere using existing technologies. Together, these projects question how architecture can move beyond minimizing its impact to actively regenerate the environments it inhabits.

Denmark, one of the most cultivated countries in the world, with only 0.7% wilderness remaining, provides a relevant context for this discussion. As land use intensifies to accommodate renewable energy, urban expansion, and climate infrastructure, the exhibition raises questions about how space can be shared between humans and nature and brings together pioneering works by Danish and international architects, artists, and researchers who are exploring ways to build with, rather than against, nature. Divided into four thematic sections, it explores whether cities can be designed for greater species diversity, whether new approaches to food production can restore wilderness, and how technology might be used to heal natural systems.

Projects on display include Studio Ossidiana’s floating islands that enable coexistence between humans, animals, and plants; CITA’s Biogenic Building, where eelgrass and bark are integrated into biodegradable architectural components; and Bas Smets’ design for the surroundings of Notre Dame in Paris, where natural processes create cooling microclimates in dense urban environments. An interactive section developed with CONCITO allows visitors to select between three visionary land-use strategies for Denmark, reflecting different paths toward ecological balance.

The exhibition experience unfolds as a sensory journey. Visitors first enter an AI-generated forest, a digitally rendered landscape that mirrors humanity’s longing for lost wilderness. A timeline then traces the rapid expansion of human populations and the simultaneous decline in biodiversity, framing the exhibition’s urgency. Installations such as Lung Trees, living trees sustained by oxygen machines inside plastic tents, illustrate the fragile interdependence between technological systems and natural life. Transparent soil columns reveal the diversity of ecosystems hidden beneath different landscapes, from forests to farmlands. A dedicated section for children and families, Next-Generation Nature’s Future, invites young visitors to engage with nature through play and imagination. Interactive activities allow them to draw, build, and explore how humans and other species can coexist.

In related events, the first edition of the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial will continue until October 19 under the theme “Slow Down.” Organized by CAFx, the new biennial expands upon the city’s former annual festival, establishing a broader international platform for architectural dialogue and exchange. At the same time, Denmark’s participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale explores how rethinking and reusing existing buildings and materials can offer solutions to today’s architectural and environmental challenges. The exhibition is commissioned by the Danish Architecture Center and curated by architect Søren Pihlmann.