The Latvian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, commissioned by Jānis Dripe and curated by Liene Jākobsone and Ilka Ruby, explores the impact of military defense on the country's border landscape. The exhibition was designed by SAMPLING and Nomad Architects to highlight how geopolitical tensions shape both territory and daily life. In times of escalating international warfare, the curatorial team poses the question of what it means to live on NATO's external border in times of geopolitical conflict.
As a result of the ideas competition organized by the governments of Sweden, Finland, and Norway in 1958, Sverre Fehn's Nordic Pavilion won first prize, becoming one of the most significant works of his career and one of the most outstanding Scandinavian architectural achievements during the mid-20th century. Designed to create a space at the Venice Biennale for the biennial exhibitions of these countries, Fehn's proposal addressed several key architectural challenges—ranging from its integration with the site and incorporation of pre-existing elements to the handling of physical boundaries and uniform natural lighting. His design explored the interaction between architecture and trees, the flexibility in the exhibition space, the filtering of light, the connection between interior and exterior, the concept of movement through space, and the display of artworks.
The Lithuanian Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale presents Archi / Tree / tecture, a project by the National Architects Association. Commissioned by Juratė Tutlyte and curated by architect Gintaras Balčytis, the exhibition invites architects, students, communities, and visitors to reflect on the deep connections between architecture and urban nature. It positions the discipline as an interpretive medium that reveals the layered relationships shaping our cities, which in turn reflect these dynamic interactions. The proposal evokes an urban memory rooted in landscapes where fields and trees once stood, introducing the dimension of time into discussions on city ecosystems, sustainability, and resilience. The exhibition, an indoor installation designed by architects Paulius Vaitiekūnas, Andrius Pukis, and Vika Pranaitytė, will be set within the Church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti. The audiovisual and light installation in the pavilion was designed by the interdisciplinary art duo Lina Pranaitytė and Urtė Pakers, while the sculptural component of the installation was created by Kęstutis Lanauskas.
Videos
Courtesy of Katia Sei Fong, Ken Sei Fong, Luis Sei Fong
The national exhibition of Uruguay at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled "53.86% Uruguay, Land of Water," explores the intrinsic relationship between architecture, territory, and water. Curated by architects Katia Sei Fong and Ken Sei Fong, along with visual artist Luis Sei Fong, the exhibition proposes that we may be entering the age of water, the "Hydrocene", and that the way humanity manages and conserves this resource will shape its future. In this context, the project highlights that Uruguay's maritime territory (53.86%) is larger than its land territory. Water, therefore, is not only a natural resource but a fundamental element of the country's history and culture, essential to its development.
The Bulgarian contribution to the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale is an experimental installation titled Pseudonature, situated at the intersection of nature and technology, reality and simulation. Curated by architect and designer Iassen Markov, the project explores the future of sustainability in a world where natural processes are increasingly mediated by artificial intelligence and human intervention. The exhibition features an outdoor installation that exposes technological and climate paradoxes and an interior space designed as a reimagined traditional Bulgarian room. Outside, physical interventions disrupt natural balances, highlighting the fragile interplay between technology and the environment. Inside, the space shifts to a setting for contemplation, where restoring equilibrium becomes a collective and introspective challenge.
"Living Scaffolding" is the name of the proposal selected to represent Peru at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by architects Alex Hudtwalcker, Sebastián Cillóniz, and Gianfranco Morales, along with historian José Ignacio Beteta, the exhibition tells the story of a totora reed raft that, in 1988, embarked on a sea journey to other ports in South America and Polynesia. Its unprecedented expedition began on the Peruvian coast south of Lima and lasted 54 days at sea. The raft was the result of a collective, handcrafted effort and a significant structural challenge. The exhibition aims to highlight the importance of ancestral knowledge in addressing such challenges, celebrate materials essential to Peruvian cultural heritage, and expose the value of collective intelligence.
The Luxembourg pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale will offer visitors an experience focused entirely on sound. Sonic Investigations, curated by architects Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, and Alice Loumeau, is an immersive invitation to shift focus from the visual to the sonic. The sound installation, located in the Arsenale's Sale d'Armi, is based on a practical and theoretical investigation that re-examines the country's territory through field recordings capturing a range of sounds from biological, geological, and anthropogenic sources woven into the landscape. The installation creates an embodied experience of space, emphasizing the value of sensorial approaches in spatial practices and exploring the question: How can we reveal the entangled character of specific contemporary situations in Luxembourg?
Nieuwe Instituut, the national museum and institute for architecture, design, and digital culture in The Netherlands, has announced the theme for the Dutch Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. This year, the Giardini pavilion designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1953 will be transformed into a sports bar. Titled "SIDELINED: A Space to Rethink Togetherness", the exhibition was curated by Amanda Pinatih, Design & Contemporary Art Curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, in collaboration with social designer Gabriel Fontana. Through a queer lens, the project examines sport as an architectural system that regulates spaces, bodies, and behavior, offering an alternative perspective on societal norms related to gender, identity, and group dynamics.
Archinfo, the Information Centre for Finnish Architecture, has announced the theme, curator, and exhibition team for the Pavilion of Finland at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition, titled "The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship", will focus on the diverse labor involved in constructing and maintaining architecture, from design contributions by architectural workers and engineers to the efforts of construction workers, restoration architects, maintenance staff, and cleaners, all of whom play vital roles in the creation and upkeep of the built environment. Curated by Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä from the Helsinki-based architecture practice Vokal, it will use Alvar and Elissa Aalto's Pavilion of Finland to explore architecture as a collaborative endeavor.
Out of 45 participating submissions for Chile's Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, the winning proposal has been recently announced. 'Reflective Intelligences,' the curatorial project by Serena Dambrosio, architect, researcher, and lecturer at Universidad Diego Portales; Nicolás Díaz Bejarano, architect, researcher, lecturer, and PhD candidate in Architecture and Urban Studies at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; and Linda Schilling Cuellar, architect, urban designer,educator and doctoral candidate at the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths University.
"There Is Nothing to See Here" is the title of the exhibition hosted in the Hungarian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Since 2015, the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art has managed and organized both the temporary exhibition and the building. This year, it presents an alternative vision for the future of the profession. Curated by creative director and assistant professor Márton Pintér, in collaboration with Ingrid Manhertz, András Graf, and Júlia Böröndy, founder of the platform Women in Architecture (WIA), the exhibition will showcase the work of 12 architecture professionals who apply their expertise in fields beyond the profession.
During a live presentation for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, curator Carlo Ratti offered a glimpse into the programming of this year's edition. The 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale will include 66 National Pavilions, with 4 countries represented for the first time: the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, and Togo. The exhibition, divided between the Giardini (26), at the Arsenale (22) and in the city center of Venice (15), explores the theme of "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective", gathering over 750 participants, including individuals and organizations forming interdisciplinary and multigenerational teams. According to the numbers released, this year's edition is shaping up to become the largest Architecture Biennale held in Venice.
The design incorporates a specific type of low-carbon concrete, which aims to emit 30% less CO₂ than standard concrete. The prototype will be featured in the Time Space Existence exhibition, organized by the European Cultural Centre.The goal of the project is to test the sustainability of a housing prototype in response to the ongoing climate and humanitarian crises.
In his book "Curation: The Power of Selection in a World of Excess," Michael Bhaskar defines curation as "using acts of selection and arrangement (but also refining, reducing, displaying, simplifying, presenting, and explaining) to add value." Originating from the Latin word curare, meaning to take care of, the curator's role in dissecting our understanding of the world around us cannot be overlooked. Over time, as the definition morphs into different bodies, the practice of curation continues to evolve, filling the roles of caretakers of our built environment and thinkers of different forms for the overall bettering of society.
Architects Lesley Lokko and Marina Tabassum have been selected in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2024.’ Known as the TIME 100, the list is an annual compilation of individuals who have made significant impacts on the world in various fields such as politics, technology, entertainment, and more. Each person on the list is profiled by a guest writer, often someone who is also prominent in their field. Selected by Sarah M. Whiting, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Marina Tabassum features in the Innovators chapter, while Lesley Lokko, selected by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, is recognized as a Pioneer.
Black Females in Architecture (BFA) is a social enterprise supporting a membership of more than 450 Black women in built environment professions worldwide. Founded by architects Neba Sere, Selasi Setufe, and Akua Danso, the group advocates for diversity, race and gender equity across all sectors of the built environment, including architecture, urbanism, landscape, engineering, design, and construction.
We are happy to premiere their short film "A Voice for the 450 Plus" to a global audience for the first time since it was shown at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. The film is a celebration of the ongoing contributions of Black women in the built environment fields, showing the world how they contribute to shaping the future of our cities.
