JOA has unveiled the ‘post anthropocene’ series, a collection of architectural types for the future society, featured in 2019 shenzhen bi-city biennale of urbanism\architecture. the name of the series is influenced by nobel prize-winning chemist paul crutzen who officially introduced the term ‘anthropocene’ in 2002. the word refers to the recent geological epoch of the earth and is considered to be dating since the commencement of significant human impact on earth’s geology and ecosystems by the end of the 18th century. based on this topic, and research on striking environmental and social problems, the collection was created. 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies
all images by JOA, unless stated otherwise

 

 

‘if we continue raging on our planet, the natural reaction force will push us to adjust, which results in new architecture types‘ JOA explains. the project showcases five new architecture types, that were conceived after studying the intricate forms and different issues that each city faces. this complexity was translated into the architectural composition, expressed through narratives of movies and illustrations. behind the architectural form, the typologies reflect a more accurate response strategy, local customs, different ways of living, and spatial qualities.

 

 

 

 

new york ark: with global warming expected to raise the water level significantly in the following years, manhattan will be immersed and the life of new yorkers will be severely affected by 2100. based on this hypothesis, a floating ark was proposed with a green core that expands outwards, accommodating residents by their original class order. in between the residential area and the ‘central park’ there are public spaces on the upper level, functioning as cultural spots and office areas, as well as facilities on the lower level to maintain the ark’s fundamental consumption, including vegetable plantation, slaughterhouse, incineration, and power plant.

 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

beijing smog free tower: the smog issue in beijing has become a global concern. the smog is mainly composed of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and respirable particulate matter. the tower will sequentially filter atmospheric matter, degrade sulfur element, electrolyze rainwater, recycle nitrogen element (to fertilizer), and go through other physical or chemical treatment processes, finally producing oxygen via photosynthesis. the PV cells on the surface of the device will provide basic energy, and the hydrogen produced by the electrolytic procedure will be used for suspension of the tower. there is also a tour path included for the public, combining the panorama deck, botanic garden, and education areas.

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

amsterdam sin city: the famous red-light district and cannabis shops (coffeeshops) make amsterdam one of the world’s capitals of pleasure. however, due to congestion, the government has suggested to demolish and transform the red-light district into a commercial street. in the meantime, the legalization of cannabis also involves a lot of grey areas such as private cultivation and import business. sin city brings together different commercial places in amsterdam and standardizes them with management, floating on canals and receiving tourists from all over the world with an independent and open attitude. a new consumption mode has been introduced, similar to traditional shopping malls, but not limited to physical materials. there is a red-light district, cannabis cultivation and sales area, a sex-free celestial bath, a live show theatre, and an unlimited self-service market.

 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

manila garbage-recycling furniture factory: manila produces tons of municipal waste every day, most of which is transported to the quezon city garbage collection area, while some of it is incinerated, causing air pollution. with this issue in mind, the garbage-recycling furniture factory was proposed, as it can systematically classify household waste and construction waste according to whether they are recyclable or not. the recyclable waste is processed in the reuse factory to make environmentally-friendly furniture and then displayed in the roof-top garden sales. the non-recyclable waste will be filtered, processed, completely combusted, and after filtering out harmful substances, the remaining exhaust gas is discharged into the atmosphere.

 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

reykjavik data centre: iceland’s unique geographic location makes it a hub connecting europe, america, and even asia, providing an ideal location for a data center. the data center can be powered by geothermal electricity, and the air with an average low temperature here can be used for cooling via ventilation. the excess heat from computers can support a botanic warm house.

 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 2
new york ark section

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 4
beijing smog free tower section

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 6

amsterdam sin city section

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 8

manila garbage-recycling furniture factory section

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 10
reykjavik data center section

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 11

 

 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

JOA's 'post anthropocene' series envisions architecture for future societies

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 12
the post anthropocene, bi-city biennale of urbanism\architecture (shenzhen), 2019
image by hongduo zhuo

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 1
new york ark model

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 3
beijing smog free tower model

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 5
amsterdam sin city model

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 7
manila garbage-recycling furniture factory model

 

 

the post anthropocene joas exhibition envision life in hard future 9
reykjavik data center model

 

 

 

project info:

 

name: the post anthropocene
architecture office: JOA
design team: kai wang, tiantian zhang, jiayun xu, wenbin liu, zhiyuan zhang, shuang li, xinning wang, qiu zhong

 

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom