At a time when debates about energy are more pertinent than ever, food remains in the background, yet the way we produce, distribute and consume it mobilises our societies, shapes our metropolises and transforms our geographies more radically than any other energy source. After analysing our food systems and the architectures that build them, FOODSCAPES looks to the future to explore other possible models; ones capable of feeding the world without devouring the planet.
The exhibition consists of three main elements: an audiovisual project of five short films; an archive in the form of a recipe book; and a public programme of conversations, debates, events and collective research to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing between architects with transdisciplinary profiles from various Spanish universities and pavilion audiences.
“At a time when debates about energy are more pertinent than ever, food remains in the background, yet the way we produce, distribute and consume it mobilises our societies, shapes our metropolises and transforms our geographies more radically than any other energy source. After analysing our food systems and the architectures that build them, FOODSCAPES looks to the future to explore other possible models; ones capable of feeding the world without devouring the planet.”
Curator of the FOODSCAPES exhibition Eduardo Castillo-Vinuesa.
Biomethanization Plant, Pinto. Photograph by Pedro Pegenaute.
Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has been directly responsible for coordinating the country’s exhibitions in the Spanish Pavilion. Spain’s Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA), through the Directorate General for the Urban Agenda and Architecture, announced the open call, with the intervention of a jury, for the selection of the curator and exhibition design of the Spanish Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
It is also organising its production through a collaboration agreement with Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), whose also has been involved in the support of contemporary creation at the Venice Biennale, both in the production of the Spanish Pavilion and in the international selection. Spain is also presenting an exhibition programme as part of the international section of the Biennale, with the support of AECID and AC/E, which this year features the work of three architecture studios: GRANDEZA Studio, Flores & Prats Architects and Office for Political Innovation.
Valle Odieta farm, Navarra. Photograph by Pedro Pegenaute.
"FOODSCAPES offers a real, intelligent, and innovative discourse that promotes research and promises a learning experience in which Spanish architecture and the national territory are the protagonists. Spain occupies a strategic position as a laboratory for a more sustainable future in terms of food systems and the architectures that build them, both because of the variety of its agri-food production and because of our country's exposure to the climate crisis. The project reveals a practical will to create an architecture capable of changing our view of the world.”
The Jury of the open call, appointed by Spain’s Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.
FOODSCAPES will be presented in the Pavilion of Spain from 20 May to 26 November 2023 in the Giardini della Biennale at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, entitled “The Laboratory Of The Future” and curated by Lesley Lokko.
Eduardo Castillo-Vinuesa and Manuel Ocaña, 2023. Photograph by FOODSCAPES.
