UC Chile contributes to the Venice Biennale of Architecture with reflections on climate and AI

The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, titled Biennale Architettura 2025: Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, will be held in Venice from May 10 to November 23, 2025. The Biennale takes place every two years, alternating between art and architecture. This edition features 66 national pavilions and over 750 participants. 

Curated by Italian architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, a professor at MIT, this edition calls for a shift in how architecture responds to climate change—not just focusing on mitigation, but also on adaptation. Ratti proposes a framework that connects three forms of intelligence: natural, artificial, and collective.  

UC Chile will be prominently featured this year through three innovative projects: “Deserta Ecofolie: A Prototype for Minimalist Dwelling in the Atacama Desert”, led by architecture professor Pedro Alonso; “Hybrid Ecologies: The Planetary Metabolism of AI”, co-curated by design school professors Manuela Garretón and Martín Tironi; and “Inteligencias Reflexivas”, Chile’s official pavilion entry, curated by Serena Dambrosio, Linda Schilling Cuellar, and Nicolás Díaz—Díaz is a doctoral student in Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies at UC Chile and a member of the FAIR research group. 

UC Chile’s Vice President for Research María Angélica Fellenberg emphasized: “Our faculty are making their mark on the global stage by participating in such a prestigious international event as the Venice Architecture Biennale. Their proposals tackle the critical challenge of adapting to climate change—whether through rethinking habitability, examining AI’s water impact, or offering a critical perspective on our country’s data infrastructure. These projects not only position our professors and doctoral students among the best in architecture and design, but also stand out for their interdisciplinary nature and critical approach—both essential for our development.” 

UC Chile Director of Research María Elena Boisier added: “We’re proud to see two research projects from our university featured at the Venice Biennale—both the result of interdisciplinary collaboration, a direction we’ve actively promoted. This is especially evident in the Regional Centers and Stations Network (RCER), such as the Atacama UC Station behind Deserta Ecofolie, and in our collaborative research programs like the FAIR Millennium Nucleus. Being part of this Biennale is a significant recognition of our faculty’s research excellence.” 

Architecture for a Changing Climate 

How can we survive in the smallest habitable unit possible under extreme conditions? That was the question posed by Pedro Alonso, professor at UC Chile’s School of Architecture. His answer: Deserta Ecofolie—a minimalist living unit, just 16 m² in size, designed to house two people and meet their basic needs for water, electricity, and food, entirely off the grid. 

This experimental prototype was conceived for survival amid an environmental crisis. It’s equipped with solar panels for electricity and a fog catcher that supplies water for drinking and irrigating a micro-greenhouse used to grow food. The result: a self-sustaining structure with a negative carbon footprint, completely independent of traditional utility networks. 

“It’s basically a 4-by-4-meter room, divided into four smaller 2-by-2-meter rooms. One serves as an entrance with a desk; another has a bed, the next is a kitchen, and the last is a bathroom. At the center, there’s a small open courtyard accessed via a staircase. The whole unit is elevated on stilts to create shade underneath, and the roof doubles as a terrace housing the fog catcher, greenhouse, and solar panels. In short: you can sleep, cook, and work.” 

The Origins of Deserta Ecofolie 

The Deserta Ecofolie project stems from work that began in 2014 with Deserta, a course led for over a decade by professor Pedro Alonso in collaboration between UC Chile’s School of Architecture and the UK’s Architectural Association. The course took place in the Atacama Desert, specifically at the UC Atacama Station—part of the university’s Regional Centers and Stations Network (RCER UC).  

The workshop invited students from around the world to explore architectural design in arid environments. That exploration gave rise to Deserta X, the first prototype of a desert dwelling and the direct predecessor of Deserta Ecofolie. It was built at the UC Atacama Station, perched on a coastal cliff in Chile’s Tarapacá region—65 kilometers south of Iquique—deep in the desert, located within the Alto Patache fog oasis.

That experience gave rise to the concept presented at the Venice Biennale. As Pedro Alonso explains, the goal was to “build a full-scale, functional prototype—capable of generating its own water and electricity—that would represent the smallest livable space possible under the harshest desert conditions.”  

The inspiration came from Scenes in America Deserta, a 1982 book by Rayner Banham. In particular, the project draws on a well-known image of Banham riding a foldable “Bickerton” bicycle across California’s Silurian Lake. Captured by photographer Tim Street-Porter, the image portrays the bike as the smallest possible “ecotechnical object.”  In the same spirit, Deserta Ecofolie aims to be the smallest viable dwelling unit where two people can survive in extreme environments. 

An International, Interdisciplinary Project 

The structure of Deserta Ecofolie is built from a steel frame coated in a high-tech, fire-resistant called “adobe 2.0” developed by the Center for Industrialized Architecture (CINARK) at the Royal Danish Academy’s School of Architecture. Prefabrication took place in Portugal, carried out by SUMMARY architects in partnership with ArtWorks – Art Production & Manufacturing. 

An interdisciplinary team from the university contributed to the project. Pablo Osses, Director of the UC Atacama Station and professor at the Institute of Geography, explains: “My role was to solve the water problem—which started with identifying a source. In this case, it is atmospheric water captured through fog collectors, which harvest rain, mist, and dew. Then we needed to use that same water for multiple purposes, so we designed a reuse circuit. That means each liter of water is used two or three times at different stages, essentially multiplying the total available volume. The water also plays a thermal insulating role inside the walls, thanks to its thermal stability.” 

