Developing the exhibition based on the principles of the New European Bauhaus, curators Eva Kraus and Sven Sappelt created an outline of eight thematic chapters through which to explore the sustainability of the building industry: starting with an introductory chapter on Earth’s Ecosystem, the exhibition continues with chapters titled Strengthening Climate Resilience, Promoting Biodiversity, Practising Sufficiency, Revitalising Existing Buildings, Optimising Cycles, Daring to Experiment, and Getting Actively Involved. Imagining these eight chapters as a series of discrete spaces, MVRDV tasked themselves with pairing the Bundeskunsthalle’s existing props with each theme, always keeping in mind the type of material exhibited, and the message or experiential impact conveyed by each form of presentation. These eight spaces are enhanced by a graphic treatment of the walls, with colour gradients emphasising the individual character of each.

The fifth chapter is revitalisation – a chapter particularly heavy on architectural models – and is thus presented as a “pixel city”, with a structural system of many small podiums grouping projects by scale, from small interventions to city-scale regenerations. The chapter on circularity presents exhibits on podiums that are circular both in a geometric sense and – since these elements had already been used in previous exhibitions – in an environmental sense too. The chapter on experimentation provides a journey through cabinet of curiosities, from mycelium bricks to shelters made of algae, in a darkened room. Finally, visitors find themselves activated in the last chapter thanks to a room of communal tables that invite them to imagine alternative futures together.