United Arab Emirates Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale

Our work for the Biennale Architettura 2023 The laboratory of Future, inaugurated on May 20, also includes the creation of the United Arab Emirates Pavilion, curated by Faysal Tabbarah, built inside the Sala d’Armi of the Arsenale and entitled Aridly Abundant.

The exhibition, supported by a curatorial group composed of alumni of the American University of Sharjah and the photographer Reem Falaknaz, operates at the intersection between knowledge of the territory and contemporary technology and tries to re-discuss the conception of arid environments as spaces of precariousness and scarcity, focusing on the relationship between architecture and parched landscapes, particularly those of the desert plateau, wadis, coastal plains and Al Hajar Mountains. The pavilion is transformed into an environment capable of revealing the spatial, material and tactical qualities of arid environments, also creating a background for real architectural provocations suitable for possible global barren contexts both contemporary and future.
By enhancing the thriving ecosystems that have always been present in the United Arab Emirates and in the surrounding areas, the pavilion thus ignites the debate around the idea that arid spaces can instead be seen as spaces of abundance, also thanks to the support of ancient building practices rooted in the territory.

Our team has provided technical support in every phase of the project realization, including the sampling of the stones, aimed at the realization of 3D prints as an integrative element of the stone walls, to represent the potential of stone construction as a form of adaptable and sustainable architecture.

Photo by:
Andrea Avezzù
Jacopo Salvi
Marco Zorzanello
Matteo de Mayda

Courtesy:
La Biennale di Venezia