A mesocosm, or “middle world,” is an infrastructure for long-term outdoor ecological experimentation. According to the systems ecologist Eugene P. Odum, mesocosms are situated between the microcosm of the laboratory and the macrocosm of the planet, enabling the observation of real-world conditions. Filling the gap between the scalar extremes of micro- and macro- models, mesocosms are critical tools for studying the effects of anthropogenic climate change on ecosystem processes. They are organized into arrays of semi-enclosed environmental “patches” in which variables such as temperature, rainfall, and atmospheric composition can be adjusted to simulate changes in a climate. Mesocosms are designed to be exposed to the conditions of a site. They are breathable, operable, and adjustable, enabling environmental cycles to continue without isolating the patch from its contexts. 

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MESO-COSM was a multimedia exhibition that included the construction of a full-scale mesocosm alongside a proposal for four architectural prototypes that tested the mesocosm’s open systems through calibrated enclosures and environments. Typical architectural assemblies reject the exterior, hermetically enclosing the interior to remove any possibility of climatic mixing. Instead, we imagine that these prototypes are living and lively machines: full of weather, wind, and changing ambient worlds. Multi-layered roof filters, facade shading enclosures, and water and energy capture infrastructures encourage environmental adjustments at the scale of the building. These systems create thermal gradients and ventilation currents, activating a more sensuous open-air interior. Situated in the space between technical mediation and environmental encounter, these “meso-types” suggest architectures that engage with the frictions and mediums of our changing climates.

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MESO-COSM is the recipient of the 2024 ACSA Faculty Design Award. 

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Project Leads: Daniel Jacobs, Brittany Utting

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Design & Research Team: Anna Brancaccio, Nino Chen, Maximilien Chong Lee Shin, Harish Krishnamoorthy, Jane Van Velden

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Installation Photographs: Sean Fleming / smfleming.com

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Location: Mashburn Gallery, University of Houston, TX, September - October 2023. 

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MESO-COSM is sponsored by the Hines Scholar as Design/Design as Scholar (HdSd) Program of the Undergraduate Architecture Program at the Hines College of Architecture and Design, University of Houston. The exhibition is also funded by the Diluvial Houston Initiative, an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-supported project, and Rice Architecture.

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