The new pavilion of the Selgascano studio will be located in a space exposed to the hot summer climate in Venice. For this reason, a textile cloud is proposed to act as a climate cushion, made of soap foam that will prevent solar radiation, becoming a thermal protection.
Under the cloud, a platform will be placed made up of the supports and boards used for the "Aqua alta" in Venice. Between the boards, small linear spaces will be placed for planting different species of vegetation, creating organic walls to form different environments.
In the process of collaboration with the NGO Kumara and the Isabel Martin Foundation in India, the possibility of using textile scraps for the construction of the "cloud" is being sought, using waste waterproof textiles to later sew them in the workshop.
Model. Selgascano Pavilion for the Venice Biennale by Selgascano.
Second option ground floor plan. Selgascano Pavilion for the Venice Biennale by Selgascano.
Project description by Selgascano
Normally all projects are initially based on a place and a time. In this case, the fundamental thing is that the project is based on two places and two times. The second place is the Giardini della Biennale as a space for intervention, and the first time is the hot and humid summer of Venice. The first place, however, is the Kumara Foundation in the south-east of India and the second time is some time in the Indian spring of 2026.
If we start by talking about the second place, the one proposed by the Venice Biennale, this is an open space in the gardens of the Venice Biennale, with the Stirling Pavilion as a backdrop, a clean space without protection from the weather and the high heat that will occur in summer in Venice. For this reason, an experimental climatic cushion is proposed, a textile cloud. The cloud is filled with soap foam to create a thermal protection that does not let the sun's rays through. A rented platform was simply placed underneath, made from the supports and boards used for the "Aqua alta" in Venice. Between the planks, some separations were left to be filled with a plantation of linear green walls, simple organic walls that structure the space in small rooms, creating different intimate and fresh environments.
For the architects, the real opportunity of this project, the most important part of the entire proposal, was the first place, where it all began, which is due to the collaboration with the NGO Kumara and the Isabel Martin Foundation, a project to support and create jobs for women and girls in vulnerable situations, based on the possibility of using textile scraps for the construction of architectural material. The collaboration consists of looking for waste waterproof textiles and sewing them in a workshop in an inland area of southeastern India to create that first cloud there and start a recycled textile workshop-industry focused on the field of architecture.
It will be the first commission of that workshop and the basis for continuing to work on it. After the Biennale is over, the second and final phase of the project will begin: the cloud will return to India where it will be used as an outdoor workshop for the foundation.
