Another day, another romp through what’s on at the Biennale Architettura 2025. In case you missed them, check out our dispatches from earlier this week for more takes on the national pavilions and low-downs on the talks and exhibitions happening in Venice. So Much Soil Beyond the rammed earth utilized in the U.S. Pavilion, soil had a good showing this year. Australia’s pavilion, themed Home, centered objects and discourse from its First Nations team, and includes a circular earth-clad wall and bench. Mexico focused on the chinampa and the connections between Venice’s lagoon; a central planted area is flanked by seating clad in dirt. HOME, Australia’s pavilion, includes an earthy gathering space (Jack Murphy) Turkey presents research on soil as a construction method. (Luca Capuano) There’s more: Turkey’s pavilion is all about dirt. Nearby, Kosovo’s pavilion also centers the ground, but through smell design by Sissel Tolaas. On Instagram, Eric Höweler said: “Her installation combines the atmospherics of dirt – humidity, unevenness, imbalance- with smells and the seasonality that it implies.” Kosovo’s pavilion is also about soil, namely its smell. (Luca Capuano) Sound Design Ambient soundscapes are having a big year at the biennale also. Uruguay’s pavilion is always a sleeper hit, as it usually shows an epic video or dramatic, darkened installation. Uruguayans delivered once again with 53.86% Uruguay, Land of Water, curated by architects Katia Sei Fong and Ken Sei Fong alongside artist Luis Sei Fong. The sound installation has water dripping from the ceiling into buckets, along with dreamy water footage projected on the walls. In the Arsenale, Ireland created Assembly, curated by Luke Naessens and Louise Cotter. It is a circular wooden listening room that is a “prototype for a structure that facilitates non-hierarchical communication between strangers.” The hut is wired and piped with a polyphonic soundscape. The act is inspired by the Citizens’ Assembly in the country, a gathering that invites 99 Irish residents to discuss urgent issues. Ireland delivered Assembly, a circular wooden listening room. (Luca Capuano) On an upper floor nearby, Luxembourg also went hard with sound. A darkened half-circle interior is the scene for Sonic Investigations, curated by architects Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, and Alice Loumeau. There were no pictures! Just sounds. A welcome moment of repose. Fun! Poland had a strong showing with its pavilion Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security, which “speaks of our anxieties and how we respond to them to feel safer in architecture.” Curated by Aleksandra Kędziorek, it explores elements that provide security and a sense of security: Think fire extinguishers, exit signs, and building regulations. Chicago architect and 2023 U.S. Pavilion curator Paul Preissner said that if he was handing out Golden Lions, Poland would be his choice. The Netherlands pavilion, SIDELINED: A Space to Rethink Togetherness, curated by Amanda Pinatih, rethinks sports as noncompetitive ways to collaborate. A three-team sport allows everyone to win, while a long, curved foosball table lets several people play at once, while all on the same side, calling into question who is playing whom and in which direction each player is even supposed to “kick” the ball. It is a fun show with a simple premise, but executed well. Slovenia staged large sculptural towers built with everyday construction materials. (Andrea Avezzù) Slovenia presented a playful set of totems called Master Builders, curated by Ana Kosi and Ognen Arsov. The large sculptural towers are built with everyday construction materials, serving as a “physical manifesto of crafts people’s knowledge and skills.” In the age of automation and 3D printing, these totems serve as a reminder of the qualities being lost to optimization and perfection, while also laying bare the human labor that goes into a building. Discourse and Documentation Albania’s contribution is Building Architecture Culture, curated by Anneke Abhelakh. The study looks at how the young democracy can establish a public, reflective discourse about architecture. (Check out the first episode of a podcast about it, hosted by Koozarch.) Ukraine studies vernacular hardcore with dakh, or “roof,” an exhibition examining everyday constructions across the country historically and during the current invasion by Russia. Michal Murawski described a never-before-seen documentation project by architect Bogdana Kosmina and her mother, Oksana Kosmina. The architect’s grandmother, also an architect, is present via an AI version of her that attendees can chat with. Artificial intelligens! Albania’s pavilion, curated by Anneke Abhelakh looks at how the country can contribute to a discourse about architecture. (Andrea Avezzù) Reusing Scarpa Reuse has been a huge theme throughout the biennale, as many projects and discussions have centered on how to preserve and reuse existing structures, not only for cultural heritage but for sustainability and economic viability. Bourj Hammoud: The Value of the Existing was a conversation between French architect and Pritzker Prize laureate Anne Lacaton and her protege, Lebanese architect Arine Aprahamian, moderated by Joseph Grima in the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale. Lacaton explained that their sensibility came from time spent in Niger, where “they have so little, so we learned how to do something with nothing.” Aprahamian mentioned that her work in her native Lebanon was about reuse and saving what had meaning. Her neighborhood, she said, was not immediately identifiable as special or worth saving. “It takes effort to know what their real value is,” she said. “We don’t need to tear these places down for new towers.” Grima agreed, and mentioned a similar “organic trajectory of growth is what makes Venice special.” “Reuse has been the paradigm for most of human history, actually,” he said. This biennale has a small reuse project that proves this point. