"Living Scaffolding" is the name of the proposal selected to represent Peru at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by architects Alex Hudtwalcker, Sebastián Cillóniz, and Gianfranco Morales, along with historian José Ignacio Beteta, the exhibition tells the story of a totora reed raft that, in 1988, embarked on a sea journey to other ports in South America and Polynesia. Its unprecedented expedition began on the Peruvian coast south of Lima and lasted 54 days at sea. The raft was the result of a collective, handcrafted effort and a significant structural challenge. The exhibition aims to highlight the importance of ancestral knowledge in addressing such challenges, celebrate materials essential to Peruvian cultural heritage, and expose the value of collective intelligence.
The totora reed raft featured in the Peruvian national exhibition was built on a beach south of Lima. Its construction took several weeks, involving dozens of skilled artisans and large bundles of totora, timber, and hemp ropes. Totora is a perennial plant common in South American marshes and swamps, with erect stems that range between one and three meters in height, depending on the species. It has long been used in native construction across Latin America, primarily for roofing and walls. To build the raft, artisans applied ancestral Aymara knowledge of totora construction, ultimately assembling a 20-meter-long, 10-ton raft under the guidance of eight Aymara craftsmen. Central to this collective effort was a monumental wooden scaffold, which gives the exhibition its name.
The curatorial team draws a parallel between this historical event and the living example of the Uros floating islands on Lake Titicaca. Built 3,800 meters above sea level, these islands are primarily made of totora and stand as living testaments to ancestral techniques and indigenous knowledge. The curators present these construction techniques as a cyclical architectural system that continually renews itself, emphasizing their adaptability as a contemporary value. Both the raft and the islands, subject to natural decay, rely on lightweight auxiliary structures, materials, and tools. The islands require supporting frameworks to remain anchored during construction, just as the wooden scaffold was necessary for assembling the raft. This structure allowed craftsmen, volunteers, and explorers to move above and below the raft, adjusting its components.
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Pakistan Unveils (Fr)Agile Systems Pavilion for the 2025 Venice Architecture BiennaleVisitors to the Peruvian Pavilion in Venice will be invited to observe, inhabit, and encircle an installation that emulates these construction efforts, echoing both the way Aymara craftsmen worked to create the raft and the ongoing building practices of the Uros island inhabitants. Located in the Arsenale, where vessels were once built on the water, the exhibition focuses on the living scaffolding that enabled the raft's construction, drawing a parallel with the structural elements that hold Venice in place. In response to Carlo Ratti's curatorial theme, "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective," these architectural artifacts embody the collective intelligence of the Uros and Aymara communities and the intrinsic value of the natural materials they have mastered.
The recognition of ancestral materials and construction strategies is part of the ongoing discussion on solutions to address climate change. As Julio Vargas Neumann points out, earth construction systems can, in some cases, surpass the durability of contemporary concrete. Other systems, such as bamboo construction, traditional cooling methods, and off-grid architectures, offer valuable alternatives for more sustainable building practices. Several pavilions at this year's Venice Biennale also reflect on future construction strategies, including the French Pavilion, which features a lightweight structure built from reused materials, and the Danish Pavilion, which explores reuse and resourcefulness as architectural practices.
