The city is under stress: extreme heatwaves and heavy rainfall events are – or are about to become – the new normal, with devastating consequences for urban life, public health, infrastructure, and the economy. Once a place of shelter, progress, and encounter, the city has now become a focal point of the climate crisis. In the foreseeable future, even European metropolises will face temperatures that are barely tolerable for humans, animals, plants, and infrastructures alike.

The German contribution to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia takes this tangible threat as its point of departure. The exhibition STRESSTEST, curated by Nicola Borgmann, Elisabeth Endres, Gabriele G. Kiefer, and Daniele Santucci, makes the future reality of the urban climate both physically and emotionally perceptible. It demonstrates that architecture and landscape planning not only can create climate-resilient cities, but must. STRESSTEST is a call to action for policymakers, planners, the construction industry, and society as a whole. The time to act is now.

The German Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is commissioned by Architekturgalerie München.