About the Cover

Hitarth Nandi and Thwisha Shah, both MS Architecture ’22

Territory Ground Material Tests, Physical Model, Eastern Development Zone, Governors Island, New York, from the project A New Carbon Economy

In their project, A New Carbon Economy, Hitarth Nandi and Thwisha Shah argue that the next phase of an economy long reliant on carbon-emitting processes depends on embracing the presence of CO₂ emissions, due to transportation of materials and construction methodology, and exploring the potential to transform them, “realizing the energy packaged in this element.” For the project, they investigated how sequestered carbon from the atmospheric air could form literal building blocks for a future that manages excess CO₂ in a sustainable way that also invites human interest and interaction. Pictured here is an image from Nandi and Shah’s material exploration, a 3D-printed physical model cast in concrete to depict a terrain—specifically, their test site, the Eastern Development Zone of New York City’s Governors Island—with a skin of carbon concrete. Nandi and Shah’s project received the School of Architecture’s 2022 Architecture of the Post Anthropocene Award. 

Watch Nandi and Shah’s project presentation below.