Daring Growth

with Chair of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at ETH University

The 15th International Architecture Exhibition, Reporting from the Front, aimed to identify ‘frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people’s quality of life.’ The team at ETH Zürich address this challenge from the perspective of alternative building materials in an effort to confront the inconvenient reality that the materials required for the construction of our cities are becoming rapidly depleted. The form of a laboratory was chosen to showcase current research work produced at the ETH Zürich, featuring examples of new building materials derived from mushroom mycelium, bacteria, grasses and waste.

Working with two others, I transported the goods from Switzerland to Italy in a truck and supervised the loading and unloading via boat from mainland Venice to the island. Together we assembled the structure and casing and positioned the artefacts in their precise location, an exercise that spanned 34 hours. During the process we were required to overcome many unforeseen problems, this enabled me to develop an agile attitude and respond laterally to situations.

Photograph of exhibition