Words and Images Columbia University
Editing The Kanto team
Currently on view at the Arsenale of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, Earthen Rituals is a devotional brickmaking and multi-media project investigating the porous intersections between ancient knowledge and digital fabrication. Made of 3D-printed earth and fiber bricks, it explores the intersection of computational prompts with traditional earthen materials rooted in embodied human histories.
The exhibit was developed by Columbia University Assistant Professor Lola Ben-Alon and her team at Natural Materials Lab. The brick designs, inspired by traditional techniques, were translated through an AI apparatus to create a mesh of graphic representations of earth construction techniques across regions, which were then translated by a machine into a printable brick.
The installation emerges from a deeply cyclical ethos: making, mooning, impregnation, incubation, and birth. These metaphoric and literal processes are embedded in the work’s material and formal logic. At its core is a computational translation: historic textures of vernacular construction. These glean from global traditions such as Terracruda (Italian), Lehm (German), Toub Laban (Arabic), and Udongo (Swahili) — and abstracted into bitmaps by an AI apparatus.
Printed with a novel lightweight earth-fiber mix developed at the Natural Materials Lab, the bricks are both structural and aesthetically expressive. The mix fuses excavation waste and agricultural by-products, sequestering carbon while resisting the extractive tendencies of modern construction. The fabrication process itself draws from kitchen-based experimentation as much as from scientific analysis – a devotion to embodied, hands-on practice.
The built system is simple. 4-meter bamboo poles act as verticals, stabilized by the bricks and tensioned by wooden rings that enhance lateral stability. No glue, plastics, or irreversible fixing. Just soil, fiber, wood, and bamboo — materials that breathe, decay, and regenerate. A soft, earthy scent emanates from the structure, recalling the sensation of walking through a forest floor.
A floor-based projection anchors the space. It is a circular choreography of making and unmaking that reflects on the ritualistic practices at the Natural Materials Lab, and the technological retooling toward feminist and ecological rhythms of labor.
This project is brought to life by a rich constellation of collaborators. Included are Olga Beatrice Carcassi, Penmai Chongtoua, Keenan Bellisari, Christopher Tillinghast Sherman, Trella Isabel Lopez, Kelechi Iheanacho, Neil Potnis, Sherry Aine Chuang Te, Nikoletta Zakynthinou Xanthi, and Amani Makee Hill. WASP 3D Printers (Italy) served as technical partners, with contributions by Francesca Moretti, Massimo Moretti, Giulio Buscaroli, and others.
The team also extends its gratitude to Léonard Roussel, James Nanasca, and Yonah Elorza (GSAPP Making Studio); Wil Srubar and Shiho Kawashima (NSF Co-PIs); Aléssandro Terranova and Alessandro Cecchini (Yacademy); and Andres Jaque for his academic and scholarly support.
Natural Materials Lab invites everyone to view the exhibit: “Shaped by techniques like rammed earth, weaving, and basketry, the installation creates sensory spaces for material rituals. As a space for contemplation, Earthen Rituals confronts extractive practices, colonial legacies, and climate crises, and proposes radical, ceremonial approaches that embrace the variable qualities of raw materials.” •
Earthen Rituals runs from May 10 to November 23, 2025, at the Arsenale of the Venice Architecture Biennale. The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesdays. Admission is free.
