Living Structures

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark presents Living Structures, the inaugural exhibition in its Architecture Connecting series, running from November 8th, 2024, to March 23rd, 2025. This ambitious series, supported by Realdania, explores how interdisciplinary approaches are redefining architecture amid the climate crisis and global challenges. Living Structures examines how biology and biochemistry are reshaping architectural practices, offering innovative insights into the built environment’s future.

The exhibition spotlights three cutting-edge studios—ecoLogicStudio, Atelier LUMA, and Jenny Sabin Studio—each pioneering the integration of biology and technology in architecture. Their work challenges traditional boundaries between nature and technology, demonstrating how interdisciplinary research can foster sustainable design solutions.

A key highlight is ecoLogicStudio’s Deep Forest, an immersive installation designed by Marco Poletto and Claudia Pasquero in collaboration with Innsbruck University. This bio-digital project uses mycelium—the Wood Wide Web organism—as a foundational material, creating biodegradable columns and integrating photosynthetic reactors that purify air and sequester carbon dioxide. Visitors navigate a living ecosystem shaped by fungi, algae, and salvaged birch trunks, exemplifying the synergy between natural and technological processes. Be sure to check out our conversation with Marco Poletto and Claudia Pasquero of ecoLogicStudio, where they delve into the future of cities and the unexpected role of bacteria in sustainable design.

Atelier LUMA focuses on local sustainability, presenting innovative materials like veneer made from invasive tree species and bricks crafted from museum waste. Their work emphasizes circular design, transforming waste into valuable architectural components. Meanwhile, Jenny Sabin Studio’s installations draw inspiration from feedback loops in nature, using advanced materials and computational design to rethink spatial experiences.

Curator Mette Marie Kallehauge emphasizes the need to rethink our relationship with nature, including unseen elements like bacteria and fungi, which she describes as “intelligent organisms that predate and will outlast humanity.” By collaborating with these natural systems, the featured architects envision a sustainable future that merges human ingenuity with ecological intelligence.

The Living Structures exhibition not only showcases groundbreaking architectural practices but also invites visitors to consider the possibilities of reimagining our built world. This bio-digital exploration serves as a compelling introduction to the Architecture Connecting series, which will continue to challenge and expand architectural boundaries through 2029.