Cult Shrine for the Worship of Nature as Our Savior
︎ Creator: Daniel Pelosi
︎ Supervisor: Peter Yeadon
One envisions nature as a vestal virgin. Clean, untouched and essentially a victim of human rape. – Emutagen
This vision of the future sees technological pollutants everywhere. Humans have not been able to breathe fresh air, harvest the soil, swim in the ocean, dance in the rain or bathe in the Sun for most, or all, of their lives. While the technology now exists to extend human life, perhaps even indefinitely, it is strikingly apparent that the world will soon lose the ability to sustain human life.
In response, a new faith forms that sees a return to nature as the last hope for the survival of humanity. This task is now too large for humans to handle. Humans must repent for their sins of technology. Nanofiltration, the most efficient and advanced filtration system possible in the future, is employed in a membrane that wraps the space at 575 Broadway in Manhattan.
The nanofiltration membrane filters out a range of pollutants, yet allows sunlight and filtered rain to pass through; this enables a non-polluted natural ecosystem to grow inside. If needed, the particulates that accumulate on the nanofiltration membrane can be blown away by large wind engines along the parapet.
As worshippers move from entrance to exit, their ritual is guided by symbolism that is focused on the organic. For them, the organic has only been known as a symbol of the past. As they struggle to interact with a non-polluted ecosystem that is thriving within the building, their faith and devotion grows stronger.
This work was published in Smart Materials in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design, a book by Axel Ritter (Birkhäuser, 2007).
︎ Supervisor: Peter Yeadon
One envisions nature as a vestal virgin. Clean, untouched and essentially a victim of human rape. – Emutagen
This vision of the future sees technological pollutants everywhere. Humans have not been able to breathe fresh air, harvest the soil, swim in the ocean, dance in the rain or bathe in the Sun for most, or all, of their lives. While the technology now exists to extend human life, perhaps even indefinitely, it is strikingly apparent that the world will soon lose the ability to sustain human life.
In response, a new faith forms that sees a return to nature as the last hope for the survival of humanity. This task is now too large for humans to handle. Humans must repent for their sins of technology. Nanofiltration, the most efficient and advanced filtration system possible in the future, is employed in a membrane that wraps the space at 575 Broadway in Manhattan.
The nanofiltration membrane filters out a range of pollutants, yet allows sunlight and filtered rain to pass through; this enables a non-polluted natural ecosystem to grow inside. If needed, the particulates that accumulate on the nanofiltration membrane can be blown away by large wind engines along the parapet.
As worshippers move from entrance to exit, their ritual is guided by symbolism that is focused on the organic. For them, the organic has only been known as a symbol of the past. As they struggle to interact with a non-polluted ecosystem that is thriving within the building, their faith and devotion grows stronger.
This work was published in Smart Materials in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design, a book by Axel Ritter (Birkhäuser, 2007).
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