Picoplanktonics. Photo by Living Room Collective As part of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, Canada is presenting Picoplanktonics, a 3D-printed living artwork incorporating cyanobacteria, which is a global first at the intersection of architecture, biotechnology, and art. The exhibition, developed by the Living Room Collective, showcases the potential for collaboration between humans and nature. Picoplanktonics is an exploration of the potential to co-operate with living systems by co-constructing spaces that “remediate the planet rather than exploit it.” Picoplanktonics Robotic biofabrication platform. Photo credit: Beda Schmid The Living Room Collective is a group of architects, scientists, artists and educators who work at the intersection of architecture, biology and digital fabrication technologies. Led by Canadian architect and biodesigner Andrea Shin Ling, alongside core team members Nicholas Hoban, Vincent Hui and Clayton Lee, the collective seeks to move society away from exploitative systems of production to regenerative ones by inventing design methods and processes that center on natural systems. The installation transforms the Canada Pavilion into an aquatic micro-ecosystem, where architectural structures grow, evolve, and naturally degrade alongside their living components. It was designed according to regenerative architecture principles, and is not only a built object, but also a breathing organism interacting with its environment, which prompts reflection on potential futures of the built environment. Picoplanktonics Incubation Chambers. Photo Credit: Clayton Lee When visitors enter the Canada Pavilion, they encounter 3D printed structures that were originally fabricated in an ETH Zürich laboratory. These are the largest living material structures produced using a first-of-its-kind biofabrication platform capable of printing living structures at an architectural scale. The Picoplanktonics experience stems from adapting the Canada Pavilion to provide enough light, moisture, and warmth for the living cyanobacteria within the structures to grow, thrive and change. For the duration of the exhibition, caretakers will be onsite tending to the structures. “The Canada Council for the Arts is delighted to unveil Picoplanktonics by the Living Room Collective at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Through the lens of architecture, this year’s Canadian exhibition brings technological innovation and ecological stewardship together. It is a unique exhibition, sure to inspire global audiences and to ignite important conversations, about how our built environment might better house and use natural systems for a more sustainable future,” said Michelle Chawla, director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts. Picoplanktonics. Image courtesy of Canada Council for the Arts The official unveiling of the installation took place on May 8, 2025, at the Venice Biennale. Commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts, this year’s exhibition, Picoplanktonics, curated by the Living Room Collective, was selected through a juried competition. For more information, click here.     The post Canada presents Picoplanktonics led by Living Room Collective at 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale appeared first on Canadian Architect.