From City to Forest
MAAD F24'
This architectural project represents a fusion of immersive design, ecological advocacy, and narrative-driven storytelling. By transforming an urban site into a multi-scale platform for awareness and education about migratory songbirds, it exemplifies how architecture can extend beyond function to become a medium for ecological empathy and social change.
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My aim with this project underscores the potential of architecture as a tool for interdisciplinary problem-solving. It teaches the importance of integrating environmental science, art, and psychology into design practices, encouraging future architects to consider their role in fostering coexistence between humans and other species. Through storytelling, immersive environments, and actionable toolkits, students learn how to engage users emotionally and intellectually, driving both awareness and action.
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This project challenges traditional notions of architectural practice by emphasizing responsibility, advocacy, and the power of small interventions to create systemic impact. It inspires students to see design not just as building structures but as crafting experiences that reshape societal perspectives.
Efforts to address migratory bird deaths often fail to engage audiences deeply. Art installations use shock value, and online campaigns reach only niche groups, limiting their impact. These approaches struggle to provoke empathy or meaningful action.
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This project presents an immersive exhibition that fosters emotional connections with migratory birds’ struggles. Inspired by Gazal Feizi’s designs, the space dissolves human-centric boundaries, promoting coexistence with non-human lives. By blending art, architecture, and technology, it creates visceral experiences that provoke curiosity and empathy.​
This exhibition will curate immersive spaces that provoke empathy and inspire action. Influenced by Rich Pell and Jennifer Ackerman’s ecological insights and Olafur Eliasson’s sensory installations, it bridges art, design, and ecology.
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The spaces transform passive viewers into active participants, fostering curiosity and emotional engagement. Visitors experience interconnected narratives that highlight humanity’s role in ecological systems, shifting perspectives toward ethical coexistence.
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By embedding ecological awareness into design, the exhibition inspires personal accountability and meaningful action. The goal is to empower visitors to become advocates for sustainable and symbiotic living.
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Set in NYC’s Oculus Plaza, a hotspot for bird-glass collisions, the exhibition begins with volunteers collecting materials for nest-building. This disrupts the site’s sleek aesthetic, sparking curiosity.
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Robotic arms mimic birds’ weaving patterns, juxtaposing human inaction with technological intervention. This visual metaphor highlights humanity’s accountability in addressing ecological crises.
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The narrative draws visitors into the birds’ struggles, using technology and storytelling to foster empathy. It emphasizes the urgent need for human intervention in ecological systems.
In Oculus Plaza, robotic arms and volunteers construct a biomimetic nest-like structure using recycled materials. The installation contrasts with the surrounding reflective glass, symbolizing a shift toward sustainability.
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The NYC Bird Alliance unveils the structure as a celebration of ethical design and ecological harmony. It challenges urban aesthetics by emphasizing coexistence over dominance, inviting visitors to rethink humanity’s role in nature.
Visitors navigate reflective spaces simulating bird-glass collisions, guided by subtle interventions like “follow-dot sticks.” Courtyards host workshops, discussions, and artistic contributions, blending science and art to inspire empathy and action.
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The journey demonstrates how small design changes, like bird-safe decals, can save lives. It connects visitors to the birds’ struggles, encouraging accountability and creativity to address ecological challenges.
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Interactive spaces challenge visitors’ perspectives on bird migration and urban impacts. A “Choice Room” simulates birds’ disorientation from artificial lights, while dense vegetation paths evoke habitat loss.
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A final “Souvenir Store” provides bird-safe tools, guides, and resources for individual impact. The journey fosters empathy and equips visitors with actionable steps to support conservation and biodiversity.
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The Bird-Friendly Toolkit empowers individuals with resources for ecological action. It includes native tree seeds, bird-safe decals, and guides for reducing light pollution.
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By promoting biodiversity and urban coexistence, the toolkit bridges awareness and practical solutions. Visitors leave with tangible tools to foster small-scale ecological impact, extending the exhibition’s message into their lives.
This final panel steps back from the intimate scale of individual actions to imagine the broader societal impact of a future shaped by ecological awareness. It envisions a world where the lessons and actions introduced through this exhibition have taken root, leading to transformative changes at an urban scale.
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The speculative vision centers on the idea of urban wilderness. Imagine a city where human priorities align with ecological needs, creating spaces that support biodiversity as an integral part of urban life. In the case of Chicago, for example, I propose a vision to connect three major parks through a continuous forest passage threading its way across the city. This green corridor would not only provide safe migratory pathways for birds but also reframe urban environments as spaces of coexistence between humans and non-humans.
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But this speculative future raises a fundamental question: Are we ready for this today? The honest answer is no. Despite growing discourse around sustainability, there remains a significant gap in awareness and urgency when it comes to the ecological crises we face. Many people are disconnected from the scale and immediacy of these issues, and even well-intentioned efforts often fall short of driving meaningful change.
The circular narrative of this project reinforces the importance of starting small, with accessible steps like planting native trees or reducing light pollution, and building toward a larger vision of coexistence. By engaging people at an emotional, intellectual, and practical level, the exhibition acts as a catalyst for this broader transformation, setting the stage for urban spaces to evolve into ethical, symbiotic ecosystems.
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As we conclude, this panel reminds us that the journey toward urban wilderness and ecological harmony begins here. This speculative vision of connected parks and rewilded cities is not merely a dream—it’s a potential reality, contingent on the awareness and actions we cultivate today. The exhibition is a starting point, but the change it envisions lies in the hands of its participants, urging all of us to rethink and reshape our relationship with the natural world.