Collaging Bricolage
This thesis reimagines the Venice Biennale as a catalyst for sustainable architectural innovation by using local craft and urban waste - particularly discarded wooden crates and packing materials - as tools for ecological and cultural renewal. It explores how traditional Venetian craftsmanship, and the reuse of Biennale waste can generate new material systems that respond to Venice’s pressing climate and spatial challenges.
Initial studies reinterpreted the ad hoc materiality of wooden crates using low-tech joinery methods inspired by local craft.
Later phases developed hybrid construction details and assemblies that recreated traditional Venetian architectural forms using recycled materials. These experiments explored creative uses of irregular crate components, resulting in custom lap joints and unconventional hardware solutions.
The design proposal centers on Campo de l’Abazia, a quiet square in Cannaregio, envisioned as a hub for material storage, prototype development, education, and reuse. Two historic buildings - a deconsecrated church and an abandoned school - are repurposed and expanded with new extensions that establish a dedicated flow of materials, distinct from the square’s existing pedestrian routes.
Within this new system, waste is not discarded but continually reimagined, tested, and reintegrated into into Venice’s built environment - creating a regenerative, annual cycle anchored to the Biennale.
The extensions match the scale of the existing buildings for two reasons: to accommodate future growth as materials accumulate, and to push the thesis’s design methodology by testing recycled materials at architectural scale.
The research draws on conversations with local groups and craftsmen, including Group 25 April, Amina Chouaïri (IUAV), Paolo Rosso (Microclima), and Pietro Meneghini (forcola craftsman). These dialogues revealed the urgent need for innovative systems of material circulation and storage in Venice.
Ultimately, the project advocates a shift in architectural practice - treating waste as a vital building resource. By incorporating supplementary sustainable materials like thermacork and MDF, and leveraging the Venice Biennale’s international platform, the thesis calls for a new, regenerative approach to design.