He adds: “This was a challenging project—from site selection and installation, to designing a fog collector that was efficient, effective, and suitable for domestic-scale use.” 

This water also feeds a micro greenhouse, developed by Francisco Albornoz, professor at the Faculty of Agronomy and Natural Systems. “We’re offering an integrated solution—not only making desert living viable in terms of climate resilience but also enabling water production and, with it, fresh food cultivation. That includes lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, and even medicinal plants like lavender and rosemary,” he explains. 

Powering the entire system is a photovoltaic solar energy setup, overseen by Rodrigo Escobar, professor at the School of Engineering, along with postdoctoral researcher Armando Castillejo and project engineer José Ortega. 

As he explains: “The system provides lighting, power for appliances, refrigeration, and it activates the pumps for the water system.” “It’s a joint design. Water is captured through the fog collector, stored in a tank, and pumped into the hydraulic circuit that supplies the bathroom, kitchen, and greenhouse irrigation. Our job was to provide the enabling systems for energy and water in this minimal living unit.” 

Inside Deserta Ecofolie, there’s also a small exhibit that introduces visitors to the Atacama Desert, the UC Chile research station, and the scientific work that inspired the project. This curatorial component helps place the prototype in its broader context. 

Curated by Pamela Prado—contemporary art curator (MA, Royal College of Art, London) and philosophy graduate—the installation invites reflection on how to connect scientific research with architectural exhibition. “The researchers behind the project aren’t artists in the traditional sense—but in some ways, they are,” she says. “There’s an artistic dimension in technique. The fog collector evokes wonder, the solar panel turns into light…”  The project also includes a deeply aesthetic collection of ‘ecotechnical’ objects, in Prado’s words—such as a solar kitchen and a fog shower designed to save water. 

The broader team also includes Anne Beim, Johannes Schotanus, Jonatan Larsen, Astrid Juul Jørgensen, Francisco Salas, Sebastián Cárcamo, Paulina Bitrán, and Samuel Gonçalves from SUMMARY Architects. Additionally, eight Master of Architecture students—each working on thesis projects about small-scale housing in remote regions of Chile—had the opportunity to travel to Venice from April 20 to May 12, supported by the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies and the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs. 

The Water Footprint of AI 

Another UC Chile-led project will be featured in the main exhibition of the 19th Venice Biennale of Architecture: the interactive installation Hybrid Ecologies: The Planetary Metabolism of AI, co-curated by Manuela Garretón and Martín Tironi, both professors at the UC Chile School of Design.

This research-creation initiative seeks to raise awareness about the hidden water footprint of artificial intelligence, while also challenging the conventional view of water as an inert, manageable resource. Hybrid Ecologies invites us to see AI as part of a complex planetary metabolism—one that encompasses not just energy, minerals, and ecological elements, but also political, social, and physical infrastructures. 

Through a generative AI system, the project reimagines water as a living, intelligent entity—one that prompts us to explore new forms of coexistence and collaboration. The installation encourages a broader understanding of AI: not merely as a tool for automation, but as a potential partner in forging relationships with water, recognizing its multiple forms of intelligence and life—essential to sustaining life on Earth.  

“Being part of this Biennale is an opportunity to showcase the interdisciplinary work we’re doing at UC Chile Design and the Millennium Nucleus FAIR,” said the curators. “Our focus is on the material dimension and planetary metabolism of artificial intelligence, and the urgent challenges of integrating it sustainably into ecosystems, territories, and life forms shaping our present.”

The installation will be featured in the Biennale’s “Space for Ideas” section—a space dedicated to exploring collaborative approaches to developing innovative solutions for planetary-scale challenges.  

Rethinking AI Infrastructure 

Reflexive Intelligences is the title of the project representing Chile at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. It is led by Serena Dambrosio from Universidad Diego Portales; Linda Schilling Cuellar from the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths; and Nicolás Díaz, a PhD student in Architecture, Design and Urban Studies at UC and a member of the FAIR Nucleus. The team explores and reflects on the material and territorial impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Chile. 

The Chilean pavilion invites visitors to examine the institutional processes that have shaped the arrival of AI and its supporting infrastructure across Chilean territory. Reflexive Intelligences offers a critical perspective on the country’s data infrastructure. Through its spatial and material dimensions, the installation seeks to expose the socio-environmental tensions created by the construction and operation of these systems. According to Nicolás Díaz, co-curator of the Chilean pavilion, the project emerged from his doctoral research on the territorial impact of data centers in the municipality of Quilicura, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. 

“In recent years, Chile has positioned itself as a key player in AI development. Its mineral wealth, renewable energy sources, and stable political and economic conditions have all supported a renewed vision of technological progress,” explain the curators. “Yet, while working groups have been the primary tool for shaping policy in this field, one key question remains:  What bodies and intelligences have been left out of the conversation?” “We want to broaden the discussion on AI by including those historically excluded from these decisions: territories, communities, and ecosystems.” 

Diego Cosmelli, Director of the UC Chile Graduate School under the Office of the Research Vice President, adds: “It’s a source of pride and joy for our Graduate School that Nicolás Díaz, a PhD student in Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies, is one of the three curators of Chile’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Nicolás is also from Colombia, which highlights the international reach of our doctoral programs. In fact, international students make up around 27% of this year’s enrolled cohort, which greatly enriches and strengthens our doctoral community.” 

Read more about the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture