The Design Museum has marked its fifth anniversary with a virtual experience which brings extreme climate change to London. The Landmarker project, in partnership with Snap, invites visitors to view the building through a Snapchat filter which imagines an apocalyptic alternative reality.
Architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara worked with Snap’s AR technology to bring the project to life. ‘For an architect whose practice is in a desert country like Niger, the effects of the climate crisis are already all around us through increased droughts, floods, and even climate refugees,’ she says. ‘This collaboration with the Design Museum and Snap, really allowed me to explore a future where the climate has changed drastically, a new normal if you will. I wanted to use the facade of the Design Museum to explore how the built environment might respond to harsh conditions, and how we could perhaps put buildings to use in order to serve new needs under extreme conditions.’
In line with the transformation of the environment depicted in the filter, the building’s materials will also transform, for an optimistic look at how buildings can adapt to the demands of their environments. For chief curator of the Design Museum, Justin McGuirk, the filter is a chance to explore how existing structures can be a part of the climate change response. ‘The imaginative re-use of existing structures needs to be at the heart of a climate-conscious architecture,’ he says. ‘And since augmented reality is such an engaging way of reimagining buildings, we are delighted to be partnering with Snap and Mariam Kamara to explore how our own home might be adapted in the future. What better way to celebrate the Design Museum’s birthday, and the revival of a much-loved building, than to keep visualising alternative futures for it.’