Join us for a lecture by London-based duo of spatial practitioners Cooking Sections on 13 February at 6pm. From salmon farms to patented seeds, Cooking Sections examine the systems shaping planetary ecologies through food. Navigating the new seasons of the climate crisis and their metabolic pathways—synthetic colour, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, pollutants—their work unravels the spatial, ecological, and political legacies of extractivism.

In Skye, their multi-year project expands the concept of the tidal commons to challenge the environmental harm caused by salmon aquaculture. By creating divestment strategies and transitioning toward regenerative, multispecies food practices, they foster local economies and marine ecologies, repurposing waste seashells from bivalves into cement alternatives. In Southern Italy, their work centres on drought-resistant “peasant seeds,” cultivated for centuries of co-evolutionary mutualism. These seeds defy industrialised agriculture’s demands and their hunger for fertilisers, reconnecting agriculture with cultural and ecological entanglements amid water scarcities and created dependencies. This lecture delves into strategies to resist extractivism, advocating for seed rights, and imagining other possible collective ecological futures.

This discussion kicks off our series of public events related to our Groundwork project, exploring the evolving role of architects today.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

Since 2015, Cooking Sections run CLIMAVORE, a long-term, site-responsive project, exploring how to eat as humans change climates and how to metabolise climate breakdown. Their work has been exhibited internationally, including at Tate Britain, Serpentine Galleries, SALT, Bonniers Konsthall, Carnegie Museum of Art, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, HKW, Storefront for Art and Architecture, among others. They have created site-specific performances and installations for the 58th Venice Biennale, Istanbul Biennial, Sharjah Art Biennial, Performa17, Manifesta12, and New Orleans Triennial. Residencies include the Headlands Center for the Arts, Fogo Island Arts, and The Politics of Food at Delfina Foundation.

Cooking Sections are Readers in Architecture and Spatial Practice at the Royal College of Art, London, where they lead CLIMAVORE x Jameel at RCA. They were guest professors at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (2020-21) and are Fellows at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. They have authored three books: The Empire Remains Shop (2018), Salmon: A Red Herring (2020), and Offsetted (2022).