To learn more, visit Ami Vitale

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4 Climate change, degraded freshwater sources and disappearing natural landscapes have placed the relationship between nature and people on the world s stage. In light of these complex issues, the Conservancy presents Design for a Living World, an exhibition that explores the balance between human use and natural regeneration. Design for a Living World Exhibition The Field Museum 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois May 13 November 13, 2011 Designers such as Isaac Mizrahi and Maya Lin were challenged to create products using sustainable natural materials from Conservancy sites throughout the world. These products are meant to be beautiful and useful, to promote sustainably grown and harvested materials and to tell the story of how their products were made from start to finish. An exhibition piece using prairie plants from the Conservancy s Nachusa Grasslands Preserve has been specially designed by Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma to join the exhibition in Chicago. Design for a Living World is the inaugural exhibition in the Field s new Gary C. Comer Family Gallery. This gallery will host temporary exhibitions focused on the topics of environmental sustainability, climate change and conservation of biodiversity. Design for a Living World Photo Essay The Lurie Garden in Millennium Park The Lurie Garden is located in the southeast corner of Millennium Park. April 15 November 13, 2011 The interdependence between humans and nature is highlighted in this display of previously unpublished photos from Design for a Living World. Behind-thescenes photographs by award-winning photographer Ami Vitale showcase landscapes in Alaska, China, Mexico and Illinois. One of the world s largest green roofs, the Lurie Garden is a bio-diverse habitat for migratory birds, butterflies and beneficial insects, making it a perfect setting for this naturalistic photo essay. From seeds to plant fiber to animal skins, nature provides the raw materials that make up the products we use every day. Yet we are increasingly disconnected from the growing and harvesting processes that bring about these raw materials. Design for a Living World Design for a Living World asks us to think about the products we use where they come from, how they are made and the impacts they have on our planet. The Nature Conservancy invited 10 designers to create new objects from sustainable materials sourced from around the world. Wood, plants, wool and other sustainable materials were transformed into intriguing objects, revealing extraordinary stories about regeneration and the human connection to the earth s lands and waters. Showcasing Illinois In Chicago, the Conservancy added a new piece to the exhibition inspired by Illinois prairie. Design for a Living World designer Christien Meindertsma worked with prairie plants from the Conservancy s Nachusa Grasslands Preserve, a Christien Meindertsma at Nachusa Grasslands 3,000-acre prairie located in north-central Illinois. As one of the largest prairies in the state, Nachusa is home to Illinois largest population of federally threatened prairie bush clover and some of the state s last remnants of untouched prairie. The Nature Conservancy As the world s leading conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to protecting ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. Since 1951, the Conservancy has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide, working in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. In Illinois, the Conservancy helps protect the state s diverse prairies, savannas, forests, wetlands and rivers. To learn more, visit

5 DESIGN FOR A LIVING WORLD PROJECTS Ted Muehling, Island of Pohnpei, Micronesia New York designer Ted Muehling used vegetable ivory, the seed of the ivory nut palm tree, and the black-lip oyster s pearl to design various jewelry pieces. Because they mass produce and naturally drop to the ground, the ivory nut seeds are sustainably harvested. Paulina Reyes for kate spade new york, Guarayo Indigenous Lands, Bolivia Paulina Reyes, kate spade new york designer, featured FSC-certified Bolivian carved rosewood in her piece, placing it on bags woven from cotton and jipijapa, a fiber made from palm leaves. Maya Lin, Upper St. John River, Maine Architect, artist and furniture designer Maya Lin used FSC-certified red maple from Maine forests to create her piece, the Terra bench, which highlights the beauty of an individual tree and a forest s terrain through its wave-like appearance. Stephen Burks, Gondwana Link, Australia From raspberry jam wood, New York industrial designer Stephen Burks created an object used to crush plant seeds, nuts and berries used for therapeutic or medicinal purposes. Isaac Mizrahi, Southwest Alaska New York fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi used salmon leather to create a wardrobe. Using salmon leather in fashion design could help reduce waste in Alaska s largest fishing industry and stimulate local economies. Christien Meindertsma, Lava Lake Ranch, Idaho Sheep at the Conservancy s Lava Lake Ranch produce certified organic wool, which Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma used to create her hand-knitted flock carpet. Mackenzie Stroh Mackenzie Stroh Yves Béhar, La Amistad International Park, Costa Rica Women in La Amistad use ancient knowledge to process cocoa beans into a patty, which is used in making a traditional hot chocolate beverage. Swiss industrial designer Yves Béhar s piece is a tool used to shave the cocoa patty and market it to a wider audience. Hella Jongerius, Maya Forest, Mexico Dutch designer Hella Jongerius melted, molded, stretched and shaped chicle latex to add tactile surfaces to ceramic vases in her piece. Christien Meindertsma, Nachusa Grasslands, Illinois Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma was inspired by the Conservancy s Nachusa Grasslands to create a unique book with pages made from prairie plants. Each page displays a native prairie plant she harvested from the site. The exhibit was made possible by: Abbott Miller, Santa Cruz, Bolivia Graphic designer and exhibition curator Abbott Miller used FSC-certified Bolivian plywood to create a chair. His design yields three chairs per piece of plywood, producing minimal waste. Ezri Tarazi, Yunnan Province, China Israeli industrial and furniture designer Ezri Tarazi used bamboo to create totem-like structures for the home, providing various media functions. Bamboo generates more oxygen than trees and absorbs large amounts of carbon while it provides humans a range of uses. Lead Sponsor, Design for a Living World Sustainability Sponsor: Photo taken at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Erika Nortemann/TNC Presenting Partners: Udi Dagan Printed on New Leaf Imagination 100# text, 100% Recycled, 100% Post Consumer Waste and Processed Chlorine Free.