Galina Zhu
Sustainable VS Design
Metabolic Studio embraces a profound mission encapsulated in the statement, "Artists need to create on the same scale that society has the capacity to destroy." This ethos underscores the urgent need for artists to engage with societal issues and challenges, confronting them with creativity, innovation, and vision. It calls upon artists to address pressing environmental, social, and political issues with a sense of urgency and magnitude commensurate with the scale of the problems we face. Through their work, Metabolic Studio seeks to provoke thought, inspire action, and catalyze positive change on a grand scale, harnessing the power of art to confront and transcend the destructive forces present in our world.
Environmental Engineering VS Environmental Art
Bending the River is an adaptive reuse of LA River infrastructure that reimagines the relationship between Los Angeles and the river that brought it into existence. The project diverts water from the LA River that would otherwise flow to sea and instead captures and stores it at Metabolic Studio’s Mother Well. Bending the River’ is a work of environmental engineering. It is also a work of art — and by presenting it as such, Bon has made hidebound government agencies perhaps more amenable to experimentation than they might have been otherwise.
Traditional VS modern
Twenty One Tonnes is a design studio founded by Chessa Osburn and Mary Jane Bolton, childhood friends who share a passion for art, sustainability, and social justice. They prioritize working with women, small family workshops, and indigenous communities, aiming to support tradition, sustainability, and cultural heritage. By valuing handcrafted objects and the stories they carry, Twenty One Tonnes seeks to bring depth, character, and meaning into spaces and homes, while also promoting fair compensation for artisans and minimizing environmental impact. Through their intentional approach to design and production, they aim to foster a deeper connection between people, their environments, and the objects they cherish.
