Design for a Living World is a landmark exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York that opens an important conversation between conservationists and designers about the potential and legacy of natural materials. Presented by The Nature Conservancy and co-curated by Abbott Miller and Ellen Lupton, the exhibition has commissioned 10 designers from the worlds of fashion, industrial and furniture design to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials from a specific place where the Conservancy works. The participating designers include Yves Béhar, Stephen Burks, Hella Jongerius, Maya Lin, Christien Meindertsma, Isaac Mizrahi, Ted Muehling, Kate Spade, Ezri Tarazi and Miller himself. The locations include endangered ecosystems in Australia, Micronesia, China, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Alaska, Idaho and Maine. The resulting designs demonstrate that by choosing sustainable materials, designers can actively contribute to the advancement of a global conservation ethic.
In addition to co-curating and participating in the exhibition, Pentagram designed the catalogue, as well as the website and the exhibition itself. To document the project for the exhibition, its catalogue and website, the curators commissioned the award-winning photojournalist Ami Vitale travel to each of the locations. Over the course of an intense 9 month period Vitale traveled the globe, from China to Micronesia to Australia to Mexico, spending about 2 weeks in each site.
