A Journey in Three Acts

Structured in three evocative stages—Approaching, Cohabiting, and Conspiring—the exhibition charts a path away from the dominant narratives of modernity. It questions the legacy of mass production, progress-at-all-costs, and the categorisation of knowledge that has long driven architectural and cultural norms.

Instead, it resurrects worldviews that centre relationship over typology, and interdependence over individualism. These are not just poetic gestures. They are urgent strategies for a planet in crisis—one where the boundaries between nature, culture, and technology have become increasingly porous.

Architecture as a Relational Practice

At the heart of Interspecies is a redefinition of architecture. No longer seen purely in terms of utility or aesthetics, architecture is presented as a relational and critical act—one that weaves together materials, territories, and beings across human and non-human worlds.

By embracing an interdisciplinary and interscalar approach, the exhibition highlights how architecture can intersect with ecosystems, economies, and ethics. Here, the so-called “users” of architecture are not just humans. They include birds nesting in façades, fungi growing beneath floors, rivers rerouted by infrastructure, and the digital ecosystems of video games and monitoring technologies.

Seeing Through Other Eyes

The section dedicated to “Approaching” explores how we might represent the world differently—from within rather than from above. Challenging the Cartesian, abstracted representations typical of architectural drawings, these works propose new ways of seeing. Through speculative cartographies, interactive installations, and bio-sensing tools, they attempt to map and communicate with other species, offering exercises in decentring the human viewpoint.

This is not about observing nature from a distance but about forging complicity and camaraderie—experiencing the world from perspectives that elude us and engaging in acts of representation that expand perception.

Designing for Coexistence

In “Cohabiting,” the exhibition turns its gaze to spaces of shared life. The projects here celebrate architectural practices that recognise we are not the sole inhabitants of the Earth. With nods to bioregionalism, queer theory, and postcolonial thought, the designs speak in languages of coexistence and care, using materials and forms that anticipate the needs of non-human beings.

Rather than enforcing a universal design principle, each project responds to its local context and living environment—reflecting a growing movement in architecture that values ecosystemic awareness and reciprocity.

A New Ethics of Conspiracy

The final act, “Conspiring,” is not as clandestine as it sounds. It is about collaborating with the living world, entering into new alliances with land, water, forests, and the legal systems that define their use. Across the globe, rivers and forests are being granted legal rights—a powerful recognition of non-human agency.

This shift has deep implications for architecture. No longer merely a designer of built environments, the architect becomes a mediator, advocate, and co-conspirator in the creation of futures that are more just, inclusive, and attuned to the needs of all life forms.

Photo Gallery: Inside Interspecies

See the exhibition through photos of its materials, creative installations, and unique spaces.