Pakistan's highlights climate change at Venice architecture exhibit
At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the Pakistan Pavilion is presenting its installation (Fr)Agile Systems, which seeks to explore the drastic impact of climate change.
As per a press release, Pakistan continues to occupy a paradoxical and precarious position along with many other countries of the Global South. Despite contributing less than one percent to global carbon emissions, the South Asian country bears the disproportionate weight of climate-induced disasters ranging from rising temperatures to melting glaciers, intense downpours to savage floods, unusually low precipitation to severe droughts, heatwaves to wildfires. The 2022 floods alone affected over 30 million people across the country, resulting in a dramatic loss of human life, livestock, crops, infrastructure, and land, while further straining an already strained economy.
(Fr)Agile Systems not only highlights the severity of Pakistan's vulnerability to climate-induced disasters, but also serves as a reminder of the stark inequity of the climate crisis—one that keeps weighing down hardest on regions that have historically had the least to do with causing it. In the presence of such severity and inequity, it also reiterates the imperative to rethink climate resilience as an adaptation process attuned to the asymmetries and imbalances of an interconnected world.
At the heart of the Pavilion is rock salt — a material deeply rooted in Pakistan's geological and
cultural heritage. Concentrated in large quantities in the Northern Punjab region of the country,
Pakistani rock salt embodies a temporal depth formed over hundreds of millions of years. With its rather distinct pink hue and unmatched purity, it also embodies aesthetic and spiritual values besides lending itself to other uses.
Here in the ambient humidity of Venice, however, it serves a different purpose. By constantly dissolving, rehardening, and reshaping itself, it becomes a powerful metaphor, reflecting on the one hand the adaptive and enduring qualities inherent in natural elements and processes, and on the other the vulnerability of natural systems and cycles
under the strain of profit-driven human activities. In other words, it reflects both agility and fragility.
This phenomenon, where an indigenous material is brought into an unfamiliar environment and subjected to conditions that alter its very nature, also suggests that climate resilience does not rest in universal solutions dictated by regions primarily responsible for the climate crisis, but in localised and nature-based acts of adaptation that resist colonial and capitalist structures of extraction and exploitation.
Inside the Pavilion, a suspended structure, both fragile and agile, dominates and articulates the front space, holding the rock salt in a rather complex system that through its asymmetry and imbalance recalls the paradoxes, precarities, and inequities of the climate crisis, while urging a more proactive, equitable, and locally-led response. This central installation is lined by a series of maps that explore Pakistan's climate crisis through the interplay of geology, resilience, and vulnerability. Titled Mapping Pakistan's Fragility and comprising 12 copper-etched plates with colour overlays, the series presents the profound impacts of climate change on Pakistan's diverse landscapes.
At once a reflection and a call to action, the Pavilion also envisions a future in which architecture takes a radical turn and becomes deeply re-rooted in cultural heritage and critically re-engaged with ecological realities. It is here that we invite visitors to a place we imagine — a place embedded in a mountain range that extends from a plateau to a river in Pakistan's Punjab province, a quiet place that speaks loudly for change in how we design and build as architects.
In addition, the Pavilion presents a pamphlet titled Climate Inequity: A Closer Look that offers a more detailed study of global climate inequity by tallying the historical carbon footprints of the Global North and the Global South. The Pavilion also presents a framework titled Decolonsing Design: Toward Mutualist Practice that calls on architects to conscientiously value and support diversity, locality, and interdependence in architecture.
Organised by Coalesce Design Studio (Karachi) and MAS/Architects (Lahore), the Pavilion is curated by Anique Azhar (MAS/Architects), Sami Chohan (Studio 4Pai; Navigating Noplace; GCAS-Jehan), Salman Jawed (Coalesce Design Studio), Bilal Kapadia (Coalesce Design Studio), Mustafa Mehdi (Coalesce Design Studio), Madeeha Merchant (DOT; Urban Justice League; Columbia University), Arsalan Rafique (The Urban Research Frontier; Revolving Games), and Ayesha Sarfraz (MAS/Architects; Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture).
The Pavilion is housed in Spazio 996/A, a gallery space managed by Exhibition Care and situated between the key entrances of the Biennale.
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Express Tribune
24-05-2025
- Express Tribune
Pakistan's highlights climate change at Venice architecture exhibit
At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the Pakistan Pavilion is presenting its installation (Fr)Agile Systems, which seeks to explore the drastic impact of climate change. As per a press release, Pakistan continues to occupy a paradoxical and precarious position along with many other countries of the Global South. Despite contributing less than one percent to global carbon emissions, the South Asian country bears the disproportionate weight of climate-induced disasters ranging from rising temperatures to melting glaciers, intense downpours to savage floods, unusually low precipitation to severe droughts, heatwaves to wildfires. The 2022 floods alone affected over 30 million people across the country, resulting in a dramatic loss of human life, livestock, crops, infrastructure, and land, while further straining an already strained economy. (Fr)Agile Systems not only highlights the severity of Pakistan's vulnerability to climate-induced disasters, but also serves as a reminder of the stark inequity of the climate crisis—one that keeps weighing down hardest on regions that have historically had the least to do with causing it. In the presence of such severity and inequity, it also reiterates the imperative to rethink climate resilience as an adaptation process attuned to the asymmetries and imbalances of an interconnected world. At the heart of the Pavilion is rock salt — a material deeply rooted in Pakistan's geological and cultural heritage. Concentrated in large quantities in the Northern Punjab region of the country, Pakistani rock salt embodies a temporal depth formed over hundreds of millions of years. With its rather distinct pink hue and unmatched purity, it also embodies aesthetic and spiritual values besides lending itself to other uses. Here in the ambient humidity of Venice, however, it serves a different purpose. By constantly dissolving, rehardening, and reshaping itself, it becomes a powerful metaphor, reflecting on the one hand the adaptive and enduring qualities inherent in natural elements and processes, and on the other the vulnerability of natural systems and cycles under the strain of profit-driven human activities. In other words, it reflects both agility and fragility. This phenomenon, where an indigenous material is brought into an unfamiliar environment and subjected to conditions that alter its very nature, also suggests that climate resilience does not rest in universal solutions dictated by regions primarily responsible for the climate crisis, but in localised and nature-based acts of adaptation that resist colonial and capitalist structures of extraction and exploitation. Inside the Pavilion, a suspended structure, both fragile and agile, dominates and articulates the front space, holding the rock salt in a rather complex system that through its asymmetry and imbalance recalls the paradoxes, precarities, and inequities of the climate crisis, while urging a more proactive, equitable, and locally-led response. This central installation is lined by a series of maps that explore Pakistan's climate crisis through the interplay of geology, resilience, and vulnerability. Titled Mapping Pakistan's Fragility and comprising 12 copper-etched plates with colour overlays, the series presents the profound impacts of climate change on Pakistan's diverse landscapes. At once a reflection and a call to action, the Pavilion also envisions a future in which architecture takes a radical turn and becomes deeply re-rooted in cultural heritage and critically re-engaged with ecological realities. It is here that we invite visitors to a place we imagine — a place embedded in a mountain range that extends from a plateau to a river in Pakistan's Punjab province, a quiet place that speaks loudly for change in how we design and build as architects. In addition, the Pavilion presents a pamphlet titled Climate Inequity: A Closer Look that offers a more detailed study of global climate inequity by tallying the historical carbon footprints of the Global North and the Global South. The Pavilion also presents a framework titled Decolonsing Design: Toward Mutualist Practice that calls on architects to conscientiously value and support diversity, locality, and interdependence in architecture. Organised by Coalesce Design Studio (Karachi) and MAS/Architects (Lahore), the Pavilion is curated by Anique Azhar (MAS/Architects), Sami Chohan (Studio 4Pai; Navigating Noplace; GCAS-Jehan), Salman Jawed (Coalesce Design Studio), Bilal Kapadia (Coalesce Design Studio), Mustafa Mehdi (Coalesce Design Studio), Madeeha Merchant (DOT; Urban Justice League; Columbia University), Arsalan Rafique (The Urban Research Frontier; Revolving Games), and Ayesha Sarfraz (MAS/Architects; Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture). The Pavilion is housed in Spazio 996/A, a gallery space managed by Exhibition Care and situated between the key entrances of the Biennale. Have something to add? Share it in the comments below.
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Fresh off my graduation, my family was ecstatic – not so much about my academic achievement, but about the prospect of my marriage. As the eldest daughter in a South Asian household, this milestone marked the beginning of a new kind of quest for them. Soon after, my mother was bombarded by photos of "eligible bachelors" from her circle of friends; and much to my dismay, some of these filtered their way to me too. But I had my priorities straight… out of a romance novel. Yes, I was going to marry for love. Two years later, my mother managed to guilt-trip me into considering a proposal that seemed perfect on the surface. The guy checked all the boxes: good-looking, age-appropriate, and financially stable. Yet, for me, it wasn't enough. 'I need to get to know him first,' I affirmed, meeting my mother's expressions – a mixture of surprise and dismay at my forwardness. Still, she held her tongue – perhaps appeased by the fact that I had at least agreed to consider the proposal. 'But you already know everything about him,' she replied matter-of-factly. It was my turn to stare at her, mirroring her earlier expression of bewilderment. Before I could muster a defense, my sister swiftly pulled up the guy's Facebook profile in a well-meaning effort to give me a glimpse into his personality. I will not lie – I was curious. It landed in my favor that his profile was public – all features open for the world to see and perceive. With each post I scrolled past, my reluctant agreement to consider the proposal slowly unraveled, piece by piece. My mother was petrified and I reveled in her unease. My excuse to back out of the proposal stared at me in the form of outdated memes, vague statuses, and an overwhelming number of shares from conspiracy theory pages on the screen of my phone. It was also the go-ahead for me to continue my side quest of seeking love in this dark, sad world. 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Celebrities and social media influencers are inarguably the biggest victims of their own digital footprints that often come back to haunt them at their most prime. More often than not, they bear the brunt of online animosity via regurgitation of their past remarks or actions, made during a time of ignorance or lack of awareness. This impact is also prominent in the professional context. According to a CareerBuilder survey from 2020, 70% of employers screen candidates' social media profiles during the hiring process, and over half of them have rejected candidates based on what they found. If something as critical as a job can hinge on our digital footprints, how can we expect relationships or perceptions to be any different? The benefit of doubt lies in the presumptive dissonance of their actual persona to what they appear to be on social media. Just like I wouldn't want someone to label me unhinged based on my contradictory social media presence, it would be unfair of me to overlook the gap between the curated versions of ourselves online and the complexities of our off-screen lives. Growth is an essential part of life – it is the evidence of our existence. The lack of context surrounding outdated posts refuses others the margin of evolution – whether it's through gaining new knowledge, maturing emotionally, or simply learning from their past mistakes. The inherent danger of relying too heavily on digital footprints to shape our perception of someone is the loss of ability to account for how a person might have changed since then. Social media posts undoubtedly reflect a person's values and interests, but they do not tell the full story. In fact, our feeds are often a collection of moments captured on impulse – ranging from an unwarranted rant about an injustice, a passionate stance on a political issue, to a poorly worded joke. While these posts may hold weight, they do not encapsulate the entirety of our personality, nor are they sentiments set in stone. Hence, as I continue on my journey to dodge as many proposals as possible (even the better ones), here is a lesson or two: our digital footprints do not exist as the mirror of our personalities but rather as fragmented reflections of who we once were, overridden by moments of impulse and external influences. So, the next time you're tempted to dismiss someone based on their disjointed social media posts, maybe encourage your mother to meet them in person first..
