Page 479 - MINISTRY OF CULTURE PR REPORT - MAY 2025 (ENGLISH)

5/12/25, 2:35 PM Pressure Cooker serves food security at National Pavilion...
It situates the UAE’s agricultural landscape in the larger global context, exploring how architectural thinking can support versatile and
resilient food production practices at both individual and community scales. Developed through a methodology that combines archival
research, fieldwork and design-build experimentation, Pressure Cooker introduces a modular kit-of-parts for greenhouse assemblies,
specifically catering to hot, arid climates.

The kit breaks down the architectural vocabulary of the greenhouse into its basic components: roof, wall, floor, tools, and materials. They
can be reconfigured in many ways, in different combinations that respond to climatic conditions and crop requirements. The approach
proposes a future in which food production and architectural form are intertwined and can be integrated in our built and lived environments
anywhere.

A panoramic view of Pressure Cooker.

Visitors will encounter a series of experimental greenhouse assemblies constructed using different combinations of the kit’s components.
Each assembly explores how inputs such as sunlight, shading, external temperature, irrigation, ventilation, and thermal mass and outputs
such as interior temperature, light levels, humidity and energy use, can be negotiated through architectural form.

The inputs and outputs also influence crop yield and detail the most effective ways to design and configure each greenhouse assembly.
The exhibition includes crops with regional and historical significance such as cucumbers, while other assemblies demonstrate the ability
to grow species rarely associated with desert climates, such as blueberries.

The greenhouse assemblies respond to environmental challenges specific to the UAE, while also serving as a testing ground for how such
structures might adapt to different contexts, such as Venice. Pressure Cooker thus brings together site-specific cultivation in Venice with
research rooted in the UAE; it affirms architecture’s role in shaping dynamic, adaptable food infrastructures across diverse climates.

The installation is accompanied by multimedia and audio material that traces the exhibition’s research phases. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al
Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture, said that “Pressure Cooker illustrates how local design solutions can contribute to new perspectives on
sustainable urban living.” Angela Migally, Executive Director, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation (SHF), said: “Growth,

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