Every four years since 2004, the Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) has produced an exhibition in the Belgian pavilion. It has coordinated, alternately with the French Community of Belgium, the Belgian contribution. This year, the theme ‘Plant Intelligence’ takes centre stage. On the initiative of the Flemish Government and commissioned by the Flanders Architecture Institute, the team of Bas Smets and Stefano Mancuso will present Building Biospheres in the Belgian pavilion. The exhibition shows the ongoing research on the possible impact of plant intelligence on architecture, and more specifically on the indoor climate.

In nature, the desired climate for humans is most closely approximated in the subtropics, characterized by warm summers, mild winters and an almost constant temperature. Based on plants from this climate zone, Building Biospheres envisions a future where buildings evolve into dynamic biospheres. Plant behaviour is monitored with precision and the harvested data is used to activate irrigation, lighting and ventilation. This produces a new symbiosis between what the plants need, what the building can handle and what people desire.

Four young teams are developing new architecture in which natural intelligence plays the leading role. The architects will investigate the spatial impact of the prototype that curators Bas Smets and Stefano Mancuso are presenting in the Belgian pavilion. The designers will work intensively with the curators, coordinated by Lisa De Visscher (freelance architectural consultant) and Petrus Kemme (Flanders Architecture Institute). The design teams are: Elmēs; Maud Gerard Goossens and Henri Uijtterhaegen; Panta; Lisa Mandelartz Schenk and Steven Schenk.

For further information, visit vai.be