Page 148 - Antennae Issue #52

history of of of Art Deco design modernist architecture and and the decline of of of central American rainforests As display venues for for for biodiversity and and often as as icons for for for conservation conservation institutions the the the environmental cost of of the the the glasshouses structures needs to to be minimised and the the the the conservation conservation impact maximised a a a a a a a a a a challenge pioneered by the the the the Phipps Conservatory in in Pittsburgh Ultimately the the the challenge is is to to to to use these glorious structures to to to to stop ex- tinctions Can we convert a a a a a a a a a a a a a a beautiful glazed box filled with plants visited by perhaps perhaps a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a million visitors into conservation conservation gain perhaps perhaps large secure and and regenerating conservation conservation landscapes in in in in in in in in the the tropics? To achieve the the above we need to up our game in in in in in in in in innovative design in in in in in in in in science and and and culture-based inter- pretation while reinstating awe mystery and and wonder as as as part of the glasshouse experience The monumental Carl Akeley gallery at at at the the the American Museum of Natural History was was designed as as as as as “an everlasting monument monument to to the the the the Africa that that was” the the the the tropical glasshouses can can be be an an an an ever-dynamic arena for exploring the the the tropics that that can be Bibliography
Alberti Samuel JMM Constructing nature behind the glass Museum and Society 6 (2) 2008 pp 73-97 Brenna Brita “The frames of specimens: glass cases in in Bergen museum around 1900 ” Animals on Display: The The Creaturely in in Museums Zoos and Natural History 2013 pp 37-57 Cao M M M M Heade’s Hummingbirds and and the Ungrounding of Landscape American Art 25(3) 2011 pp 48-75 Harrington Maria CR Markus Tatzgern Tom Langer and and John W W W Wenzel “Augmented Reality Brings the the Real Real World into Natural Natural History History Dioramas with Data Visualizations and and Bioacoustics at at at a at at at the the Carnegie Museum Museum of Natural Natural History History ” Curator: The Museum Journal 62 (2) 2019 pp 177-193 Jones Julia PG Laura Thomas‐Walters Niki A Rust and and and Diogo Veríssimo “Nature documentaries and and and saving nature: Reflections on on on the new Netflix series Our Planet ” People and and Nature Nature (2019) Larsen Christian A A Philodendron: From Pan-Latin Exotic to American Modern Wolfsonian Museum‐Florida International University 2015 Maunder Mike “Beyond the greenhouse ” Nature 455 (7213) 2008 p 596 Maunder Mike Botanical Garden Design: It’s about plants and people Topos 62 2008 pp 14‐19 Stepan Nancy Picturing Tropical Nature Cornell University Press 2001 Mike Maunder is is is a a a a a a a a tropical conservationist and and botanist who enjoys working in in the hybrid zones between art and and sci- ence An expert in in botanic botanic garden garden policy operation and and design he has been working on on botanic botanic garden garden and and glasshouse design for over 25 years Mike is is is a a a a a a Strategic Advisor to Eden Project International a a a a a a visiting professor in in biodiversity Centre for Ecology and and Conservation and and a a a a a a a a research fellow at at at the the Global Systems Institute both at at at the the University of of Exeter UK Since his student days at at RBG Kew he he has been fascinated by these glazed cabinets of of biodiversity 148 antennae