Tropicalia - Architecture, Materials, Innovative Systems

The not-for-profit organization Zuecca Projects and Coldefy are proud to present the exhibition TROPICALIA – Architecture, Materials, Innovative Systems, a Collateral Event of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Emblematic research and documentation of Tropicalia, the largest single-dome greenhouse on the planet, designed by the architecture firm Coldefy, will be presented. The exhibition is curated by Alessandro Possati, director of Zuecca Projects, and Arch. Thomas Coldefy, principal of Coldefy. It will be hosted at Squero Castello (Salizada Streta 368, Castello 30122, Venice), from May 22nd to November 21st 2021 (pre-opening May 20th and 21st).
The exhibition presents emblematic tropical fauna and flora, the architectural and engineering specificities of Tropicalia greenhouse, and its unique sustainable air treatment engineering.
Greenhouse Tropicalia’s visitors will be plunged into a tropical atmosphere, a unique and marvellous natural bubble under its crystal skin, with stunning coloured butterflies and fluttering hummingbirds waltzing from flower to flower. The show is sensual, exciting, idyllic and, above all, will soon be real. In 2024, the biggest greenhouse in the world will be constructed on the Côte d’Opale (France) to offer an immersive experience, discovering extraordinary fauna and flora, and understanding its fragile ecosystem. Press Release Tropicalia proposes 20,000 sqm of tropic covered by an innovative dome rising to 35 meters, a 26 degrees ventilated temperature, a luxuriant vegetation bathed by an exceptional light, a tropical forest adorned with the most beautiful orchids, birds, butterflies, fishes, reptiles gathered into a unique eco-system. Tropicalia’s architecture is completely integrated with its natural exterior environment. Unlike a “megastructure”, the building does not create a break with its environment but integrates it and welcomes its fauna and flora. Its dome has been conceived to answer several challenges:
-  an optimal thermal isolation with the conception of a double dome, -  an energy self-sufficiency thanks to the Terraotherm innovation, all the heat produced by the greenhouse’s
effect will be recycled and stocked. The surplus energy will be exported via a heat network into buildings and surrounding businesses.
Illustrated by architectural model, drawings, sketches, videos and diverse working and presentation materials, the exhibition transmits an environmental and educational message: it shows how science can answer the question “How will we live together?”, the title of Biennale Architettura 2021 curated by Hashim Sarkis. The visitor will discover the engineering and architectural prowess and uniqueness of Tropicalia greenhouse, which has already received the 2018 Architizer A+Awards Jury and Public Choice Awards Winner. As well, several sustainable and innovative systems and materials developed in the architecture projects by Coldefy, will illustrate and enrich the comprehension of Tropicalia’s spirit and Coldefy’s philosophy. During the exhibition period, the space will also host conferences with relevant figures of Architecture world, to investigate and discuss about the themes and challenges arisen by Tropicalia.

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