Yves Behar
Stephen Burks
Hella Jongerius
Maya Lin
Christien Meindertsma
Isaac Mizrahi
Abbott Miller
Ted Muehling
Kate Spade
Ezri Tarazi
Ten leading designers have been commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life-cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design. On view will be the prototypes, drawings, and finished product. Each designer focused on a natural material from a specific place where the Conservancy works.
The Nature Conservancy and the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Present “Design for a Living World”
This spring, The Nature Conservancy and the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design
Museum will present “Design for a Living World,” a traveling exhibition featuring objects created by leading
designers and made from sustainable, natural materials. The exhibition will premiere at Cooper-Hewitt,
National Design Museum on May 14 and continue through Jan. 4, 2010.
The Nature Conservancy collaborated with prominent designers from the worlds of fashion,
industrial and furniture design, and each designer focused on a natural material from a specific place
where the Conservancy works. The locations ranged from iconic American landscapes, such as the
sweeping grasslands of Idaho, to such exotic places as the southwest coast of Australia and the forests of
China’s Yunnan Province. The designs explore the transformation of organic items—wood, plants, wool—
into beautiful and useful objects. By choosing sustainable materials that support, rather than deplete,
endangered places, designers can help reshape our materials economy and advance a global conservation
ethic. Through this process, the exhibition reveals fascinating stories about regeneration, natural places
and the human connection to the Earth’s lands and waters.
The exhibition features designs by Yves Béhar, Stephen Burks, Hella Jongerius, Maya Lin, Christien
Meindertsma, Isaac Mizrahi, Abbott Miller, Ted Muehling, Kate Spade and Ezri Tarazi.
Béhar worked with a women’s chocolate cooperative in Costa Rica to develop packaging for the
raw cocoa they use to make a traditional hot drink and a grating tool that evokes the sensual
nature of chocolate, delivering an intense experience through taste, form and narrative.
Burks traveled to Australia’s Gondwana Link to design the “Totem”—a tool made from reclaimed
native jamwood that the local Noongar people can use to make and package a line of organic herb-
and sandalwood-based cosmetics that they are developing for export.
Dutch designer Jongerius traveled to the Yucatan Peninsula to observe traditional chicle latex
harvesting and explore the possibilities of chicle beyond its use in chewing gum production,
resulting in more than 20 embellished vessels and plates.
Using wood harvested from a Forest Stewardship Council-certified Nature Conservancy property in
Maine, Lin crafted a striking piece of furniture that highlights the beauty of an individual tree.
Meindertsma used wool sourced from a sustainable sheep ranch in Idaho to create a large-scale
knit rug—a “flock” of smaller components, each one made from 3.5 pounds of wool, the yield of a
single sheep.
Famed fashion designer Mizrahi turned Alaskan salmon skin—typically a waste product of the
salmon industry—into a dress that references the scales of the fish from which it was made.
Using FSC-certified plywood from Bolivia, Miller designed a chair whose components can be
shipped flat and dry-assembled with a rubber mallet. The chair design highlights the beauty of
Bolivian wood, while also yielding three chairs per sheet of plywood, with a minimal amount of
waste.
Acclaimed jewelry designer Muehling transformed Micronesian vegetable ivory and ocean-harvested
black and keishi pearls into a series of bracelets, necklaces and other items, spotlighting the
beauty of these natural materials.
Paulina Reyes, for kate spade new york, traveled to Bolivia’s forests to work with local craftspeople
to design a series of handbags made of sustainable wood, cotton and jipijapa, a fiber made of palm
leaves.
Industrial designer Tarazi designed a series of adjustable components that connect to mature
bamboo stalks from China’s Yunnan Province, creating a domestic forest that supports a range of
living arrangements.
“Our goal with the exhibition is to connect audiences to the natural world by exploring the story of
place through innovative design,” said Mark Tercek, president and chief executive of The Nature
Conservancy. “‘Design for a Living World’ challenges us to think about the products we use—where they
come from, how they are made and what the impacts are on our planet and on local communities.”
“‘Design for a Living World’ offers a captivating look into the life cycle of materials and the power of
conservation and design,” said Paul Warwick Thompson, director of Cooper-Hewitt. “Cooper-Hewitt is
delighted to partner with The Nature Conservancy in raising awareness about material conservation and
sustainable design solutions.”
“This exhibition opens an important conversation between conservationists and designers about the
potential and legacy of natural materials,” said Abbott Miller, co-curator of the exhibition. “By choosing
sustainable materials, designers contribute to the advancement of a global conservation ethic that can
foster consumer awareness.”
“Design for a Living World” is co-curated by Miller and Ellen Lupton. Miller, a partner in the New
York office of Pentagram, is recognized for his innovative installations for the National Building Museum,
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Freud Museum in Vienna, Austria and the permanent exhibitions at the
Harley-Davidson Museum. Lupton is curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt and is the author of
many books on design.
The exhibition and book will also feature specially commissioned photographs from award-winning
photojournalist Ami Vitale, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek and National
Geographic. The structures used to display the exhibition will include Forest Stewardship Council-certified
plywood from community forests in Bolivia. A catalog, published by Cooper-Hewitt, will be released in
conjunction with the exhibition.
“Design for a Living World” was developed by The Nature Conservancy.
The exhibition’s presentation at Cooper-Hewitt is made possible in part by Enid and Lester Morse.
Additional support is provided by the Adobe Foundation, Esme Usdan, Alice Gottesman and
Laurence Zuckerman, The Consulate-General of The Netherlands in New York as part of its NY400
Celebrations, and Susan and David Rockefeller.
Media sponsorship is provided by New York magazine and WNYC.
Media only:
Laurie Olivieri (212) 849-8420; CooperHewittPress@si.edu
Nicole Levins (703) 841-5839; nlevins@tnc.org
The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum is located at 2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. The museum
is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
General admission, $15; senior citizens and students ages 12 and older, $10. Cooper-Hewitt and
Smithsonian members and children younger than age 12 are admitted free.