The Danish Pavilion has unveiled the title, content, and team behind its submission to the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

Curated by Josephine Michau, “Coastal Imaginaries” will focus on nature-based design solutions to address the major environmental issues of our time, such as rising sea levels and storm floods. “Humans are contributing to many of the crises we are facing today, including the biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, the environmental crisis, and the food crisis. We not only have the opportunity, but also the duty, to take action and reverse this trend, and the architects who design our physical surroundings play a vital role in this,” said Michau.

In the two buildings that house the Danish pavilion – Carl Brummer’s from 1932 and Peter Koch’s from 1958 – visitors will gain insight into concrete principles for how nature can be utilized for coastal protection and climate adaptation. They will experience a dramatic narrative that shows – through future scenarios – how the Copenhagen coastline might evolve if we employ nature-based solutions, but also how these principles can be applied in various locations around the world.

Internationally known scenographer and artist Christian Friedländer, and Peter Albrechtsen, sound designer, will be translating the research into sensory and spatial experiences, making the coastal landscapes of the future experience even more tangible.

“Examples of nature-based design can be found all over the planet, throughout history, and in a wide range of local adaptation traditions for living with water. They are always anchored in a deep understanding of the context of the specific location in which they are used,” added Michau, which brings with her a number of experts in climate adaptation of coastal landscapes. The pavilion’s team, in fact, is composed of the landscape architectural firm Schønherr and many leading researchers, artists, and students from various Danish institutions.