The National Pavilion UAE opens its sixth participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale with Pressure Cooker, a bold exhibition curated by architect and researcher Azza Aboualam. On view from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Arsenale’s Sale d’Armi, the exhibition explores the intricate relationship between architecture, food security, and climate change, with a special focus on adaptive greenhouse systems designed for arid environments like the UAE.
Presented as part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Pressure Cooker positions architecture not just as a spatial discipline, but as a tool for survival and resilience in the face of ecological and agricultural instability. Using the UAE as a case study, the project asks a central question: how can architecture help ensure food security in an era of climate volatility?
Aboualam, an assistant professor at Zayed University and co-founder of Holesum Studio, brings a threefold research methodology to the pavilion, integrating archival investigation, fieldwork, and experimental design-build techniques. At the core of the project is a modular, reconfigurable greenhouse kit-of-parts designed to adapt to specific microclimates, crop types, and growing needs. These prototypes are brought to life in the exhibition space through a series of full-scale assemblies constructed using different configurations of the kit.
Each structure responds to a range of variables, sunlight, shading, temperature, irrigation, humidity, and more, serving as a living experiment in spatial performance. Visitors encounter not only the architectural assemblies, but also regionally significant crops like cucumbers and surprisingly desert-adapted species such as blueberries, growing within these responsive structures.
The greenhouses aren’t limited to desert applications. Their placement in Venice serves a second purpose: to test their viability in different climatic contexts. The team collects and analyzes data on the performance of each prototype, creating a comparative dataset that informs design strategies for diverse conditions around the world.
Complementing the installation is a publication titled Pressure Cooker Recipes: An Architectural Cookbook, edited by Aboualam and published by Kaph Books. The book uses the format of a cookbook, divided into five chapters, to present essays, archival research, and design reflections that bridge architecture and sustainable agriculture. Contributors include leading thinkers such as Huma Gupta, Elisa Iturbe, and HOME-OFFICE, among others.
The pavilion also continues its educational commitment through partnerships with institutions such as Zayed University and Silal. This year’s Venice Internship Program will offer UAE-based students and emerging professionals the chance to engage directly with international architectural practice.
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