The Swamp Pavilion: The Salicornia Dialogue

An interspecies conversation with Salicornia Europea, an archaic plant which can be found on the shores of Venice. The project aims at presenting the plant as an architect through 3D models, field expeditions in the venice Lagoon, and participatory events. 

This pioneer plant played a great part in the history of Venice: it offered the glass artisans of Murano a local alternative to the imported resource of soda ash, an important component in glass-making. However, this project focuses on the agency of Salicornia Europea as a ´plant-architect´ in the coastal ecosystem – outside of its human use. Through material and media experiments, Salicornia Dialogue bridges between botanical research, digital creation and eco-fiction.

Worldwide, Salicornia plants plays a fundamental role in coastal intertidal wetlands: they creates land and protect the shores from erosion. Emerging from the sea, roots of Salicornia gather debris of minerals, shells, sand and rock particles. Aggregated by cyanobacterias and diatoms, this soil becomes a fertile land for other species to grow.

The project was part of The Swamp Pavilion curated by Gedminas & Nomeda Urbonas at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2028.

Photography: Norbert Tukaj & Thomas Pausz Studio

Related project: Making New Land, an Intertidal Aesthetics