The International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia showcases a project by VAMO (Vegetal, Animal, Mineral, Other), an ultra-lightweight, biodegradable, and transportable canopy designed to circle around a brick column in the Corderie of the Venice Arsenale. Curated by Carlo Ratti, the exhibition proposes a “Circular Economy Manifesto” to combat the climate crisis.
VAMO’s structure, designed by the Digital Structures research group, works purely in tension and compression, using reclaimed timber and hemp rope. The canopy weighs less than 200 kilograms and covers over 6 meters in diameter. The project showcases sustainable claddings and finishes made from upcycled materials such as coconut husks, spent coffee grounds, and pineapple peel.
The team used custom digital tools, Ariadne and Theseus, to enable inverse form-finding and ensure the structure’s efficiency. The wooden rings were fabricated using salvaged beams and boards from temporary buildings in Switzerland, and the hemp rope structure was spliced by hand and transported from Massachusetts to Venice.
VAMO’s approach combines natural, artificial, and collective intelligence, highlighting the potential for regenerative symbiosis in architectural practice. After the Biennale, the project will be disassembled, possibly reused, and finally relocated to a natural reserve in Switzerland to biodegrade.
