The 6th edition of Tallinn Architecture Biennale, centred around the theme Edible; Or the Architecture of Metabolism, brings a fresh angle on sustainability to the Estonian capital this autumn
Photography featuring iheartblob’s Fungible/Non-Fungible
Words by Ellinor Thunberg
We don’t know what the future will bring. But if it looks anything like Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) 2022, it is highly edible – in more ways than one. The main curatorial exhibition Edible at Estonian Museum of Architecture brings a fresh approach to sustainability and lets us reflect on the connection between food and architecture. A topic more relevant than ever.
‘It is increasingly important to think about how we produce our food, where it comes from, and how its production within cities and redistribution could reshape our lives and infrastructures,’ say head curators Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou.
The theme is explored both literally and metaphorically, showcasing inventions like edible puffed rice clusters intended for use on facades (where insects, small mammals and birds can indulge) and root membranes for architecture – a byproduct of urban farming, brought to new life before being composted back into soil.
Photography featuring Everything’s On the Table by The Irwin School of Architecture’s Hayley Eber and Mae-Ling Lokk
Instead of seeing our built environments as consumptive, extractive and contaminating, the curators Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou invite audiences to see things differently. Perhaps architecture can produce food, digest its own waste and self-decompose? Or perhaps architecture itself can become food?
Edible gives an in-depth vision from micro to macro – from building material to geopolitics and food systems: past, present, and future. The heart of the exhibition is the metabolic home, where the duo re-imagines a house where the rooms are communicating with one another.
Here, the waste from one space can feed the other, in a metabolic process. During the opening days, visitors got to dive deeper into the theme in a 2-day symposium featuring innovative talks, cases and discussions.
Photography featuring iheartblob’s Fungible/Non-Fungible
Outside the Estonian Museum of Architecture is another interesting must-see in the large-scale installation Fungible/Non-Fungible by iheartblob. The playful lego-like structure was (and is, in fact it might keep growing) co-created by block-chain funding and explores the relation between non-fungible tokens and architecture, by letting anyone create, buy and own a piece of the actual installation.
Furthermore, the international architecture school exhibition Handful took place in the garden of EKKM (Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia) focusing on manual skills and craft as important tools for architects.
The 6th edition of TAB certainly has a lot to bring to the table – for architects, designers, and the public alike. In a time where we, perhaps, need it more than ever before.
The TAB exhibition EDIBLE ends November 20
Photography by Tõnu Tunnel
Get a curated collection of design and architecture news in your inbox by signing up to our ICON Weekly newsletter
