Green Brush — The Technology of Domestic Plants
Green Brush is the first solo exhibition of Some Place Studio, an architectural design studio interested in the production of physical and virtual space. As such, the Green Brush exhibit is both a physical installation and a hybrid five-week event, taking place online as much as in person. The theme revolves around the juxtaposition between the ever increasing presence of technology in our homes and our desire to reconnect with nature through the use of indoor plants. The exhibit takes the form of a gadget-heavy home with plants sprouting from domestic appliances, creating unlikely sculptural objects. Participants are invited to contribute to and receive from the exhibit through virtual discussion groups and take part in the exhibit’s deconstruction at its closing.
September 10th - October 15th 2021
@ MAGAZIN in Vienna, Austria
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One of the most enduring design trends of the past decade is the integration of a growing number of plants into domestic interiors as a way to “reconnect” with nature. A parallel trend to that of indoor plants is the increasing presence of technology in our homes — we rely on interconnected domestic appliances and devices that are visually reduced to a minimum. While the plants have become more apparent, large and lush, the technological objects have a decreased visual presence, becoming thin, wireless and sleek.
The Green Brush is questioning these two opposing trends, looking at plants as technological objects backed by a billion dollar industry, optimized for climate controlled interiors and minimal gardening know-how. While plants are placed in isolation in individual pots, the internet is providing an ever denser web of information, connecting computers, appliances and humans to a global network. The Green Brush is alluding to digital processes done in software like Photoshop, where greenwashing is applied to digital images as a layer of thin veneer. Similarly, sustainability and the use of plants in architecture is often a mere decorative feature, using the visual qualities of plants for the illusion of an integrated ecology.
The exhibition will take the form of a gadget-heavy home with plants sprouting from domestic appliances, creating unlikely sculptural objects. Invited thought leaders will host curated discussion groups around the Green Brush concept in five weeks of public hybrid programming with audiences invited to join virtually. At the show’s end — which will take the form of a live-streamed event — local participants will be encouraged to take home the plant sculptures, dissolving the exhibition and moving the plants into functionally domestic spaces.
The Green Brush is questioning these two opposing trends, looking at plants as technological objects backed by a billion dollar industry, optimized for climate controlled interiors and minimal gardening know-how. While plants are placed in isolation in individual pots, the internet is providing an ever denser web of information, connecting computers, appliances and humans to a global network. The Green Brush is alluding to digital processes done in software like Photoshop, where greenwashing is applied to digital images as a layer of thin veneer. Similarly, sustainability and the use of plants in architecture is often a mere decorative feature, using the visual qualities of plants for the illusion of an integrated ecology.
The exhibition will take the form of a gadget-heavy home with plants sprouting from domestic appliances, creating unlikely sculptural objects. Invited thought leaders will host curated discussion groups around the Green Brush concept in five weeks of public hybrid programming with audiences invited to join virtually. At the show’s end — which will take the form of a live-streamed event — local participants will be encouraged to take home the plant sculptures, dissolving the exhibition and moving the plants into functionally domestic spaces.
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Bika Rebek
Bika is a founding partner at Some Place Studio, an architecture practice interested in the production of physical and virtual space. Rebek’s work as an architect, educator, and curator is defined by an expansive interest in contemporary issues through the lens of architectural discourse and technology.
Bika Rebek
Bika is a founding partner at Some Place Studio, an architecture practice interested in the production of physical and virtual space. Rebek’s work as an architect, educator, and curator is defined by an expansive interest in contemporary issues through the lens of architectural discourse and technology.
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Ngozi Olojede
Ngozi is a design strategist whose work focuses on the politics and psychology surrounding space-making. Her work includes strategy on a range of architectural typologies, mostly urban, also channeling design thinking for exhibition design, experiential programming, and set design.
Ngozi Olojede
Ngozi is a design strategist whose work focuses on the politics and psychology surrounding space-making. Her work includes strategy on a range of architectural typologies, mostly urban, also channeling design thinking for exhibition design, experiential programming, and set design.
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Daniel Prost
Daniel is an architect and co-founder of Some Place Studio with a wide range of international work experience, with a number of hospitality and office projects completed in Shanghai, China. He has worked as an architect in Vienna and in Berlin, with a focus on urbanism, sustainability and social issues.
Daniel Prost
Daniel is an architect and co-founder of Some Place Studio with a wide range of international work experience, with a number of hospitality and office projects completed in Shanghai, China. He has worked as an architect in Vienna and in Berlin, with a focus on urbanism, sustainability and social issues.
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Juliane Röthig
Juliane combines her background in marketing and business strategy with her passion for sustainability and interior design to support Some Place Studio in all aspects of their communication.
Juliane Röthig
Juliane combines her background in marketing and business strategy with her passion for sustainability and interior design to support Some Place Studio in all aspects of their communication.