Laboratory
From climate fiction
to regenerative design.
We develop interdisciplinary pedagogy and conduct research to translate climate stories into climate solutions.
Research
We engage in artistic, cultural, and narrative research. We conduct research on the study of climate imaginations, climate emotions, and regenerative design. Our research translates ideas from climate fiction into climate solutions and leverages the intellectual capital of our university partners to uplift communities.
Pedagogy
We partner with educators on transdisciplinary pedagogy for students of all ages engaged in the study of climate imaginations. We integrate mindfulness education with social-emotional learning and engage in scholarship around the subject of climate narrative, including solarpunk, ecocriticism, and Afrofuturism.
Regenerative Design
Storytelling and ecological design are intertwined. If we can imagine climate solutions within a fictional world, then we can implement them in the real world. If storytelling is the art of speculative imagination, ecological design is the art of translating imagination into practice and implementing radical, viable solutions. Our research converts storytelling into design for speculative and resilient climate futures.
Regenerative design considers how communities can go beyond sustainability and strive for regeneration of the ecosphere. Drawing from disciplines of permaculture, urban design, landscape architecture, and biomimicry, the Imaginarium designs regenerative systems based on ecological processes to solve human problems.
Invention, Innovation,
& Imagination Incubator
We run a regenerative design lab for speculative climate futures.
We take imaginary ideas that originate within the worlds of climate fiction and transform them into viable solutions for the real world.
I⁴ develops radical and experimental climate solutions for the real world that feel as though they belong in the world of climate fiction. Indeed, science fiction has often inspired real technologies throughout history, and climate fiction has the same potential to inspire viable solutions.
By collaborating with researchers, designers, and technologists, I⁴ draws upon the world of climate fiction to invent breakthrough climate solutions that appear at first glance seemingly impossible.