Views of Planet City

The exhibition Views of Planet City is currently on view until January 26, 2025, at the SCI-Arc Gallery and Pacific Design Center Gallery in Los Angeles. Curated by Liam Young, this visionary project imagines a hyperdense city that houses the entire global population, offering a speculative yet optimistic vision of urban life that combats sprawl and environmental degradation. Inspired by Edward O. Wilson’s Half-Earth proposal, which calls for reserving half the planet for ecosystem preservation, Planet City rethinks how humans can coexist with nature while fostering biodiversity.

The exhibition brings together speculative design, narrative fiction, and interactive simulations, offering a glimpse into a future where urbanization supports rather than threatens ecological balance. Featured contributors include SCI-Arc faculty members Jennifer Chen, John Cooper, Damjan Jovanovic, and Angelica Lorenzi, whose projects range from film sets and large-scale models to video game simulations. These works include satellite surveys mapping the imagined city, participatory building workshops, and cultural artifacts that envision new rituals in this speculative world. A standout piece is a video game simulation that models how AI could aid in ecosystem recovery, reflecting the exhibition’s forward-looking approach.

The exhibition architecture, designed by OFICINA.LA, enhances this collaborative vision, supported by a team of environmental scientists and theorists. Views of Planet City reframes climate change not just as a technological issue but as an ideological challenge rooted in centuries of colonization and exploitation. This project is part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, a regional event that explores the intersection of art and science.