What is Next Nature?
Today, the human impact on our planet can hardly be underestimated. Climate change, synthetic biology, mass urbanization – ‘We were here’ echoes all over. Although many people have tried to improve our relationship with nature, only few have asked the elementary question ‘what is nature?’.
This website radically shifts your notion of nature. It shows how our image of nature as static, balanced and harmonic is naive and up for reconsideration. We are living in a time in which the ‘made’ and the ‘born’ are fusing. This does not mean however, that we have become gods and have control over our own destiny. Rather, our relationship with nature is changing.
Where technology and nature are traditionally seen as opposed, they now appear to merge or even trade places. While old nature, in the sense of trees, plants, animals, atoms, or climate, is increasingly controlled and governed by man – it is turned into a cultural category – our technological environment becomes so complex, omnipresent and uncontrollable, that we start to relate to it as a nature of its own.
With our urge to design our environment, we cause the rising of a next nature, which is unpredictable as ever: wild software, genetic surprises, autonomous machinery and splendidly beautiful black flowers. Nature changes along with us.
We must no longer see ourselves as the anti-natural species that merely threatens and eliminates nature, but rather as catalysts of evolution. Will we be able to improve our human condition, or will we outsource ourselves for good? People are technologic beings by nature. We are playing with fire again and again. We should tread carefully; yet this is simultaneously what makes us human.
Hence the need to explore how we can design, build and live in the nature caused by people.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Next Nature?
- Nature caused by human culture? Sorry, I don’t get it.
- Nature is changing along with us. What do you mean by that?
- Do you have a definition of Next Nature?
- Culturally emerged nature? You mean plastic flowers?
- How can nature emerge from culture?
- Are nature and culture becoming one?
- What do you mean with ‘culturally emerged nature’ exactly?
- Can you give a few examples of next nature?
- Why do you use the word ‘nature’ for these phenomena? Isn’t that confusing?
- Why is next nature so important? What is the urgency?
- Is next nature related to ongoing scientific research?
- What do you mean with old nature?
- When did next nature start?
Further reading
-
Next Nature intro by Bruce Sterling
This project is about Nature’s brand image. One might surmise that “Nature,” being 100 percent all-natural, can’t have any brand image. The facts suggest otherwise. Try it for yourself: tell a friend that something seemingly 100 percent natural is actually […]
-
Razorius Gilletus – On the Origin of a Next Species
Is the evolution of the single bladed razor into an exorbitant five–bladed vibrating gizmo the outcome of human needs, or is there another force in play? Say hello to Razorius Gillettus, one of the new species emerging from our technoeconomic […]
-
The World without Technology
I remember the smoke the most. That pungent smell permeating the camps of tribal people. Everything they touch is infused with the lingering perfume of smoke — their food, shelter, tools, and art. Everything. Even the skin of the youngest […]
-
Real Nature is not Green
At the edge of the woods along the motorway near the Dutch town of Bloemendaal, there stands a mobile telephone mast disguised as a pine tree. This mast is not nature: at best, it is a picture of nature. It […]
Visual introduction
-
What is NextNature.net?
The Next Nature Network explores the changing relation between people, nature and technology. We aim to visualize, research and understand the implications of the nature caused by people. We initiate publications in various media (websites, books, DVD, products, games, magazines, software, etc) and organize events. The Next Nature Foundation is based in Amsterdam. Our Next Nature Lab is connected to the Industrial Design department of the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Editorial Team
- Koert van Mensvoort (Editor in Chief)
- Hendrik-Jan Grievink
- Rolf Coppens
- Allison Guy
- Arnoud van den Heuvel
Contributors
- Marco van Beers
- Natalie Dixon
- Stefan Fincken
- Orestis Tsinalis
- Kevin Kelly
- Tijn Kooijmans
- Bruce Sterling
- Teun Castelein
- Ruben Daas
- More Authors…
Lab Coaches
- Koert van Mensvoort (Theme Director)
- Arne Hendriks
- Berry Eggen
- Bert Lonsain
- Flip Ziedses des Plantes
- Jan Rouvroye
- Jorge Alves Lino
- Menno Stoffelsen
- Mike Thompson
- Ronald van Tienhoven
- Sander Lucas
Site Design
- GRRR (Mattijs Bliek & Rolf Coppens)
- Animal pattern: Karl Grandin
Event Producer
Board Members
- Mieke Gerritzen (chair)
- Berry Eggen
- Bruce Sterling
- Elly Gerritzen
- Monique van Dusseldorp
- Peter Sijmonds
- Ronald van Tienhoven
- Rolf Coppens
Director Next Nature Foundation
- This website is distributed under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike).
- NextNature.net is a project of the Next Nature Foundation and is supported by the Mondrian Foundation, Stichting Doen, Eindhoven University of Technology and Fonds BKvB.
-
Contact
If you want to contribute something to the site, like an article, picture or something else. Please see the contribute section.
Would you like to advertise on Next Nature? Please contact Protein.
For contacting one of our regular authors, look up their email address at the authors page.
If you want to hire us for a lecture at your conference, university or festival. Make sure you include info on the event, preferred date, venue, theme or topic and your organization when you contact us at: lectures@nextnature.net
For all other questions and remarks, you can reach us at:
post@nextnature.netAddress your snailmail to:
Next Nature Network
Tolstraat 137 II
1074 VJ Amsterdam
