While the theme of this year’s Milan Triennale, Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, waxes apocalyptic, the U.S. Pavilion there adopts a positive outlook, says its chief curator, Russell Fortmeyer, a sustainable design leader at Arup (and former Architectural Record editor). In response to the Triennale’s agenda to provide, according to its website, an “in-depth exploration of the strands that connect humans to the natural environment that has been intensely compromised, if not entirely severed, over the years,” the pavilion, called RECKONstruct, grapples with the ecological effects of processes of material extraction. RECKONstruct, a partnership led by ARUP including New York–based furniture company Humanscale, MIT’s SHINE Program, NextWave Plastics, and Stickbulb, “turns the spotlight on organizations that continue to push the industry to reduce material life cycle impact,” says Fortmeyer.

The pavilion nudges its visitors to be more conscientious about where designed objects come from, and where they end up. As part of the installation, Humanscale reimagined the common stool, developing three prototypes, each representing a different sustainable method: one stool, made from mycelium mushroom and agricultural waste, exemplifies how objects can be designed using naturally grown materials; the second, crafted from non-recyclable municipal waste, represents a circular economy approach; the last, inspired by the Venus Flower Basket sea sponge and made with a 3D printer, minimizes material use through additive manufacturing. While all three demonstrate low life-cycle output, the 3D printed stool, an example of biomimicry, used 80 percent less material than a baseline steel stool—significantly less than the two others, which used 20 to 30 percent less material.