Archi/Tree/tecture: Lithuanias Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the Relationship Between Identity and Urban NatureSave this picture!Courtesy of Gintaras BalytisThe Lithuanian Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale presents Archi / Tree / tecture, a project by the National Architects Association. Curated by architect Gintaras Balytis, 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 Vaitieknas, Andrius Pukis, and Vika Pranaityt, will be set within the Church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti.The curatorial team's approach to contemporary urban relationships with nature suggests that an empathetic understanding of ecosystems and memory, when integrated into decision-making processes and discussions on architecture's role, can effectively support a citizenry resilient to the rapid changes of modern life. This vision is based on the observation that, in a geologically infinitesimal span of time, neighborhoods can be radically transformed by large-scale developments, often at the cost of century-old trees that have withstood generations. The removal of these trees erases not only natural elements but also historical and collective memory, weakening neighborhood identity.Save this picture!Save this picture!Drawing from Lithuania's history as the last pagan society in Europe, the exhibition references a cultural tradition that reveres trees, forests, rivers, and celestial bodies as integral to an all-encompassing concept of nature. The exhibition discourse values practices and decisions based on nature-rooted choices, emphasizing that, for centuries, trees were considered the highest manifestation of a living intelligence in the land where structures were built: the genius loci. They served as determinants of spatial form and meaning, functioning as the axis mundi that connects the universe and humanity, providing order to the cosmos. Today, this cultural valuation remains strong in Lithuania, where, according to the curator, the act of cutting down trees in urban areas often sparks public protest. The exhibition calls for a crucial architectural perspective at this crossroads, addressing environmental concerns, quality of life, urban climate deterioration, and the loss of historical memory. Related Article Indoor-Outdoor Homes in Lithuania: 20 Projects with Oversized Windows that Invite Nature The exhibition Archi / Tree / tecture is organized into three sections, examining the relationship between architecture and nature. The first section features an installation of an uprooted tree stump, highlighting the physical and symbolic consequences of severed natural and human roots. The second section presents architectural models of late 20th- and 21st-century projects influenced by the natural environment, particularly trees, with a focus on sustainability and the integration of built spaces over time. A central white cube displays video narratives combining documentary material, spatial scans, and soundscapes to illustrate the interaction between architecture and the biosphere. The third section functions as a dynamic research space during the 2025 Venice Biennale, where professionals, architects, and researchers from over 14 European universities will collaborate on climate neutrality solutions. This initiative, Architecture Beyond Architects, will conclude with a public symposium from September 22 to 28, 2025.Save this picture!Lithuania's contribution to the 2025 Venice Biennale, under the curatorial theme Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, approaches sustainability in architecture through a lens of long-term integrity, emotional engagement, and reflection. As well as this year's Peruvian Pavilion, it draws on indigenous wisdom about our natural surroundings. Other national pavilions also interrogate our relationships with nature, memory, and collective resilience. Lebanon's The Land Remembers explores ecocide and environmental healing, while Uruguay examines the intrinsic ties between architecture, territory, and water. Belgium, in turn, offers a thought-provoking exhibition exploring a transformative approach to architecture through the lens of plant intelligence.Image gallerySee allShow lessAbout this authorCite: Antonia Pieiro. "Archi/Tree/tecture: Lithuanias Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the Relationship Between Identity and Urban Nature" 31 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028566/archi-tree-tecture-lithuanias-pavilion-at-the-2025-venice-biennale-explores-the-relationship-between-identity-and-urban-nature&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream