Brazil has just announced its participation in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, opening on May 10, 2025, with a pavilion curated by the Plano Coletivo group. Architects Luciana Saboia, Eder Alencar, and Matheus Seco will lead the project, representing Brazil with an multidisciplinary approach that bridges architecture, nature, and social infrastructure.
The Brazil Pavilion's exhibition design reflects a commitment to addressing socio-environmental challenges. Through a curatorial vision rooted in collaboration, the project will bring together contributions from researchers, professors, architects, and artists across the country. Ultimately, the pavilion seeks to explore how architectural practices can mediate between natural and built environments, responding to the Biennale's theme, Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., proposed by general curator Carlo Ratti.
The curatorial team's proposal reflects deeply on Brazil's unique relationship with its natural and urban environments. Drawing inspiration from ancestral practices in the Amazon and contemporary strategies that reconcile society, the city, and nature, the exhibition questions how collective intelligence—both ancient and modern—can reshape our approach to habitation amid ongoing socio-environmental crises.
Related Article
"Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective": Carlo Ratti Announces Theme and Title for 2025 Venice Architecture BiennaleThe curators, Luciana Saboia, Eder Alencar, and Matheus Seco, bring expertise to the Brazil Pavilion. Saboia, a professor and researcher, is known for her critical work on landscape and metropolitan peripheries, emphasizing environmental and social transformation. Alencar, a founding partner of ARQBR Arquitetos, focuses on creating architecture that harmonizes with local contexts and landscapes. Seco, co-founder of BLOCO Arquitetos, has earned recognition for his thoughtful approach to design, which respects site-specific constraints while exploring innovative solutions. Together, they form a team committed to using architecture as a tool for socio-environmental action.
The exhibition design will offer a nuanced dialogue on the role of architecture as both a cultural artifact and a tool for addressing global challenges. The Brazil Pavilion invites visitors to consider how the convergence of local knowledge and global discourse can promote a vision of urban and environmental coexistence that is both innovative and inclusive.
This year's participation reaffirms Fundação Bienal de São Paulo's long-standing commitment to elevating Brazilian architectural thought on an international stage. Since its creation in 1964, the Brazil Pavilion in Venice has been a platform for exploring the country's artistic and cultural identity, and this year's project continues that legacy, turning the spotlight on Brazil's response to critical global issues.
Titled "Intelligens," the exhibition will be running from May 24th to November 23rd, 2025 in Giardini, the Arsenale, and various landmark locations throughout Venice. Many countries have announced their participation in the biennale. The Belgian pavilion will be transformed by an exhibition titled "Building Biospheres for the 19th Biennale Architettura. Similarly, the Türkiye Pavilion has announced their project, "Grounded," curated by Ceren Erdem and Bilge Kalfa. Finally, Iceland has presented Lavaforming, a project led by architect Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.
