{"id":108843,"date":"2023-12-21T12:49:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/?post_type=metro_project&#038;p=108843"},"modified":"2023-12-26T17:14:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T22:14:24","slug":"watermarks-milwaukee-mary-miss","status":"publish","type":"metro_project","link":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/projects\/watermarks-milwaukee-mary-miss\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee&#8217;s WaterMarks Initiative Builds a Community Connection to Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-sandow-article-header article-header\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized is-header\" style=\"object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1299\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//12//Stack-Concept-1.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Stack-Concept-1.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Stack-Concept-1-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Stack-Concept-1-1024x665.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Stack-Concept-1-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Stack-Concept-1-1536x998.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The largest and most visible WaterMarks marker will be installed on the smokestack of MMSD\u2019s Jones Island Water Reclamation facility at the center of downtown Milwaukee. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group article-header_intro none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"article-date\" aria-label=\"Post Date\">December 21, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading size-large\">Milwaukee&#8217;s WaterMarks Initiative Builds a Community Connection to Water <\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column article-header_meta is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<p class=\"summary size-regular\">New York-based environmental artist Mary Miss, conceived of <em>WaterMarks: An Atlas of Water for the City of Milwaukee<\/em> to help tell the city&#8217;s water story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-sandow-byline byline size-regular\"><span>By: <\/span><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"//tag//stephen-zacks/">Stephen Zacks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"social-share\"><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////www.facebook.com//sharer//sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmetropolismag.com%2Fprojects%2Fwatermarks-milwaukee-mary-miss%2F\%22 target=\"_blank\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9 8h-3v4h3v12h5v-12h3.642l.358-4h-4v-1.667c0-.955.192-1.333 1.115-1.333h2.885v-5h-3.808c-3.596 0-5.192 1.583-5.192 4.615v3.385z\" \/><\/svg><\/a><\/li><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////www.linkedin.com//sharing//share-offsite//?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetropolismag.com%2Fprojects%2Fwatermarks-milwaukee-mary-miss%2F\%22 target=\"_blank\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M4.98 3.5c0 1.381-1.11 2.5-2.48 2.5s-2.48-1.119-2.48-2.5c0-1.38 1.11-2.5 2.48-2.5s2.48 1.12 2.48 2.5zm.02 4.5h-5v16h5v-16zm7.982 0h-4.968v16h4.969v-8.399c0-4.67 6.029-5.052 6.029 0v8.399h4.988v-10.131c0-7.88-8.922-7.593-11.018-3.714v-2.155z\" \/><\/svg><\/a><\/li><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"http:////pinterest.com//pin//create//button//?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmetropolismag.com%2Fprojects%2Fwatermarks-milwaukee-mary-miss%2F&amp;description=Milwaukee%26%238217%3Bs+WaterMarks+Initiative+Builds+a+Community+Connection+to+Water\%22 target=\"_blank\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"> <path d=\"M12 0c-6.627 0-12 5.372-12 12 0 5.084 3.163 9.426 7.627 11.174-.105-.949-.2-2.405.042-3.441.218-.937 1.407-5.965 1.407-5.965s-.359-.719-.359-1.782c0-1.668.967-2.914 2.171-2.914 1.023 0 1.518.769 1.518 1.69 0 1.029-.655 2.568-.994 3.995-.283 1.194.599 2.169 1.777 2.169 2.133 0 3.772-2.249 3.772-5.495 0-2.873-2.064-4.882-5.012-4.882-3.414 0-5.418 2.561-5.418 5.207 0 1.031.397 2.138.893 2.738.098.119.112.224.083.345l-.333 1.36c-.053.22-.174.267-.402.161-1.499-.698-2.436-2.889-2.436-4.649 0-3.785 2.75-7.262 7.929-7.262 4.163 0 7.398 2.967 7.398 6.931 0 4.136-2.607 7.464-6.227 7.464-1.216 0-2.359-.631-2.75-1.378l-.748 2.853c-.271 1.043-1.002 2.35-1.492 3.146 1.124.347 2.317.535 3.554.535 6.627 0 12-5.373 12-12 0-6.628-5.373-12-12-12z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" \/><\/svg><\/a><\/li><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"mailto:?body=https%3A%2F%2Fmetropolismag.com%2Fprojects%2Fwatermarks-milwaukee-mary-miss%2F&amp;subject=Milwaukee%26%238217%3Bs+WaterMarks+Initiative+Builds+a+Community+Connection+to+Water\%22 target=\"_blank\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M12 12.713l-11.985-9.713h23.97l-11.985 9.713zm0 2.574l-12-9.725v15.438h24v-15.438l-12 9.725z\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column empty-header-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column article-header_meta is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<p class=\"size-regular\">Solar-powered signage is decorated on top with vibrant blue glyphs, this one an e\u00f1e\u2014the Spanish \u201c\u00d1\u201d\u2014rising up