In the courtyard of Montpellier’s historic Hôtel de Grave, a thought-provoking installation has captured the imagination of visitors and juries alike. Designed by Michael Cook Architecture & Design with G2-Studio, Temple (The Last Cheeseburger) won the 2025 Prix du Jury at the Festival des Architectures Vives. The project uses architecture, symbolism, and sustainable materials to highlight the hidden cost of human consumption through the use of wood and PET water bottles.

A Memory of Excess in a Future of Scarcity

The installation imagines a near future where extreme drought has forced France to ban foods that consume vast amounts of water—like beef and cheese. The design references the government’s 2023 water conservation plan, asking visitors to reflect on the environmental cost of everyday pleasures.

In France alone, over two billion cheeseburgers are eaten each year. Each one requires more than 2,500 litres of water to produce—the equivalent of 5,000 half-litre bottles. In this imagined future, cheeseburgers are no longer allowed, and the installation acts as a memorial to the last one ever made.

A Structure Built of Reuse and Reflection

Constructed with a simple Douglas fir frame, the temple outlines a quiet space within the courtyard. Its walls consist of 5,000 recycled plastic bottles, suspended between layers of wire mesh. The bottles form a translucent screen that filters light and softens the view between inside and out. Each bottle symbolises the water needed for one cheeseburger.

At the centre of the space stands a pedestal. On it sits a preserved cheeseburger in a clear acrylic case. Visitors are invited to pay their respects by placing flowers into the empty bottles. As the week progresses, these flowers fill the space with colour and memory, turning the installation into a living archive of desire and loss.

Design Lessons in Symbolism and Sustainability

This temporary installation is a compelling example of how architecture and design can communicate urgent ecological issues. For architects and designers, it highlights how material choice—particularly recycled and symbolic materials—can transform a space into a message. The project also shows the value of public interaction and emotional storytelling in spatial design.

Though short-lived, Temple leaves a lasting impact. It calls on designers to rethink how their materials and messages shape public awareness and the planet’s future.

Source: Michael Cook Architecture & Design / G2-Studio via V2com
Photos: photoarchitecture.com