Leading Architectural Marvels at the Venice Biennale: An Examination of the Top 5 Pavilions
At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, under the direction of Carlo Ratti, the city of Venice transformed into a global platform for architecture, ecology, and radical design innovation. The theme, Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective., encouraged national pavilions to explore the future of architecture amidst climatic, technological, and societal shifts. Five national pavilions distinguished themselves for their conceptual depth, poetic resonance, and speculative ambition.
Nordic Pavilion - Industry Muscle: Five Scores for Architecture
Diversely located within Sverre Fehn's 1962 modernist structure, the Nordic Pavilion, curated by Kaisa Karvinen for the Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki, interrogates traditional architectural norms through a choreographic lens. In this innovative exhibition, Finnish artist Teo Ala-Ruona presents architecture not merely as a static environment, but as a fluid, performative space interwoven with the human body, gender identity, and ecological distress. A series of "scores" critiques the fossil-based infrastructures beneath modernism, opening up space for trans and non-conforming perspectives within the spatial discourse.
Japanese Pavilion - In-Between
Curated by the architect Jun Aoki and commissioned by the Japan Foundation, Japan's participation, In-Between, delicately challenges conventional dualities. Rooted in the Japanese philosophical concept ma (the space or pause between things), the pavilion meditates on coexistence and non-dualism, advocating an alternative design philosophy attuned to both the climate crisis and the rise of artificial intelligence.
Uzbekistan Pavilion - A Matter of Radiance
Centered on the Sun Institute of Material Science, or Sun Heliocomplex, the Uzbekistan pavilion titled A Matter of Radiance revisits a late Soviet scientific achievement. The pavilion invites visitors to contemplate the ongoing scientific and cultural relevance of this solar furnace, while considering its reinterpretation within a global, post-Soviet, and climate-conscious context.
Iceland Pavilion - Lavaforming
Iceland's Lavaforming, curated and conceptualized by Arnhildur Pálmadóttir in collaboration with s.ap architects, embraces the nation's volatile geology as a design opportunity. The pavilion proposes lava as a future building material that could potentially reduce carbon emissions and strengthen the alliance between humans and Earth systems. Both speculative and grounded, Lavaforming envisions architecture that adapts not only to nature but with it.
Bahrain Pavilion - Sweating Assets
Awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation, Bahrain's Sweating Assets focuses on climate adaptation and infrastructural poetics. The project reframes air conditioning, often critiqued for environmental impact, as a site of potential resources, exploring the reallocation of its byproducts within a broader ecological choreography.
In the global arena of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, these standout national pavilions address climate change, technology, and societal shifts through innovative, thought-provoking, and inclusive approaches. Each project adds a unique perspective to the broader conversation about architecture's role in reshaping the future.
- The Nordic Pavilion, through Finnish artist Teo Ala-Ruona's works, challenges traditional architectural norms by viewing architecture as a fluid, performative space connected with the human body, gender identity, and ecological distress, critiquing fossil-based infrastructures and promoting trans and non-conforming perspectives.
- Offering an alternative design philosophy that combines the climate crisis and the rise of artificial intelligence, Japan's pavilion, In-Between, delicately challenge conventional dualities, rooted in the Japanese philosophical concept ma (the space or pause between things).
- Uzbekistan's pavilion, A Matter of Radiance, revolves around the Sun Institute of Material Science, or Sun Heliocomplex, inviting visitors to contemplate the ongoing scientific and cultural relevance of this solar furnace and its reinterpretation within a global, post-Soviet, and climate-conscious context.
