Coldefy Brings a Bamboo-Cooled Urban Oasis to Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

French architecture studio Coldefy will present its forward-thinking project Cool my City at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, taking place from May 10 to November 23, 2025. The exhibition, curated by Carlo Ratti under the theme Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., features Coldefy as part of the Intelligens Canon selection.

Cool my City uses Coldefy’s Oasis development in Montpellier, France, as a case study to examine how nature’s embedded intelligence can be harnessed to shape sustainable and adaptive architecture in the face of urban climate challenges. At the core of the project is the belief that integrating bio-regional design strategies and advanced digital tools can lead to smarter, more ecologically balanced cities.

The Oasis project is a mixed-use development defined by its distinctive architectural expression: two fluidly contoured buildings shaded by expansive bamboo canopies. These bioclimatic “umbrellas” not only recall the forms of Mediterranean sunshades or straw hats but also embody a synthesis of environmental engineering, computational design, and structural efficiency. Their organic shapes are carefully optimized to reduce solar gain during the summer months, minimizing the reliance on artificial cooling and contributing to the building’s overall energy performance.

Bamboo was chosen for its environmental credentials, a rapidly renewable material that stores carbon while offering structural durability. In keeping with the project’s ecological vision, the bamboo is sourced from a nearby grove in Anduze, France, reflecting Coldefy’s commitment to short supply chains and context-sensitive sustainability.

In addition to its solo contribution, Coldefy will also be featured in the Albanian Pavilion at the Biennale as part of Building Architecture Culture, a group exhibition curated by Anneke Abhelakh. That exhibition investigates architecture’s evolving role in shaping Albania’s national identity since the fall of its authoritarian regime in 1992.