On June 10, a press conference was held at the “Museum of Iron” in Plovdiv’s Old Town to mark the opening of PSEUDONATURE 2.0, the adapted version of the Bulgarian Pavilion presented at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2025.

The event featured Associate Professor Dr. Angel Yankov, Director of the Regional Ethnographic Museum – Plovdiv; Viktor Yankov, Deputy Director of the Plovdiv 2019 Foundation; and architect Yasen Markov, author of the project.

During the presentation, architect Markov emphasized that PSEUDONATURE had been deliberately conceived as a project distinct from the other national pavilions in Venice. The project was developed as Bulgaria’s response to the theme of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 – “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” According to him, the central question posed by the project is: “How can we combine natural, artificial, and collective intelligence so that, as architects, we can address the climate crisis?”

The project team stressed that they do not claim to provide ready-made solutions to climate-related challenges. “To a large extent, the project is a provocation. We want to increase public awareness of the problems our children and grandchildren will face,” Markov stated.

He also revisited the core concept of the installation: a snowmaking machine powered by solar panels produces artificial snowfall during the summer. The resulting snow gradually covers the very panels that power the system, creating a cycle in which nature and technology both cooperate and neutralize one another.

Markov also spoke about the project’s encounter with administrative and bureaucratic mechanisms during its implementation. According to him, the initial enthusiasm gradually gave way to processes that often determine the possibilities available to any cultural initiative. “We came to the conclusion that, as architects, we are not going to change the world,” he said, adding that today the architect’s role is increasingly shifting toward that of a mediator between different systems of knowledge, technology, and public expectations.

Introducing the new exhibition in Plovdiv, Markov described PSEUDONATURE 2.0 as a homecoming. “The project is returning home,” he said. The “hardware” from Venice has been preserved but adapted to the local context through a series of site-specific interventions. While the Venice pavilion recreated elements of Bulgarian Revival architecture, in Plovdiv this architectural heritage naturally exists as part of the environment surrounding the Regional Ethnographic Museum.

Particular attention was also given to the relationship between the new exhibits and the museum’s permanent collection. According to Markov, the exhibition enters into dialogue with the museum collection and transforms it into a kind of database of the past. “If we have access to the entirety of past knowledge, then as architects we become mediators, occupying the role of infrastructure creators between artificial intelligence and the public,” he explained.

Associate Professor Dr. Angel Yankov, Director of the Regional Ethnographic Museum, described the exhibition as an important opportunity for the museum to combine tradition with innovation and to create space for contemporary interpretations alongside cultural heritage. According to him, the project’s philosophy encourages visitors to reflect on the future and the challenges society will face. He also emphasized that it is an honor for the museum to host the first presentation of PSEUDONATURE in Bulgaria following its appearance in Venice.

Viktor Yankov, Deputy Director of the Plovdiv 2019 Foundation, highlighted the role of public institutions in bringing international contemporary culture to Plovdiv. In his view, the exhibition demonstrates how such partnerships can successfully connect global cultural processes with local audiences. In keeping with the project’s characteristic spirit, he remarked that “for the first time, snow in Plovdiv will not catch us by surprise,” and concluded with an unusual weather forecast: “Sunny with snowfall expected.”

PSEUDONATURE 2.0 will officially open on June 12 at 5:30 PM at the Regional Ethnographic Museum – Plovdiv and will remain on view until August 15, 2026.