from a field in Milwaukee\u2019s Pulaski Park along Kinnickinnic River. It is one of 10 water markers in a series connecting the city\u2019s transformed hydrological infrastructure. During storms, the characters will turn red, signaling for residents to conserve water to help prevent stormwater overflows from the sewage system into Lake Michigan. Conceived by New York-based environmental artist <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"http:////marymiss.com/">Mary Miss<\/a> and launched this fall citywide, the signs are beacons of a new era for Milwaukee\u2019s municipal water system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">In the last half-century, public art has often been assigned the unwieldy burden of spurring social and political change while stimulating economic development in underfunded places where the government or private sector was unwilling or unable to act. <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////www.watermarksmke.org/">WaterMarks<\/a> suggests how beauty can emanate from meaningful collaboration between government, engineers, and artists. The project coalesces skilled expertise, good public policy, attention to community processes, and adequate funding\u2014including for the art and the artist herself\u2014to address a systemic problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">The good news is that urgency of the color-coded messages on the WaterMarks signs has been radically reduced by improved public policy and water engineering over the last three decades. Milwaukee has almost completely eliminated the harmful release of sewage through a combination of gray and green infrastructure projects like deep retention tunnels and restored wetlands, putting it far ahead of cities like Boston, Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York City\u2014many of them under court order to comply with provisions of the 1972 Clean Water Act requiring cities to prevent pollution of waterways during heavy rains.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column article-header_content is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1124\" height=\"2000\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//12//N-Edit.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/N-Edit.jpg 1124w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/N-Edit-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/N-Edit-575x1024.jpg 575w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/N-Edit-768x1367.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/N-Edit-863x1536.jpg 863w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1124px) 100vw, 1124px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This solar-powered signage is one of 10 water markers in a series connecting the city\u2019s transformed hydrological infrastructure. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group none\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"size-regular\">The idea for WaterMarks began to take shape in 2017 when community advocate Marsha Sehler, an assistant in the Riverwalk District, invited Miss to come to Milwaukee to help \u201ctell the city\u2019s water story.\u201d Miss had a background in the area: twenty years earlier, she had designed a meandering wooden boardwalk along a mile-long section of the Milwaukee River. Credited with reviving the city\u2019s relationship to the river, the boardwalk activates the shoreline with rustic squared off log benches, a spiral viewing platform, and blue lighting recessed into adjacent loft buildings. The process was a disappointing one for Miss, however: an architecture and planning firm ended up taking over the project and building it in an attenuated form without some of the environmental features in 2004. The results led to period of reflection for Miss, who wondered how she could better organize her art studio to coordinate large, complicated projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">\u201cI kept having proposals similar to Milwaukee River that would either not be built or constructed in some other form, and I was pretty frustrated,\u201d Miss says. \u201cArt was always what got cut from the budget first, so I wanted people to understand that artists should have an essential role\u2014not just contribute the icing on the cake that gets taken off\u2014along with policymakers, educators, and scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">A pioneer of earth art since the 1960s, Miss\u2019s early installations began as minimalist environmental sculptures constructed on the grounds of museums, parks, universities, and urban developments like Battery Park City. Made of rough industrial materials influenced by manufacturing and production facilities, the structures heightened the immediacy of spatial experience in relation to their surrounding natural environments. Several of these works are currently on display in <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////www.nashersculpturecenter.org//art//exhibitions//exhibition//id//1940//groundswell-women-of-land-art/"><em>Groundswell: Women of Land Art<\/em><\/a> at Dallas\u2019s Nasher Sculpture Center, on view through January 7, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">In 2008, Miss established the nonprofit <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////www.cityaslivinglab.org/">City as Living Laboratory<\/a> (CALL) in collaboration with founding director Olivia Georgia as a way to build capacity to realize complex science, art, and advocacy-based projects that engage diverse stakeholders, community organizations, government agencies, and development partners. Meanwhile, Miss\u2019s ideas were expanding to larger-scale initiatives tied to the urgency of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//12//PXL_20220514_162732512.