INTERIOR ECOLOGIES - MAIA Graduate Show
INTERIOR ECOLOGIES is an ongoing project by MAIA, the Master of Arts in Interior Architecture at HEAD – Genève. It investigates architecture at the intersection of space and ecology, questioning the default association of this field with territorial scales, and claiming that interior spaces construct multiscalar ecologies from within. Space design is seen as multidimensional, articulating the diversity of interiors, environments, and multispecies that configure reality across many paths and scales, from material to virtual, and from local to global.
The "MAIA Graduate Show 2023" invited visitors to delve into the intricate interplay between the natural, artificial, and digital realms within the contemporary built environment. The exhibition explored how ecology is shaping the discipline of Interior Architecture in the 21st century. The interpretation of this theme was intentionally left open for students, resulting in projects that address environmentally responsible construction, ecology, reuse, energy efficiency, social and political urgencies, as well as novel materials and technologies.
Visitors had the opportunity to witness a diverse range of projects in terms of scale, typology, location, and complexity. These included a refugee shelter crafted from mushrooms, a communal neighborhood kitchen in Geneva, the transformation of a water tank into housing in India, the creation of a new social center facilitating the exchange of reused materials, a furniture collection derived from repurposed office carpets, and numerous other projects that express the pressing need for a transformative paradigm in architectural production.
Ultimately, INTERIOR ECOLOGIES explores both the responses to contemporary environmental and societal challenges (carbon footprint, circular economy, etc.) and the implications of new ecological paradigms (post-human, more-than-human, etc.) for interior architecture as a discipline in all its professional dimensions—space design, product design, new media, research, curatorial, and editorial practices.
More information at: https://head-maia.ch
