Material Ecology at MoMA has been cut short due to COVID-19-related closures. Installation shots, didactics and audio guides are now available online.

From tree bark and crustaceans’ shells to silkworms and human breath, nature has influenced Neri Oxman’s design and production processes, just as it has influenced architects across centuries. Unlike her predecessors, however, throughout her 20-year career Oxman has developed not only new ways of thinking about materials, objects, buildings and construction processes, but also new frameworks for interdisciplinary — and even interspecies— collaborations.

The eight projects in this exhibition are “demos” for a library of materials and processes that might someday be available to all architects and designers. The objects and structures are all designed as if grown — with no assembly required. Together, they celebrate a new age in which biology, architecture, engineering, and design join forces to build the future.