Pressure Cooker serves food security at National Pavilion UAE in Venice

The National Pavilion UAE at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia (May 10 – Nov. 23, pre-opening May 8, 9), has opened with Pressure Cooker, curated by Azza Aboualam, Emirati architect and Assistant Professor at Zayed University and Co-founder of Holesum Studio. The exhibition poses a central question: Using the UAE as a case study, how can architecture contribute to greater global food security?

Pressure Cooker could refer to the kitchen appliance and its versatility, the buildup of humidity within the greenhouse, or the intensifying pressures of the ongoing climate crisis. As climate change disrupts agricultural systems, traditional farming methods face mounting threats, from soil degradation to temperature extremes. The exhibition examines how architecture can respond to these challenges by proposing a series of experimental adaptive greenhouse assemblies for arid landscapes.

It situates the UAE’s agricultural landscape in the larger global context, exploring how architectural thinking can support versatile and resilient food production practices at both individual and community scales. Developed through a methodology that combines archival research, fieldwork and design-build experimentation, Pressure Cooker introduces a modular kit-of-parts for greenhouse assemblies, specifically catering to hot, arid climates.

The kit breaks down the architectural vocabulary of the greenhouse into its basic components: roof, wall, floor, tools, and materials. They can be reconfigured in many ways, in different combinations that respond to climatic conditions and crop requirements. The approach proposes a future in which food production and architectural form are intertwined and can be integrated in our built and lived environments anywhere.

A panoramic view of Pressure Cooker.

Visitors will encounter a series of experimental greenhouse assemblies constructed using different combinations of the kit’s components. Each assembly explores how inputs such as sunlight, shading, external temperature, irrigation, ventilation, and thermal mass and outputs such as interior temperature, light levels, humidity and energy use, can be negotiated through architectural form.

The inputs and outputs also influence crop yield and detail the most effective ways to design and configure each greenhouse assembly. The exhibition includes crops with regional and historical significance such as cucumbers, while other assemblies demonstrate the ability to grow species rarely associated with desert climates, such as blueberries.

The greenhouse assemblies respond to environmental challenges specific to the UAE, while also serving as a testing ground for how such structures might adapt to different contexts, such as Venice. Pressure Cooker thus brings together site-specific cultivation in Venice with research rooted in the UAE; it affirms architecture’s role in shaping dynamic, adaptable food infrastructures across diverse climates.

The installation is accompanied by multimedia and audio material that traces the exhibition’s research phases. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture, said that “Pressure Cooker illustrates how local design solutions can contribute to new perspectives on sustainable urban living.” Angela Migally, Executive Director, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation (SHF), said: “Growth, understanding, and dialogue are essential to the continued evolution of the UAE’s extraordinary architecture, art, and culture community.” The Foundation is the Commissioner of the Pavilion. Based in Abu Dhabi, the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation is a private not-for-profit foundation committed to the cultivation of a more creative, connected, and thriving UAE community.

Laila Binbrek, Director, National Pavilion UAE, commented that “the National Pavilion UAE continues to play a leading role in shaping the UAE’s cultural landscape ... This is reflected in Azza Aboualam’s journey, who first engaged with the Pavilion as an intern in 2014. This year’s exhibition introduces a new critical lens ... thoughtfully connected to the climate realities of our time.” Azza Aboualam said: “The exhibition examines how architecture can help identify and address challenges in food production, bringing the UAE closer to its food security goals.” Professor Michael Allen, Acting Vice President of Zayed University, said that “the partnership between Zayed University and the National Pavilion UAE is an example of our commitment to advancing creativity through research, education, and collaboration.”

A publication titled Pressure Cooker Recipes: An Architectural Cookbook edited by Azza Aboualam and published by Kaph Books, accompanies the exhibition. Holesum Studio is an interdisciplinary architecture and design practice based in New York, USA, and Sharjah, UAE. Azza Aboualam co-founded the studio in 2021, a few years after graduating from Yale School of Architecture. Her scholarly interests include the intersection of memory, architecture and society in the Middle East and North Africa region. She worked with the UAE Ministry of Culture’s Architecture Initiative, and her field research, sketches and writing were published in the book In Search of Spaces of Coexistence: An Architect’s Journey (2019). She also contributed research to Building Sharjah (2021), edited by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi and Todd Reisz, and Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai (2020), written by Todd Reisz.

While working in Sharjah’s Department of Public Works, Aboualam managed the design and construction of large-scale projects such as the Aga Khan Award–winning Wasit Wetland Center. The National Pavilion UAE is an independent, non-profit organisation, with a permanent pavilion at the Arsenale – Sale d’Armi. The award-winner curates the untold stories about the UAE’s arts and architecture through its participation in the International Art and Architecture Exhibitions organised by La Biennale di Venezia. It is supported by the Ministry of Culture which champions Emirati cultural, artistic, and heritage institutions, providing a platform for creative and talented individuals across various fields, and promoting dialogue between different cultures.