The Swamp Pavilion (The Salicornia Dialogue)

Venice Architecture Biennale 2028, Lithuanian Pavilion curated by Gedminas & Nomeda Urbonas.

An interspecies conversation with an archaic plant, which can be found on the shores of Venice: Salicornia Europea. This non human entity played a great part in the history of the City: it offered the glass artisans of Murano a local alternative to the imported resource of Soda Ash, an important component in glass-making.

Outside of its industrial human use, Salicornia also plays a fundamental role in coastal intertidal wetlands: it creates land. Emerging from the sea, its roots gather debris of minerals, shells, sand and rock particles. Aggregated by cyanobacterias and diatoms, this soil enriched becomes a fertile land for other species to grow.

The project focuses on the plant agency of Salicornia Europea as a ´plantarchitect´ in its ecosystem – outside of its human use.

Through material and media experiments, Salicornia bridges between botanical research and human imagination, and is part of the interdisciplinary project the Swamp School curated by Gediminas and Nomeda Urbonas.

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This project was commissioned by the Swamp Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018.

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Photography: Norbert Tukaj & Thomas Pausz Studio
Studio Intern: Valerio Digg