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PXL_20220514_162732512.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PXL_20220514_162732512-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PXL_20220514_162732512-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PXL_20220514_162732512-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PXL_20220514_162732512-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">\u201cI was really trying to understand how I could function as an artist, since so many things were being canceled. About that time, it became apparent that our environmental crisis was alarmingly serious. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg was doing so much work to address issues like that, except that it was very much top-level agency work. I felt like all of my work has really been about place-based experience,\u201d Miss says. \u201cI thought, you really have to get people on the streets in their own neighborhoods to care about these issues. And of course, some of the worst crises were happening in these underserved neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">In 2016, she began leading tours and public art initiatives in partnership with community organizations to advocate for the naturalization of Tibbets Brook, a buried stream in the Bronx that pours seven million gallons of freshwater a day directly into the sewage system. Plans to daylight the stream\u2014restore its flow above ground\u2014recently received $133 million in funding and approval from the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation, partly due to her advocacy in association with the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//12//WaterMarks-Walks_1.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WaterMarks-Walks_1.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WaterMarks-Walks_1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WaterMarks-Walks_1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WaterMarks-Walks_1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/WaterMarks-Walks_1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">In Milwaukee, Sehler offered to put together a meeting of supporters that included the directors of the city\u2019s Department of Public Works, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), Lynden Sculpture Garden, the Milwaukee Arts Board, community development corporations, and neighborhood nonprofits. They promised this time that they would back her entirely if she would help conceive an urban-scale project regarding the city\u2019s water system. Miss couldn\u2019t pass up the invitation. \u201cIt was such an interesting request,\u201d Miss says. \u201cEven though I had had that bad experience, I was really interested to find out more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">Kevin Shafer, executive director of the city\u2019s sewer system, served as an essential and unlikely partner for the installations, many of which are located at significant sites where the MMSD had capital projects to prevent stormwater overflows and restore watersheds. \u201cHe\u2019s this very forward-thinking person who\u2019s done incredible work in Milwaukee and helped start the US Water Alliance,\u201d Miss says. \u201cHe was willing to meet with an artist, which was really remarkable, I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">Under Shafer, the MMSD is completing a massive, multigenerational effort to eliminate stormwater overflows, digging a series of Deep Tunnels with enough storage to hold 98.5 percent of wastewater and storm surges since 1994\u2014521 million gallons between the three tunnels\u2014as well as restoring watersheds and ecological services, and beautifying riverbanks and upland areas. He saw the opportunity to use public art to engage residents beyond the redeveloped downtown areas and broadcast the improvements across the city. \u201cIt has to be a project for the whole city,\u201d Shafer told her during the initial meetings. In 2021, <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////uwm.edu//geography//people//holifield-ryan///">Ryan Holifield<\/a>, a professor and chair of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, teamed up with CALL\u2019s Georgia to raise $2.8 million from the National Science Foundation to develop and staff the project, enabling them to develop a long-term community process and ensure the art was collaborative, engaged local participants, and resonated with residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">CALL has completed four WaterMarks signs so far, with three more soon to follow, each intimately tied to the work of neighborhood groups, arts organizations, and community development corporations, among them RiverWest, the Northwest Side CDC, the 16th Street Health Center, City Council president Jose Perez, the Department of Public Works, and Milwaukee universities. Among the locations are community development projects in historically discriminated neighborhoods, brownfields where bioswale performance is being tested, decontaminated industrial sites, and renaturalized rivers. The stories behind each location are extensively documented and shared on the <a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////www.watermarksmke.org///">WaterMarks website<\/a>. The 25-foot solar-powered signs are equipped with free wifi and have QR codes at their bases that provide links to videos of the neighborhood stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1499\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2023//12//IMG_20230602_141042_2493-1.