“Capsula Mundi,” by Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel, consists of a container made of biodegradable material in which a deceased person’s ashes or body are placed. The capsule is then inserted into the ground like a seed, and a tree planted above.CreditIsabella De Maddalena for The New York Times

MILAN — “Our only chance at survival is to design our own beautiful extinction.”

That’s the powerful conclusion of the catalog essay for “Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival,” the 22nd edition of the Milan Triennial. Running through Sept. 1, the Triennial’s main exhibition, curated by Paola Antonelli, showcases more than 100 projects from the last 30 years that address humanity’s troubled relationship with nature.

Paola Antonelli, the curator of the 22nd edition of the Milan Triennial, in New York. Ms. Antonelli is also a curator at MoMA.CreditDevin Yalkin for The New York Times

The terms “extinction” and “survival” seem contradictory. But while Ms. Antonelli, the author of the words above, believes that humankind will go the way of the dinosaur, she also hopes that our species can leave behind an intelligent legacy — a survival of sorts.

“What’s broken cannot go back, but forward into something new. So it’s not at all final,” Ms. Antonelli said in an interview. “The only thing that I consider final is our own extinction. We have, however, the power to postpone it a bit, and make it better.”

This Triennial — the second edition since the event was relaunched in 2016 after a 20-year hiatus — is a dense collection of objects, images, videos and immersive installations. Since 2018, “Broken Nature” — which contains works by designers, architects and artists representing 40 countries — has had a long run-up with salons and symposia in New York and Milan, introducing and discussing the progress and back stories of projects now on view. The meetings addressed ideas including how to accessibly present complex data, and grappled with many aspects of life in the Anthropocene age — today’s geological era, marked by human domination of the environment.