Noösphere

Living Architecture Testbed Sculpture

This publication documents the inner workings of the Noosphere sculpture. Noosphere is an evolving interactive spherical sculpture that acts as a powerful public beacon, a positive symbol of shared sustainable futures. The exhibitions of Noosphere have been seen by hundreds of thousands of in-person visitors in Toronto and Berlin and by millions of online viewers.

The giant suspended sphere of Noosphere contains a nest-like structure of intricate webs powered by artificial intelligence. High-powered lights pulse and shimmer while densely gathered fronds shiver. Arrays of high-fidelity, omnidirectional speakers produce a collection of individual sounds that together rise to intense crescendos and soften to gentle whispers. The expressive, open forms of the Noosphere sculpture provide valuable examples of next-generation paradigms for interdisciplinary research and design, helping to equip emerging generations of designers and creators with the skills they need for working with far-from-equilibrium environments.

The evolving sculpture is created by the Living Architecture Systems, an international group led by artist-architect Philip Beesley and hosted by the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo. This international partnership research partnership combines artists, engineers, designers and scientists from many organizations around the world studying how the next generations
of experimental buildings and environments might grow, think, and care.