flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Decaying city: Exhibit demonstrates the fragility of the man-made world

Decaying city: Exhibit demonstrates the fragility of the man-made world

Theater set designer Johanna Mårtensson built a model cityscape out of bread only to watch it decay.


By BD+C Staff | April 26, 2013
Photos by Johanna Mrtensson http://johannamartensson.se/

The Architizer blog (via Fast Company) brings us a fascinating exhibit by theater set designer Johanna Mårtensson. To demonstrate the fragility of the man-made world, she constructed a city out of bread and then snapped a photo every day for six months to document the decay (warning: if you haven't eaten breakfast yet you may want to skip the last two photos).

For her efforts, Mårtensson recently won a Platinum A' Design Award. In her submission, she described her inspiration for the project:

"I was inspired by an article about how well the earth would do without us. Within 500 years all buildings would be half-fallen or fallen, perfect homes for animals and plants. The forrest would soon grow in cities. Buildings as well as pollutions would be taken care of by bacterias and micro-organisms. If a UFO came here in a couple of hundred thousand years, they would not see many signs of that gang of primates that once thought they were the lords of the planet."

Check out Mårtensson's decaying city:

Related Stories

| Oct 5, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Brick offers growing options for sustainable building design

Brick exteriors, interiors and landscaping options can increase sustainability that also helps earn LEED certification.

| Oct 5, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Roof hatch designed for energy efficiency

The cover features a specially designed EPDM finger-type gasket that ensures a positive seal with the curb to reduce air permeability and ensure energy performance. 

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011

Click here for the latest news and products from Greenbuild 2011, Oct. 4-7, in Toronto.

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Methods, impacts, and opportunities in the concrete building life cycle

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub conducted a life-cycle assessment (LCA) study to evaluate and improve the environmental impact and study how the “dual use” aspect of concrete.

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Johnsonite features sustainable products

Products include rubber flooring tiles, treads, wall bases, and more. 

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Nearly seamless highly insulated glass curtain-wall system introduced

Low insulation value reflects value of entire curtain-wall system. 

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Ready-to-use wood primer unveiled

Maintains strong UV protection, clarity even with application of lighter, natural wood tones.

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Two new recycled glass products announced

The two collections offer both larger and smaller particulates. 

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Mythic Paint launches two new paint products

A high performance paint, and a combination paint and primer now available. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021