OASIS “Venice Architecture Biennale – Grounded Pavilion Open Call

Inspired by the geological phenomena of karst sinkholes in Konya, Oasis emerges not as an imposition upon the land, but as a dialogue with it—an invitation to reconceive architecture as an agent of healing rather than dominance.
Central to this dialogue is the concept of situatedness—a philosophical and material engagement with place that transcends aesthetic mimicry. Rooted architecture, in this context, is both literal and metaphorical: embedded in the land, composed of the land, and accountable to it.
Constructed from rammed earth, using soil and straw sourced from the site, Oasis embodies a regenerative ethic. The material becomes not just a medium of construction but a custodian of memory, climate, and identity.
Integrating passive systems, solar energy, and ecological design, Oasis operates as a “zero-energy” SCADA facility and pedagogical space. It offers a vision of architecture as an agent of rooted transformation, where design is not a spectacle of innovation but a careful, quiet practice of listening, restoring, and re-rooting.
As a research-by-design initiative, Oasis explores how architecture can be redefined as a quiet, restorative, and deeply contextual practice. It advocates for design processes grounded in listening, adapting, and re-rooting—offering a model for climate-conscious, place-based transformation in architectural practice.