The Danish Pavilion has announced its theme, curator and details for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale which will take place from Saturday 20 May to Sunday 26 November, 2023 at the Arsenale and Giardini venues in Italy.

Titled Coastal Imaginaries, the Danish Pavilion, curated by Josephine Michau, will represent Denmark at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition. 

The 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale is curated by Lesley Lokko under the theme of The Laboratory of the Future. 

The exhibition of Danish Pavilion will shine a spotlight on nature-based design solutions to raise questions against global challenges like rising sea levels and storm floods.

The pavilion’s team represents a collaboration between landscape architectural firm Schønherr and leading researchers, artists, Danish trade organizations and scientific institutions.

Curator Josephine Michau, The Danish Pavilion. Image © Rasmus Hjortshoj

"We’re in the middle of the Anthropocene Age – that is, the age of mankind – where geologists have declared humanity to be a geological force on equal terms with volcanoes, meteor strikes and tectonic shifts," said the curator, Josephine Michau.

"Humans are contributing to many of the crises we are facing today, including the biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, the environmental crisis, and the food crisis." 

"We not only have the opportunity, but also the duty, to take action and reverse this trend, and the architects who design our physical surroundings play a vital role in this," Michau added.

Diorama. Image © Christian Friedländer

Coastal Landscapes of the Future

Visitors to the Danish pavilion are aimed to get insight into concrete principles for how nature can be utilized for coastal protection and climate adaptation, as well as how these principles can be applied in various locations around the world. 

In addition, they will experience a dramatic narrative that shows, through future scenarios, how the Copenhagen coastline might evolve if we employ nature-based solutions.

Diorama. Image © Christian Friedländer

"We need ideas that are based on hope and optimism for the future and that embrace a new view of nature and a new world view in the shaping of the coastal landscape. And yet, in order to find the landscapes of the future, all we have to do is travel back in time," said Michau.

"Examples of nature-based design can be found all over the planet, throughout history, and in a wide range of local adaptation traditions for living with water. They are always anchored in a deep understanding of the context of the specific location in which they are used," Michau added.

From left clockwise Christian Friedländer, Peter Albtrechtsen, David Garcia, Anna Aslaug Lund, Alexandra Wedderkopp Emelianov, Ellen Leer, Josephine Michau. Image © Rasmus Hjortshoj

The Danish Pavilion will be present the show in the two historical buildings: Carl Brummer’s from 1932 and Peter Koch’s from 1958.

Visitors will be able to explore the exhibition of sustainable solutions to how we can adapt to the rising sea levels and ever more frequent storm floods caused by climate change, which will dramatically change our coastal landscapes this century.

In addition to their coast-protection elements, the pavilion will also propose potential solutions to serve as recreational areas for people and habitats for other species, as carbon storage, and as sources of food and materials.

MAIN Barrier Islands, Venice. Image © Anna Aslaug Lund

"Danish architecture has a great deal to contribute when it comes to solving the challenges society faces today. This year’s Danish Pavilion submission spotlights climate change, which is one of our generation’s biggest societal challenges. I hope the Danish submission can inspire other countries to use nature to mitigate the consequences of climate change," said Jakob Engel-Schmidt, Denmark’s Minister for Culture.

Anna Aslaug Lund (architect and landscape architect). Image © Rasmus Hjortshoj

Complex Challenges Require an Interdisciplinary Approach

Josephine Michau, curator of the Danish pavilion, brings with her a range of expertise in relation to climate adaptation of our coastal landscapes.

The exhibition’s content is being developed in collaboration with landscape architectural firm Schønherr and a number of Denmark’s leading researchers and students from various Danish institutions, including architect and landscape architect Anna Aslaug Lund – representing the research project Mitigating Sea Level Rise, which is being conducted as a partnership between the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Aarhus School of Architecture (ARCH) and the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) – as well as architect and Associate Professor David Garcia and students in the Architecture and Extreme Environments graduate master program at the Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation.

Christian Friedländer. The Danish Pavilion. Image © Rasmus Hjortshoj

Internationally recognized scenographer and artist Christian Friedländer and sound designer Peter Albrechtsen will also be translating parts of the research into sensory and spatial experiences, making the coastal landscapes of the future more tangible for visitors to the pavilion.

David Garcia (Architect and Associate Professor). Image © Rasmus Hjortshoj

The International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is one of the most important international cultural events, and it is the ambition of this year’s submission for the Danish pavilion to call all visitors’ attention to new solutions and visions for the coastal landscapes of the future and the consequences of climate change in Copenhagen and the rest of the world.

The Danish Pavilion is appointed by the Danish Ministry of Culture.

From left Alexandra Wedderkopp Emelianov, Peter Albtrechtsen, Christian Friedländer, Josephine Michau, David Garcia, Anna Aslaug Lund, Ellen Leer. Image © Rasmus Hjortshoj

To get more information about Coastal Imaginaries, visit Danish Architecture Center website. 

Alongside Danish Pavilion, Turkey Pavilion and the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates have released details for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. 

Top image in the article: The Danish Pavilion. Image © Hampus Berndtson.

> via Danish Pavilion 

Danish Pavilion Venice Architecture Biennale