each of the five geodesic domes connected here has its own cocktail of fumes, as does each of our cities. carbon dioxide, nitric dioxide, harmful chemicals, invisible killers blanket our skyscrapers and lungs, but here in this safe simulation by michael pinsky, there’s none of that. no romantic architecture. no people to watch or platforms to run to — only the twisted smell and harmful haze city-dwellers have grown accustomed to.
image courtesy of michael pinsky
london, beijing, new delhi, sao paulo, and an island in norway — within each dome the air quality of five global cities is recreated. carefully mixed recipes cooked-up by climate researchers and scent specialists emulate the ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide of each location. michael pinsky’s installation was installed for the TED conference at the vancouver convention center, inviting guests to let their nose take them around the world in a trip of olfactory vertigo. starting within the fresh, clean island of tautra in norway, visitors passed through increasingly polluted, hot and humid cells.
image courtesy of michael pinsky
the pods are safe to breathe and walk around in, unlike cities like delhi, where over half of all children suffer from stunted lung development. around the world, particularly in the east, where factories satisfy capitalist orders from the west, the release of toxic gases increase the rate of global warming and have a direct effect on our present day health. citizens of china and india are poisoned by the air — we know this on paper, but beautiful photos paint a much different picture of those places, which is why michael pinsky has created a space where the haze and smell of poisoned air is not obscured by beautiful views.
image courtesy of marla aufmuth
image courtesy of marla aufmuth
image courtesy of marla aufmuth
image courtesy of marla aufmuth
image courtesy of marla aufmuth
image courtesy of marla aufmuth
project info:
the climart team:
christian a. klöckner, environmental psychologist, NTNU (project leader)
david buckland, director, cape farewell
sam jury, artist, (co-coordinator)
laura sommer, environmental psychologist, NTNU
paul stern, environmental psychologist, national research council
janet swim, environmental psychologist, penn state university
martina zienert & joachim borner, environmental communicators,
kolleg fuer management und gestaltung nachhaltiger entwicklung
peter huybers, climate scientist, harvard university
edgar hertwich, environmental scientist, yale university
Jul 12, 2025
Jul 08, 2025
Jun 11, 2025