The director and co-founder architect of the Miralles Tagliabue Embt office, Benedetta Tagliabue, presented on Thursday conceptual and technical details of «The Virtual Water Architecture», an immersive proposal made of paper to make visible the «virtual water» at the 19th Biennal of Architecture of Venice, which will start on May 10.
In a press conference at Benedetta Tagliabue-EMBT Architects’ studio in Barcelona, she explained that she aims to adhere to the theme raised by the curator and urbanist Carlo Ratti, who, under the theme «Intelligence. Natural. Artificial. Collective», proposes an approach based on technological innovation and sustainability.
Tagliabue informed that, based on Ratti’s guidelines, she conceived her installation proposal: a semi-fluid, fluid, organic, and removable space mainly made of paper and wood, with which the debate on «virtual water,» a perspective that, she says, has not been widely addressed.
She stated that the proposal invites to «make invisible water» used in constructions and water that also needs virtual processes and addresses the environmental impact of architecture from a sensory, citrus, and contemporary perspective.
At the installation, which can be seen at the Arsenale in Venice from May 10 to November 23, 2025, filter paper will be used as the main material: «The paper transforms into a volume. We have designed a system in which the construction is air.»
«In this paper, there will be projections. The work will create a suggestive and immersive screen alongside music and cushions,» added Tagliabue, who stated that she aims to offer a space for reflection and also relaxation for visitors.
To design this space, tests have been conducted with different filter paper grammars: «It is surprising that, by choosing an average weight, the resistance structure resists through the construction system, not through the strength of the paper.»
She said they started developing the project in China, but prices and construction deadlines made them rethink the project, for which they eventually received the filter paper from Ancoia, given free of charge by the artisans of Terra (Barcelona).
The architect pointed out that the decision to build with paper also carries risks: «Now the paper is traveling to Venice. It’s a horrible risk, but we try to do new things and take risks.»
In addition to this installation at the Arsenale, the EMB studio will be represented at the pavilions of Albania and Italy at the Biennale.
Tagliabue revealed that her daughter, the visual artist Caterina Miralles, will also participate in the Biennale with her own audiovisual project exploring the different intelligences coexisting in the Venice Lagoon.
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