Selection of archival drawings presented in a book for the 2019 Oslo Architecture Triennale titled "Enough: Architecture of Degrowth"

In commemoration with the book The Limits to Growth produced by the Club of Rome, this book displays original drawings and process sketches of the world model presented in the book. Made by Jay Forrester and his colleagues at MIT, these drawings: Visualize consequences of industrial production and population growth on a global scale, and thus demonstrate how the concept of de-growth was discussed in 1972. The drawings are visual representations of systems theory, which is a mode of thinking closely connected to postwar developments in computation. Systems theory became highly influential to architecture and design in terms of thinking of design via systems—a mode of thought which still resonates today.

This publication questions the ongoing discourse regarding how the graphics and methods of systems- theory mask the political dimensions to urban, world and environmental planning issues because their visuals appear neutral. Furthermore how Systems- Theorist Jay Forrester masked his political right wing views with his methods of applying systems theory and its neutral visuals to come to a “solution” for the degradation of the natural environment due to industrialization. This contribution hopes to demonstrate how various methods of representation influence how we conceive of the natural world, and in the case of The Limits to Growth the thoughts and designs of architects in the early 1970´s terms of how to deal with the climate crisis. This is done in order to reflect how some of these ideas might still resonate within architecture today.

Oslo Architecture Triennale
Date: 2019
Venue: National Museum of Architecture- Oslo

Links: Oslo Architecture Triennale, lecture


Team: Anna Ulak