17 May 2023
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Pavilion “Sweating Assets” in the 18th International Architecture Exhibition “LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA” Kicks off and Explores the possibilities of converting air-conditioning networks into abundant sources of water
The Kingdom of Bahrain inaugurated its national pavilion, on 18 May 2023 as part of its participation in the 18th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, Italy, in the presence of H.E Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and Commissioner General of the pavilion. A number of members of the Authority's engineering team, architects and media professionals also attended the opening ceremony. The pavilion will receive its visitors from May 20, at the general opening of the International Architecture Exhibition, and will continue until November 26th, 2023.
Commenting on this this occasion, H.E Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa said: "We always strive to attend the International Architecture Exhibition in Venice in order to promote Bahrain's innovations and solutions in the field of architectural and urban development that are not only valid in the Kingdom, but can be applied in other places." H.E added: “Participation in the Biennale this year was accomplished, from the initial proposal to the final implementation, with the efforts of Bahraini architectural talents, which was reflected in the excellence in the subject, title and theme of the pavilion.”
In addition, H.E stressed that the Culture Authority, through its participation, offers solutions and innovations that combine urban development, sustainability and preserving the local environment, taking into account Bahrain's specificity in terms of geography and climate. BACA’s President argued that the pavilion’s visitors would enjoy discovering about this experience through a special exhibition, a film and a book that was launched in the pavilion also.
Noteworthy that ‘Sweating Assets” pavilion features an installation that represents a miniature model of the local climatic environment and presents to the audience the possibility of implementing urban applications that do not really exist on the ground yet, with the aim of upgrading the infrastructure. This architecture creative model takes into account the unique climatic conditions of the Kingdom of Bahrain, such as high temperature and extreme humidity. Moreover, the pavilion will also display a special film on the subject, in addition to the launch of the book "Wet Origins", which will be made available to the public.
Indeed, Bahrain Culture Authority has named chosen Maryam Aljomairi and Latifa Alkhayat as the curators of the national pavilion, given that they won the Open Call contest proposal launched by the Authority last year.
Indeed, the Kingdom's participation in the Biennale revolves around the possibility of benefiting from the cooling and air conditioning systems in Bahrain in innovative and creative ways in order to benefit from its water condensation capabilities. These are estimated at 74 million cubic meters of water annually, which is enough to irrigate 2.8 million palm trees, and then invest this water in creating environmental environments. Friendly to the local natural system and achieving a greater balance between urban development projects and the natural environment.
The research on which Bahrain's participation in the Biennale is based is based on the study of closed environments (commercial markets, tall buildings, and large institutions) that have been built around Bahrain and require advanced cooling systems that, during the extremely hot and humid months, result in high water condensation processes. Hence the "pavilion" Wet assets" raises the question and some suggested answers about the benefits of collecting water resulting from cooling systems, in order to invest it in urban development opportunities and at the same time take care of the natural local environment in light of the scarcity of water resources.
It worth mentioning that the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities has launched last week, the official website for its participation, with all the details of the Kingdom's pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition. The website will be updated periodically with all new information, and the public can visit it at www.sweatingassets.bh
