City in the Cloud - Data on the Ground

The digital cloud is omnipresent: but where exactly is it? It appears to us through the countless devices and screens that shape our everyday lives: smartphones, laptops, smart home devices, car interfaces, and countless displays in urban spaces. Behind every swipe and stream lies a vast and rapidly growing data infrastructure: data centers in cities and remote regions, submarine cables, and satellites. These mostly invisible structures determine our way of life, communication, and administration – while simultaneously consuming enormous amounts of land, energy, and raw materials.

Despite their far-reaching impacts, data infrastructures are rarely discussed from an architectural or political perspective. Architectural research can reveal these hidden material and political entanglements. The aim of the exhibition is to examine the cloud – from its historical origins to future possibilities – and to advocate for the design and planning of data infrastructures to be more deeply embedded in social and political consciousness.

The exhibition explores how the rapid growth of global data infrastructures—from submarine cables to massive data centers—is transforming our landscapes, architectures, and societies. It opens a discussion about the role of data in shaping a democratic and ecologically responsible collective future. The exhibition is divided into three themes: Elemental, Spatial, and Temporal, and unfolds through a series of key questions. Furthermore, the exhibition explores the transformation of architectural practice through data modeling, machine learning, and AI, opening new debates about how data can transform the design, construction, and demolition of buildings.

Opening: October 15, 2025, 7 p.m.