AA alumni Maria Radjenovic (AADipl2015), Eleni Tzavellou Gavala (AADipl(Hons)2015) and Fortuné Penniman (AADipl(Hons)2015), in collaboration with Hatem Hatem, made the final shortlist in the open call competition for the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates at the Venice Biennale.

Their submitted project re-evaluated the coastal architecture of the UAE through an environmental lens. Redirecting the focus from narratives of sensational development in the Gulf: beyond the 70 years of city-building towards the 7000 years of landscape-shifting. To contextualise change and the nation’s coexistence with its environment it suggests to return to and learn from the inter-tidal buffer-zone between sand and sea, the salt-flats that predate nationhood, the Sabkha.

Find out more about their project on the Sabkha Project website or about the announcement of finalists for the UAE pavilion on e-flux.