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108984\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_20230602_141042_2493-1.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_20230602_141042_2493-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_20230602_141042_2493-1-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_20230602_141042_2493-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_20230602_141042_2493-1-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">The largest and most visible marker will be installed on the smokestack of MMSD\u2019s Jones Island Water Reclamation facility at the center of downtown Milwaukee. Vapor emitted from the smokestack will be illuminated blue at night, turning red when significant rain is expected in order to alert the public to limit water use and reduce the risk of now-rare sewage overflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"size-regular\">\u201cThis really has been a collective effort,\u201d Miss says. \u201cThe building of this project has been with any number of nonprofits. It really has been a remarkable collective effort that\u2019s happening. This really goes back to my early feminist years of thinking that change is possible and that to create change, it\u2019s not about a singular effort but joining forces to make things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"comment size-regular\">Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: <a href=https://metropolismag.com/wp-json/wp/v2/metro_project/\"mailto:comments@metropolismag.com/">comments@metropolismag.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"tag-cloud\"><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//topics//cities///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Cities<\/a><\/li><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//topics//sustainability///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Sustainability<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n<ul class=\"tag-cloud\"><li><a href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//tag//stephen-zacks///" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Stephen Zacks<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"post-cards__wrapper is-condensed-default columns-3 single-row\" data-type=\"metro_viewpoint metro_profile metro_project metro_product\" data-amount=\"3\" ><h3 class=\"section-title\">Latest<\/h3><ul><li class=\"card__metro_viewpoint\"><div class=\"post-cards__image\"><a class=\"post-cards__link\" href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//viewpoints//9-designers-revolutionizing-bio-based-materials///"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2024//12//1-loop-living-cocoon-cloop-biotech-groot_1725451447-1024x682.jpeg/" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1-loop-living-cocoon-cloop-biotech-groot_1725451447-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1-loop-living-cocoon-cloop-biotech-groot_1725451447-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1-loop-living-cocoon-cloop-biotech-groot_1725451447-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"post-cards__content\"><p class=\"type\">Viewpoints<\/p><a class=\"post-cards__title-link\" href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//viewpoints//9-designers-revolutionizing-bio-based-materials///"><h4>9 Designers Revolutionizing Bio-based Materials<\/h4><\/a><p class=\"excerpt\">From 3D-printed date seeds to moss-covered facade panels, these projects showcase how bio-based materials are shaping the future of design.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li class=\"card__metro_viewpoint\"><div class=\"post-cards__image\"><a class=\"post-cards__link\" href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//viewpoints//bryan-c-lee-jr-on-nomas-vision-for-equity///"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//wp-content//uploads//2024//11//NOMA-Opening-reception-Reginal--1024x682.jpg/" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NOMA-Opening-reception-Reginal--1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NOMA-Opening-reception-Reginal--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NOMA-Opening-reception-Reginal--768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"post-cards__content\"><p class=\"type\">Viewpoints<\/p><a class=\"post-cards__title-link\" href=https://metropolismag.com/"https:////metropolismag.com//viewpoints//bryan-c-lee-jr-on-nomas-vision-for-equity///"><h4>Bryan C. 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