Designing for the Planet: Lessons on Sustainable Exhibition Design

Sustainable exhibition design is no longer an optional enhancement, it is an expectation shared by audiences, funders, and cultural workers who increasingly recognise museums as civic actors in the climate crisis. As the sector experiments with new materials, new workflows, and new value systems, pioneering organisations are showing what sustainable practice looks like in action.

Drawing on presentations from Documenta, Miraikan and Young V&A at the Green Museums Summit, this article distils the key lessons emerging from real-world projects that are redefining how exhibitions are conceived, built and maintained for a post-carbon future.

Treat Sustainability as a Holistic Exhibition Framework

The strongest lesson from Documenta is that sustainability cannot be bolted on. It must be embedded into the concept, team structure, partnerships, material choices and visitor experience from the outset.

Documenta 15 built its sustainability programme around two thematic areas and 11 fields of action, spanning everything from mobility and catering to accessibility and regional economic development. Crucially, this framework was guided by the artistic vision of Ruangrupa, whose lumbung principles emphasised sharing, collectivism, and a holistic view of resources.

This whole-organisation approach meant sustainability permeated every decision—from the inclusion of public transport in visitor tickets, to reforestation projects funded by a “Sustainability Euro,” to the rethinking of material cycles and reuse strategies. Embedding sustainability at this depth ensures that new projects inherit established practice rather than starting from scratch each time.

Lesson:
Make sustainability a strategic foundation, not a late-stage concern. Embed it in artistic direction, operations, procurement, partnerships and visitor engagement.

Design With Material Lifecycles—and Material Stories—in Mind

A recurring theme across all case studies was a shift from “exhibition material” to “material with a life before and after the exhibition”. This mindset moves beyond reuse into notions of responsibility, transparency and storytelling.

Documenta adopted a “holistic mechanism for sustainable material use” that avoids toxic and non-recyclable materials and prioritises secondhand resources. Reusable wall systems, partnerships with recycling centres, and collaboration with community repair cafés allowed materials to circulate locally rather than being disposed of after short-term use

For Miraikan’s Planetary Crisis exhibition, the design team built modular wooden furniture assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints, allowing the entire system to be disassembled and repurposed. This approach is calculated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from disposal by around 60% (3,000kg CO₂e)

Young V&A’s redevelopment demonstrates the creativity reusable materials unlock. Designers repurposed timber doors from the museum’s 2006 fit-out as gallery tables and reused wood from dismantled exhibitions to construct new structures. Even demolition debris—such as historic bricks—was crushed and transformed into new concrete countertops.

Lesson: Shift from single-use exhibition building toward conscious material cycles, modular construction, local partnerships, and transparency around sourcing.

Engage Visitors as Co-Creators in Sustainability

Across all three institutions, visitor engagement emerged as a powerful tool for building public understanding and emotional investment in sustainability goals.

Miraikan’s approach includes workshops where visitors used scrap wood to plan future reuse ideas, plus forest walks and hands-on making sessions with forestry workers. Participants remain engaged months later—a sign that participatory sustainability fosters lasting connection

Young V&A turned their temporary exhibition gallery into a nine-month public prototyping space, enabling visitors to help test and shape ideas. This helped the museum communicate its sustainable ambitions and co-design future spaces with their community

Documenta’s sustainability projects were actively communicated to audiences. A visitor survey showed 90% supported the sustainability measures, and 80% said they were willing to pay slightly more for more sustainable exhibitions

Lesson: Bring visitors into the sustainability process. Participation builds understanding, ownership and enthusiasm for sustainable change.

Prioritise Localisation: Materials, Manufacturing, and Partnerships

Localisation plays a critical but often under-discussed role in sustainable exhibition-making.

Japan’s reliance on imported timber inspired Miraikan to source domestic lumber, supporting sustainable forestry and reducing transport emissions. They optimised transport routes so each manufacturing step moved materials progressively closer to Tokyo, cutting transport-related carbon by around 30% (700kg CO₂e)

Documenta partnered with local recyclers, repair centres, and material distribution organisations to create circular material flows within Kassel. Choosing local venues and local materials was central to reducing transport emissions and revitalising underused spaces in the city

Lesson: Local suppliers, local manufacturing, and local reuse networks dramatically reduce carbon while building community resilience.

Sustainability Requires Cross-Disciplinary Teams and New Skillsets

All primary sources emphasised that sustainability is not a single expert’s job—it is a shared competency developed through collaboration.

Miraikan required designers, researchers, technical staff and educators to co-interpret data, laws, materials and visitor needs together, often compromising to balance environmental constraints with aesthetic and functional goals

Documenta’s art direction shaped sustainability values, which were then operationalised by production, mobility teams, catering partners, communications, and regional planning bodies

Young V&A needed coordinated leadership across architects, curators, learning teams, designers and contractors to ensure reuse was considered early and executed safely

Lesson: Build mixed teams early and invest in sustainability literacy across all museum roles.

Sustainability Is Also About Social Impact and Equity

Environmental sustainability is inseparable from community engagement, access and wellbeing.

Documenta’s sustainability included accessibility, inclusion, solidarity ticketing, and programmes that addressed visitor mobility and economic barriers. Access to local transport was included in exhibition tickets, and solidarity admission ensured visitors who needed support could enter free of charge.

Recognising climate anxiety among Gen Alpha, Young V&A intentionally designed exhibitions that emphasise empowerment, not despair. Through contemporary design case studies and protest placards created by children, they frame sustainability as an arena where young people’s voices matter and can effect change

Lesson: Embed social and environmental sustainability together. Exhibitions should reduce barriers, inspire agency, and support community resilience.

A New Model of Exhibition-Making

These case studies reveal a sector in transition. Museums are moving from extractive models of exhibition-making towards regenerative, participatory, and transparent practices. The most successful sustainable exhibitions share several characteristics:

• Sustainability is integrated into the artistic and strategic vision
• Material cycles are carefully planned, from sourcing to dismantling
• Visitor participation amplifies both impact and understanding
• Local partners and suppliers reduce carbon and strengthen community
• Multidisciplinary teams tackle sustainability together
• Social value is treated as essential, not optional

Sustainable exhibition design is a creative challenge, but also an opportunity. As these examples show, it is possible to produce compelling, beautiful, and socially meaningful exhibitions that lighten the environmental footprint and model a better future for the cultural sector.