EMBASSY OF TASTE

Architecture: Micromega

STATUS: COOK 8 INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION ORGANIZED BY DOMES

Design Team: Alexandros Zomas, Mara Papavasileiou, Dimitris Papageorgiou,

EVELINA FALIAGKA, GIOULI SPYROPOULOU, NATASA DROUGKA, FERENIKI FOTOPOULOU, DIMITRIS SIOKIS

The “Embassy of Taste” proposal emphasizes food resources per se, as vital parts of cooking rituals and dining experience.

The spatial installation aims to raise awareness about the unsustainable food production-consumption model of nowadays, as distance between places of production and urban areas, exploitation of developing world's natural and human resources, as well as ever rising food waste levels are core issues imposed by the increasing demands to feed the world population.

Is it possible to drastically re-arrange the food production chain? Could we create a closed loop system from production and processing all through preservation and consumption of food?

Our proposal incorporates pioneering and traditional methods of food production and preservation. The visitor-diner can experience innovative methods like aquaponics, UV dehydration, lactic acid fermentation alongside centuries-old yet still relevant techniques like sprouting, pickling and salt-curing.

The installation is divided into 3 distinct parts: food production, food preparation/dining and food preservation. An elevated steel grate floor hovers above fish tanks while galvanized steel profiles, connected through typical scaffolding clamps, provide the structure on which production and preservation take place, in a form of performative action. The space's feel and form are informed by greenhouse structures and laboratory tool-kit aesthetics.

“Embassy of Taste” is imagined as a touring installation, a vessel to communicate all contemporary food issues while selected groups of 8 would get to dine in this cabinet of curiosities space each night.