Our installation “Terms and Conditions” at the Venice Architecture Biennale invites visitors to experience a projected 42°C Venice – a scenario based on scientific climate research for the year 2100. The installation serves as a wake-up call to reflect on our growing dependence on technological solutions such as air conditioning and to question what we truly define as comfort.
In a recent interview with the Venezia News, Jochen Lam, Melis Özalp, and Alina Wagner spoke about the social and environmental implications of climate change and the need to rethink the role of architecture. The conversation highlights key ideas behind the installation:
-the “cost of comfort” and the energy-intensive cycle of artificial cooling,
-the inequity of climate impacts across different communities, and
-the importance of designing for resilience and adaptation, where architecture not only reacts to climate change but actively contributes to protect it.
Grounded in research from the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich, Terms and Conditions transforms scientific projections into a tangible spatial experience, urging visitors to reconsider their expectations and imagine new ways of living together on a warming planet.
The Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 is open for two more weeks – don’t miss the chance to experience Terms and Conditions in person!
Supporters for the installation are: the DGNB German Sustainable Building Counciland
and the TUM Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design
For more insights, listen to the Transsolar Podcast, 'Terms and Conditions', in which we have in-depth discussions surrounding the topics of the tnstallation.
Credits Installation:
Climate engineering: Thomas Auer, Jochen Lam, Alina Wagner, Melis Ozalp (Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH) | Design lead: Bilge Kobas (Technical University of Munich) | Design and theoretical team: Daniel A. Barber (TU Eindhoven), Dehlia Hannah (University of Copenhagen), Alexandra Auer, Sebastian C. Koth (Technical University of Munich) | Climate science: Sonia Seneviratne, David N. Bresch, Lorenzo Pierini (ETH Zürich) | Water installation: Massimo Ferranti (ABC Produzioni e Allestimenti), Alessandro dal Pra (pp ABC Srl) | Production: Klaus Feith (boost) | Supporters: DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council), Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH