Feeling tomorrow's heat: ETH researchers illustrate climate impacts at Venice Architecture Biennale    

A literally hot room, suspended air-conditioning units and a pool of what looks to be oil: The first encounter at the Venice Architecture Biennale is not just a visual, but also a thermal one. Sonia Seneviratne and David Bresch, both professors at the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) at ETH Zurich, have contributed to this art installation which vividly illustrates a future without climate change mitigation.  

The sensory experience forces visitors to physically confront the projected rise in air temperatures. The room is heated by air conditioners working in reverse. These cool the adjacent space rather than the exhibition space itself, emphasising the hidden energy costs of our desire for comfort.

According to the Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, the installation "confronts the environmental costs of indoor comfort... revealing global thermal inequalities and the fine print of modern lifestyles." The calculation was done by Lorenzo Pierini, who is doing a postdoc with Sonia Seneviratne and David Bresch at ETH Zurich.

Thanks also to external page Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte, external page Transsolar KlimaEngineering, external page Thomas Auer, external page Bilge Kogas, and external page Daniel A. Barber for their collaboration on this art project!