A new three-year partnership between the Royal College of Art (RCA), nonprofit Community Jameel, and the London-based former Turner Prize nominees Cooking Sections has been announced by the institution in the hopes of using architecture as a tool to advance our knowledge of agriculture-related sustainability practices in the built environment.

The school’s new CLIMAVORE x Jameel partnership will focus on two projects which “reimagine how we eat as human activity changes the climate by developing new methodologies and enhancing policies around the globe.”

The initiative is being led by Cooking Sections co-founders Alon Schwabe and Daniel Fernández Pascual. The RCA says they will look to leverage “architectural and artistic investigative tools, education and action to advance ecological networks beyond current understandings of sustainability, and produce new knowledge around food and climate justice.”

Both projects will offer research fellowship opportunities to postgraduate students while exploring “how nature-centered food systems can be developed with communities in drylands and wetlands that are subject to particular seasonal stresses” in the form of site-specific case studies in Turkey, France, and Italy, respectively. 

The first, titled “Season of Wetland Disappearance,” advocates for a cessation of wetland ecosystems through the study of metabolic interactions across species found in the periphery of Istanbul's sprawling megalopolis. The RCA says it will build on existing collaborations that have been made with locals since 2019, adding that its aim is to “preserve the food and ecological heritage of the wetlands, herders, and their pastoralist ways of life.”

It is followed by “Season of Drought,” a study of dryland microclimates in Mediterranean Sea islands such as Pantelleria. The RCA notes the aim is to “experiment with alternative farming methods in drought conditions by seeking to diversify former monoculture crops that are failing to cope with climatic changes.” Both projects will expand on the work of Cooking Sections’ CLIMAVORE initiative, which began in 2015.

Paul Thompson, Vice-Chancellor at the Royal College of Art, said: “We are very grateful to Community Jameel for their support for this timely research project. Using socially engaged approaches rooted in architecture, design and art, the researchers will explore the impact of climate change on local communities and their food security, seeking to develop more equitable models for future sustainable ecosystems.”

Community Jameel Director George Richards added: “As the climate crisis continues to impact all aspects of how we live, we must challenge ourselves to develop new understandings and new solutions to ensure a more just future for all. We are excited to partner with Cooking Sections and the Royal College of Art to launch CLIMAVORE x Jameel which will result in more informed policies that will promote food security and enhanced climate justice in the face of ever-growing challenges.”

More information on the RCA's new partnership can be found here.