The Danish Architecture Center (DAC) has opened a groundbreaking exhibition titled "Age of Nature" that examines how architecture can evolve to support both human life and biodiversity. Opening on World Architecture Day, October 6, 2025, and running until May 17, 2026, the exhibition is presented in DAC's largest exhibition space and addresses one of the most pressing challenges of our time: redefining the relationship between the built environment and the natural world.
Through an extensive collection of installations, architectural models, and interactive elements, "Age of Nature" presents speculative yet achievable visions for future living. The exhibition features innovative concepts such as a tower of live mushrooms that grows as a vertical field, freeing ground space for wilderness restoration. Building facades are reimagined as miniature ecosystems that can support various forms of life, while filmmaker Liam Young's "The Great Endeavor" envisions a global workforce collectively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere using existing technologies.
Denmark provides a particularly relevant context for this discussion, as it is one of the most cultivated countries in the world with only 0.7% wilderness remaining. As land use intensifies to accommodate renewable energy infrastructure, urban expansion, and climate adaptation measures, the exhibition raises critical questions about how space can be effectively shared between humans and nature. The show brings together pioneering works by Danish and international architects, artists, and researchers who are exploring innovative ways to build with, rather than against, natural systems.
The exhibition is organized into four thematic sections that explore whether cities can be designed for greater species diversity, whether new approaches to food production can help restore wilderness areas, and how technology might be utilized to heal damaged natural systems. Featured projects include Studio Ossidiana's floating islands that enable coexistence between humans, animals, and plants, demonstrating practical solutions for multi-species habitats in urban environments.
CITA's Biogenic Building showcases how natural materials like eelgrass and bark can be integrated into biodegradable architectural components, offering sustainable alternatives to traditional building materials. Bas Smets' design for the surroundings of Notre Dame in Paris illustrates how natural processes can create cooling microclimates in dense urban environments, providing both environmental and social benefits.
The exhibition experience unfolds as a comprehensive sensory journey designed to engage visitors on multiple levels. Visitors first enter an AI-generated forest, a digitally rendered landscape that mirrors humanity's collective longing for lost wilderness areas. A detailed timeline then traces the rapid expansion of human populations alongside the simultaneous decline in biodiversity, effectively framing the exhibition's sense of urgency and the critical nature of the challenges being addressed.
Particularly striking installations include "Lung Trees," which features living trees sustained by oxygen machines inside protective plastic tents, powerfully illustrating the fragile interdependence between technological systems and natural life. Transparent soil columns reveal the remarkable diversity of ecosystems hidden beneath different landscapes, from dense forests to agricultural farmlands, educating visitors about the complex underground networks that support life above ground.
An interactive section developed in collaboration with CONCITO allows visitors to actively participate in decision-making by selecting between three visionary land-use strategies for Denmark. These scenarios reflect different potential paths toward achieving ecological balance while meeting human needs, encouraging visitors to consider the trade-offs and benefits of various approaches to sustainable development.
A dedicated section called "Next-Generation Nature's Future" specifically invites children and families to engage with nature through play and imagination. Interactive activities allow young visitors to draw, build, and explore creative solutions for how humans and other species can coexist harmoniously, fostering environmental awareness and responsibility in the next generation.
The exhibition coincides with several related architectural events in Copenhagen. The first edition of the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial continues until October 19 under the theme "Slow Down." Organized by CAFx, this new biennial expands upon the city's former annual festival, establishing a broader international platform for architectural dialogue and exchange among professionals and the public.
Simultaneously, Denmark's participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale explores how rethinking and reusing existing buildings and materials can offer practical solutions to today's architectural and environmental challenges. This multi-pronged approach to architectural discourse reinforces Denmark's position as a leader in sustainable design and environmental consciousness.
The "Age of Nature" exhibition is commissioned by the Danish Architecture Center and curated by architect Søren Pihlmann. Together, these projects and installations question how architecture can move beyond simply minimizing its environmental impact to actively regenerating and supporting the environments it inhabits, pointing toward a future where built environments and natural systems work together in harmony.
