Catalonia in Venice: Big Data and Architecture for Clean Air

The Catalan government has unveiled its project for the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled "Catalonia in Venice – air/aria/aire." Curated by Olga Subirós, the multisensory installation responds to Hashim Sarkis's question "How will we live together?" by linking climate and health crises through big data analysis. The project, developed with architecture studio 300.000 Km/s (directed by Mar Santamaría and Pablo Martínez), uses Barcelona as a case study—a city exceeding WHO and EU air pollution limits for over a decade, with 6,000 vehicles per square kilometer and 60% of public space occupied by cars. The research involved collaboration with scientific groups including CALIOPE-Urban at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, IDAEA CSIC, Lobelia, ISGlobal, and the Barcelona Public Health Agency. It proposes 12 measures for healthier cities, such as eliminating traffic and regulating last-mile delivery (e-commerce rose 30% in Spain last year). The installation will feature an "aria" (musical composition) by singer Maria Arnal. Subirós calls for rethinking the "smart city" concept, prioritizing health over economic interests. The project also advocates for open data sovereignty. Results will be published in a monograph of Quaderns d'Arquitectura i Urbanisme by the Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC).