angola pavilion premiers at the venice architecture biennale

angola pavilion at the 13th international architecture exhibition

the country’s first national appearance at the architecture biennale in venice, the republic of angola’s pavilion ‘beyond entropy angola’ is an urban model for dense suburban areas of the capital, luanda and a sustainable model for the sub-saharan region. with a population of 7 million inhabitants, the rapid growth of the city is experiencing a state of metropolis without urbanity, congestion without infrastructure and high density without towers. the proposal suggests installing the commonly occurring cane, arundo donax, into interstitial spaces of the urban fabric, between buildings and along roads.

on venice’s island of san giorgio maggiore, visitors may stroll through a 1:1 scale representation of the prototype solution, a green space and infrastructural element. the fast growing plants forming the infill gardens can filter brown water with their thin roots and produce biomass electricity with high storage levels of CO2. useful for africa as a whole, the solution can address the exponential suburban growth and rising energy demands.

installation of arundo donax within the republic of angola’s pavilion

shipping cane to the pavilion on island san giorgio maggiore in venice

city in its current state

same location after installation of cane plants

before

after

plan of luanda with green spaces