Venezia
state
proposal for Venice Architecture Biennial
year
2024-2025
participants
HANS JOACHIM SCHELLNHUBER, BAUHAUS EARTH,MARGRET BOYSEN, GREEN4CITIES, PETER SPITALER,
LION VERHEYDEN
authorial collaborators
Andreas Kraus (Naval Architect), Johannes Oeffner (Maritime Engineer), Gregor Schellenberger (Naval Architect)
technical collaborators
Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML
team
Margret Boysen; Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML: Hans-Christoph Burmeister, Cosmin Delea , Johannes Oeffner; Green4Cities: Lisa Enzenhofer, Bernhard König, Doris Schnepf; Bauhaus Earth: Georg Hubmann; Arstec: David Reiterer; Hochschule Bremen: Gregor Schellenberger, Andreas Kraus; International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Lion Verheyden; Expedit: Valentin Spiegel-Scheinost; Academy of Fine Arts Vienna: Peter Spitaler.
A floating forest drifts across Venice, proposing a future of AI-powered, regenerative building. Flotta Alberi is both protest and promise – a call to re-root architecture in ecological reciprocity and sufficiency.
Flotta Alberi envisions a future where nature and human civilization are re-entangled in s nurturing symbiosis: the Cyborganic Age. At the heart of the proposed installation is a floating forest – an evocative ecosystem that drifts across Venice’s waterways on autonomous AI-guided boats. By confronting Venice, and the entire world, with the history of deforestation while offering a vision of a future where human civilization, empowered by its most advanced technologies, engages in a nurturing symbiosis with nature: re-entanglement.
Regenerative building practices, combined with new technologies and a critical focus on social needs and sufficiency, offer the most promising path to tackling the climate emergency. Using sustainably sourced materials – such as wood, bamboo, hemp, straw and earth – allows for long-term CO2 storage within the built environment. To help restore the planet, architects must approach their work as part of a natural ecosystem, expanding their repertoire to include caring, connecting, harvesting, transporting, processing, maintaining, deconstructing, reimagining, and reusing
Ultimately, Flotta Alberi is an artistic and symbolic call to action. It underscores the urgent need to reconnect with nature as a critical stop in combating climate change and biodiversity loss.
