AA tutor Katie Kasabalis contributes to the 2021 Venice Biennale with Somatic Collaborative

AA tutor Katie Kasabalis has contributed to the 2021 Venice Biennale alongside Somatic Collaborative to respond to the Biennale's theme 'How will we live together?' This has culminated in research that explores patterns of urbanisation in South America, with particular references to the intersection of rivers and urban areas. The project is titled: 'Manaus: A New Contractual Agreement between City and Forest in Urban Amazonia'.

'Through a specific design project sited at the confluence of three rivers (Black, Amazon, and Mindú), Manaus argues for a new contractual agreement between city and territory by looking beyond the traditional definitions of cities and what constitutes the urban in the context of the Amazon Rainforest. Sited along the Mindú River, a spine that connects the Black River to the Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, the project proposes a series of urban interventions that forge a new civic infrastructure fostering social and economic cooperation between the cycles of the river, forest, and city. Through the careful examination of five archetypal elements — the tower, the mat, the linear bar, the island, and the bridge — the project proposes an urban imaginary that advocates for the co-existence of ecological conservation and urban development, tempering the harsh divide between city and forest in the Amazonian region.'

The team involved in the project includes: Anthony Acciavatti, Felipe Correa and Devin Dobrowolski of Somatic Collaborative in collaboration with Katie Kasabalis, Konstantina Tzemou, Evan Shieh, Sze Wai Justin Kong, Inhwi Hwang, Chengxin Sha.

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