The U.S. Pavilion, namely its accompanying site-specific installation and exhibitions, opens to the public soon for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. This accoutrement speaks to the important role porches play in American culture. The exterior intervention to the U.S. Pavilion was designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, Stephen Burks Man Made, D.I.R.T. studio, and TEN x TEN. This striking feature is made of prefabricated mass timber and rammed earth of Venetian provenance, the design team said. Seating and shade abound below the timber structure’s light blue underside. Exhibitions by 54 participants take up the interior. The displays are made of timber, just like the exterior. The panels trace the history of the American porch, exploring the quotidian building type’s architectural, social, and symbolic significance. All in all, the reliance on timber construction hearkens back to the 2021 U.S. Pavilion in Venice co-curated by Paul Andersen and Paul Preissner, which was also made of wood. The exhibitions speak to the historic social role porches play in U.S. life. (© Tim Hursley) PORCH: A Library connects visitors with texts that explore the porch as a threshold of learning, memory, and imagination, the curators said. This component was curated by editors from Places. A series of public programs, aptly called PORCH Fests, will take place over four key weekends. May 9–11 is the press preview and opening weekend. There will also be special programming for Independence Day between July 4–6, and for Labor Day (August 30–September 1). The closing weekend (November 21–23) will also have programming. This programming will gather recently appointed American Academy in Rome Prize Fellows and Residents, MacArthur Fellows, and AIA Gold Medal recipients. There will also be song, dance, storytelling, workshops, and more. How’d We Get Here? Peter MacKeith, Susan Chin, and Rod Bigelow were the U.S. Pavilion co-commissioners. MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at University of Arkansas, said in a statement the overall composition “reflects the best of American architecture.” “Generous in spirit, grounded in place, and open to the world, it exemplifies how architecture can invite connection and inspire imagination,” MacKeith added. The interior has entries from 54 participants. (©Tim Hursley) (© Tim Hursley) The open call for entries went out in December 2024. Carlo Ratti released the full list of all 762 participants in the Venice Architecture Biennale that following February. Renderings of the U.S. Pavilion were subsequently shared last April, as well as the U.S. participants. “PORCH is an open invitation to gather, to exchange, and to experience the power of architecture and design as a connector,” Chin noted. “Through its spatial presence, curated educational components, and multidisciplinary expression, our exhibition celebrates community and creativity in all their forms.” The timber structure will make for seamless, sustainable deconstruction when the exhibition closes. (© Tim Hursley) Members of the jury were Austen Barron Bailly of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary; Julie Bargmann, D.I.R.T. studio; Marlon Blackwell, Marlon Blackwell Architects; Stephen Burks, Stephen Burks Man Made; Josephine Minutillo, Architectural Record; Justin Garrett Moore, Humanities in Place at Mellon; and Jack Murphy, AN executive editor. The Architect’s Newspaper is the U.S. Pavilion’s media partner. To stay up to date on all things Venice, tune into The Architect’s Newspaper Instagram and archpaper.com to follow Jack Murphy and Matt Shaw report live from on the ground.