Views of Planet City: A Precursor to Tomorrow

"Views of Planet City: A Precursor to Tomorrow" offers an intimate preview of the forthcoming exhibition “Views of Planet City,” which envisions a future urban landscape designed to accommodate 10 billion people, leaving the remainder of Earth to return to a global-scaled wilderness. This film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the creative processes of five visionary artists—Liam Young, Jennifer Chen, John Cooper, Damjan Jovanovic, and Angelica Lorenzi—as they develop films, games, installations, sculptures, and beyond for the exhibition.

Through in-depth interviews and studio footage, the film explores each artist’s unique approach to interpreting and critiquing urbanistic responses to climate change, offering insights into their work processes as part of a collective contemplation of humanity’s prospects for a sustainable future.

This preview film serves as a prelude to the main exhibition “Views of Planet City” taking place in the Pacific Design Center Gallery and SCI-Arc Gallery as part of Getty’s PST ART: “Art & Science Collide." It proposes a radical new planetary imaginary, translating conceptual frameworks into immersive experiences with which to address the daunting scales of environmental challenges and necessary urban transformation.

Liam Young is a speculative architect and filmmaker renowned for his work at the intersection of design, fiction, and futures. As founder of Tomorrows Thoughts Today and co-director of the Unknown Fields Division, Young's explorations of speculative urbanisms have been featured in leading media and collected by major institutions. He also teaches at SCI-Arc and Princeton University.

Jennifer Chen is an architect and designer whose projects blend science fiction with climate futures, including stage and screen designs for speculative animations and performances. With experience at Heatherwick Studio and LAB Architecture, Chen’s work has been showcased in prestigious galleries and supported by prominent grants.

John Cooper teaches History and Theory at SCI-Arc, where his research spans performance, event design, and curating. His recent works explore the intersections of architecture and social histories, including studies on anticolonial violence and Jamaican street carnival.

Damjan Jovanovic is a co-founder of Lifeforms.io and a faculty member at SCI-Arc. His work integrates video games, AI, and architecture, with exhibitions and writings highlighting innovative intersections of these fields.

Angelica Lorenzi is an Italian architectural designer and educator based in Los Angeles. With a background in architecture from the University of Innsbruck and Die Angewandte, her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Tallin Architectural Biennale.

Crew Credits –

Production:
SCI-Arc Channel Creator and Executive Producer - Hernán Díaz Alonso
SCI-Arc Channel Executive Producer - Reza Monahan
Segment Producer - Namik Mackic
SCI-Arc Channel Creative Director - William Virgil
Director - Reza Monahan
Director of Photography - Walker Sayen
B Cameras - Bailey Galvin-Scott/Michael Rice
C Camera - Lacie Armstrong
Sound Engineer - Chris Trueman

Post-Production:
Story Producer - Caroline Post
Editors - Walker Sayen/Reza Monahan

Additional Images Provided by the Artists

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