Project Overview
In collaboration with Laura-India Garinois. With funding support from MIT Spain.

This project documents local responses to rising heatwaves in the South of Spain while speculating on urban climate futures through low-tech adaptations.

Index: Collective Hotspots

critical encounters

on shifting climate cultures

Index

01.

In the Folds of Shadows: Prosthetic Dialogues
Collaboration with Laura-India Garinois
Venice, Italy

Installation

19th International Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

Transcending regional borders and landscapes, unprecedented heat levels engulf city centres each year. In a time where locals are often warned to stay indoors and withdraw from public spaces in fear of heat exposure, this installation highlights distinct instances where local communities foster collective intelligence as forms of resistance. The short film traces how everyday urban infrastructures evolve into cultural artifacts at the intersections of climate and architecture within the context of southern Spain. Collective intelligence is unveiled through ways of collaboration between locals and the city as they reimagine their urban fabric. The shadows of ancient tree canopies are integrated and readapted into contemporary infrastructures of shade, while the movement of water is materialized into urban cooling mechanisms. From fabric canopies sheltering streets to prosthetic architectural adaptations such as fountains, awnings, window blinds, misting devices, and green trellises on façades, these initiatives define a spectrum of resourceful, transformations.

02.

Shortfilm

Directed by Mahwish Khalil + Laura-India Garinois
Filmed in Andalusia, Spain

Run time (9:43)

The film tells the story of local modes of resilience amidst record heat waves that disrupt everyday lives in Andalusia. Through collective initiatives by municipalities and locals, urban infrastructures such as shading devices, fountains, and prosthetic technologies define a spectrum of adaptations that are reimagined to generate new urban solidarities.

See more: https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2025/natural/fold-shadows-prosthetic-dialogues

Site Updated / 09-2025
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