Throughout our existence, humans have taken inspiration from the natural world, using technology to mimic what nature has created through millions of years of evolution. In this era of environmental crisis, where our actions directly threaten both the natural world and our own existence, we must also look to nature to build structures and cities that actively address sustainability pragmatically and express it poetically.
Drawing from the 2025 Biennale theme "Intelli/Gens", Symplasma is inspired by the rare and ancient Hexactinellid sea sponge – its resilience, function and ability to survive and continue its integral role in our ocean's ecosystem. Glass sea sponge habitats pertain to both Vancouver, where reefs currently adorn the coast of North America's Pacific Northwest, and to Venice during the Paleozoic period around the ancient Tethys Sea.
By merging the biological wisdom of glass sea sponges with the historical lessons embedded in Venice's urban fabric, Symplasma envisions new paradigms of resilience: structures that do not resist nature but instead move with it, harnessing energy from the sun, wind, and earth as they adapt. In doing so, it reframes Venice as both a cautionary tale and a beacon of possibility—an evolving city that, like Calvino's imagined worlds, continues to reinvent itself in response to forces beyond its control.
Henriquez, in collaboration with ARUP, explore a climate crisis narrative that takes inspiration from the natural, historical and cultural surroundings. The exhibition features monumentally scaled, 3-D printed glass sea sponge sculptures, visual interventions inspired by Canaletto's paintings, and a proposal for Vancouver's first 'supertall' towers.
The Vancouver towers take their inspiration aesthetically and functionally from the glass sea sponge by incorporating structural and sustainable strategies that minimizes their carbon footprint and achieves net zero carbon in its operation. A continuous diagrid structure allows the building to address lateral and gravity loads simultaneously and geoexchange, photovoltaics, and air source heat exchange eliminate the need for carbon intensive energy sources.
Complementing the Vancouver project is an allegorical project in Venice which proposes to introduce new constructed metaphorical 'glass sponges' or 'Sustainability Machines', to Venice, structures that use nature to sustainably harness, store and distribute energy and are represented in the context of Canaletto's timeless paintings.
Venice has been a muse for generations of artists and thinkers - suggesting a city suspended between material reality and dreamlike possibility, a space where history, water, and time intertwine. It also has a history of bold responses to crisis: the great plague churches, such as Santa Maria della Salute, were acts of both spiritual devotion and architectural ingenuity, built as symbols of resilience in the face of catastrophe. Today, as both cities confront the existential threat of climate change, these historical responses take on new meaning. The climate crisis, like the plagues of the past, demands a reckoning, not just with survival, but with transformation.
The exhibition is now on display at the European Cultural Centre exhibition TIME SPACE EXISTENCE, at Palazzo Bembo near the Rialto Bridge as part of the Venice Biennale, May 10—November 23, 2025.
About Henriquez Partners:
Henriquez Partners Architects is a Canadian architectural studio, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Led by Gregory Henriquez and his belief that architecture has the potential to be a poetic expression of social justice, the studio seeks to re-examine the role of ethics, activism, and critical commentary in architectural practice. Henriquez Partners seeks to re-establish the role of the architect as one of leadership in the creation of the collective space that form the fabric of our daily lives and communities.
Henriquez is now best known for inclusive zoning within mixed-use projects. The Woodward's redevelopment, completed in 2011, in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, remains unprecedented in Canada due to its scale, humanitarian aspirations and complexity. Since then, the studio's socially, culturally and environmentally sustainable projects continue to have a major impact on shaping local communities. Current large-scale mixed-use projects include the 5.0 million ft² Oakridge Redevelopment in Vancouver, in addition to three major projects in Toronto: 1.0 million ft² Mirvish Village in Toronto, and 800,000 ft² affordable housing with CreateTO at 5207 Dundas St W - both currently under construction, as well as 1.0 million ft² CreateTO & Co-op Federation of Toronto mixed income project Kennedy Green.
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Downloadable Images: Symplasma Images
SOURCE Henriquez Partners Architects
Media Contact : Henriquez Partners Architects, Nicolette Williams, [email protected]
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