Biotopia: Propagative Structures

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So Concrete contributed to the realization of Biotopia: Propagative Structures — part of the main exhibition at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, curated by Carlo Ratti.

Client

private

Design

Federico Díaz

Material

UHPC

Product

Organically shaped installation

Location

Architecture Biennale in Venice

The organically shaped installation, designed by Federico Díaz, was created using robotic 3D printing (3DCP) and SPI technology. The material palette included ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), clay, metakaolin, bentonite, and basalt fiber — a combination that fuses geological layers with cutting-edge innovation.

In this project, geopolymer mixtures are explored as part of a closed-loop material cycle, where each element acts not only as a structural component but also as potential nourishment for future growth phases.

The installation presents a physical prototype of future architecture — not built, but grown. It envisions an intelligent, ecologically integrated, and materially circular system that responds to its environment and takes cues from the logic of root networks.

The project illustrates how tomorrow’s construction processes might draw closer to biological principles — emphasizing renewability, adaptability, and collaboration between natural, human, and machine intelligence.

A film essay by The Why Factory, led by Winy Maas, complements the installation with a speculative vision — tracing the evolution of biomaterials and their potential impact on future urban environments.

The installation bridges scientific knowledge and artistic imagination, offering a vision of architecture as a living organism — one that generates energy, filters water, regulates climate, and provides shelter not only for humans, but for other forms of life as well.