Internalities
Spanish Pavilion
19th Venice Biennale, IT
2025
Internalities is conceived as a counterpoint to the notion of Externalities—a term coined by economist Arthur Pigou in 1920 to define the indirect costs of production that affect people and territories not involved in the process. Architecture is one such process. It encompasses myriad repercussions, waste, degradation, and pollution that often remain unrecognized and unquantified. These include the materials we extract, the energy we consume, the labor we displace, the byproducts we produce, and the emissions we release. Internalities challenges those taken-for-granted models of doing architecture. It epitomizes the efforts of an emerging generation of designers committed to decarbonizing a construction industry that currently accounts for 37 percent of carbon emissions. It questions how architects can (and must) articulate robust territorial ecosystems of production—ones that do not necessarily rely on global, carbon-intensive flows of resources but are capable of balancing ecologies with economies. The project is structured around five key axes: Materials, Energy, Labor, Byproducts, and Emissions.
*More info coming soon...
Curators:
Manuel Bouzas
Roi Salgueiro
In collaboration with:
MIVAU Government of Spain, AC/E, AECID, Arquia Foundation
Cabane 7L
Villa Medici, Rome, IT
2024
Situated at one of the highest points in the eternal city, the Cabane 7L serves as an observatory that mediates between the skyline and the gardens of Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome. In these Renaissance gardens, the installation offers visitors the opportunity to ascend to the canopy level of these historic gardens and discover a panoramic view never captured before. Constructed entirely from mass timber, the project serves as a temporary venue for visitors, residents, and artists, reactivating one of the city’s most iconic locations. During the summer of 2024, the Cabane 7L hosted various cultural events, including performances, concerts, and conversations. The Cabane 7L draws inspiration from its unique topographical and historical context. In the sixteenth century, on the outskirts of ancient Rome, Ferdinando I de’ Medici transformed the residence of Cardinal Ricci on the Pincian Hill into a Renaissance villa known for its distinctive architecture and gardens. Since the establishment of the French Academy in the early nineteenth century, generations of Romans have witnessed the evolution of the academy's gardens, which outline their iconic silhouette of pine trees. Cabane 7L poses a thought-provoking question: What have those trees witnessed over these centuries?
Author:
Manuel Bouzas
Team:
Juan F. De la Torre
Rosita Palladino
Photographer:
Luis Diaz Diaz
Organizer:
Festival des Cabanes
Villa Medici
Collaborators:
Librairie 7L
CHANEL
Mediterráneo
TAC! Festival
Valencia, ES
2023
This project pays tribute to the Mediterranean climate by recognizing the role of blinds as an architectural element that historically enabled people to adapt to challenging weather conditions. Blinds have brought shade and character to countless streets across southern Europe. However, modern mechanical systems, driven by high energy consumption, have replaced them, posing environmental risks. Using regenerative, bio-based, and locally sourced materials, the project features long wooden blinds suspended from a catenary canopy suspended from two triangular wooden porticos that support 400 sqm of traditional blinds. The vibrant green shade produced by the blinds transforms the site into a lively public space for the local community. Additionally, a circular opening illuminates a small garden that regulates temperatures during late summer. Stones integrated into the design serve as both counterweights and furniture. Over the course of the festival, community members are invited to explore and reactivate this space. The material palette echoes diverse landscapes located within 300 km from the site, such as the pine plantations of Soria, the blind factories of Sax (Alicante), and the stone quarries of Teruel. After dismantling, the materials were recirculated and donated, leaving a temporary footprint in the city.
Author:
Manuel Bouzas
Structural Design:
Juan F. De la Torre
Photographer:
Luis Diaz Diaz
Client:
TAC! Festival,
Organizers:
MITMA Spanish Government, Arquia Foundation, Valencia City Council, Las Naves
Librairie 7L
Villa Medici, Rome, IT
2024
Established in Paris in 1999 by CHANEL’s fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, the Library 7L is a bookstore specializing in photography, design, decoration, architecture, art, and fashion. In 2021, it was acquired by CHANEL, and since then, it has seen substantial development, including the establishment of a new branch within the historic Villa Medici, home to the French Academy in Rome. This project seeks to reimagine the Rome-based library, incorporating specially designed furniture that not only showcases the books but also enhances the overall visitor experience. Inspired by the iconic Bouquinistes bookstalls lining the banks of the Seine in Paris, six pine wood modules are designed as boxes that can be opened or closed. These adaptable units are constructed to display an array of items, from books to art pieces created by academy residents, offering flexibility for indoor or outdoor setups to facilitate public engagements, book launches, dialogues, events, and more.
Author:
Manuel Bouzas
Rosita Palladino
Photographer:
Luis Diaz Diaz
Client:
Librarie 7L
Villa Medici
In collaboration with:
Librairie 7L
CHANEL
Forest Futures
Harvard GSD
Cambridge MA, US
2024
‘Forest Futures’ is a design exhibition taking place from January 25 to March 31, 2024, at the Druker Gallery of Gund Hall at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It has been curated by Professor Anita Berrizbeitia in collaboration with students and from the Fall 2023 seminar ‘Forests: History and Future Narratives.’ The exhibition explores the intertwined histories of forests and humanity, critically examining the profound connections between design disciplines and these critical habitats. A glance at the ungraspable timeline of forest evolution, 350 million years, reveals an alarming fact: a millennium of human activity—a blink of an eye in geological time—has threatened the equilibrium of these life-sustaining ecosystems. The curatorial approach reflects the diverse storylines explored in the seminar. As forests capture the attention of multiple disciplines, each exhibition section incorporates historical, technical, artistic, and scientific perspectives. The exhibition design includes diverse content and visual media, such as a Dymaxion map with digital visualization, reproductions of Charles Sargent’s maps, a selection of urban forest projects, a visual glossary with key concepts and techniques, faculty-led research work, and a selection of photographs by Stanley Greenberg, among others. Together, these various perspectives converge to interrogate the future of forests in their environmental, societal, and political dimensions.
Instructor, Curation and Design:
Anita Berrizbeitia
Teaching, Curatorial, and Design Assistant:
Manuel Bouzas
Students:
N. Boverman, H. Das, E. Dunnenberger, R. Gao, L. Garinois, A. Harvey, M. Lantigua, Y. Ji, A. Jones, A. Kupi, F. Lima, P. Margain, G. Meek, E. Menard, R. Palladino, Y. Qin, K. Wu, E. Zmuda
Exhibitions Team:
Dan Borelli, David Zimmerman-Stuart
Photographer:
Manuel Bouzas
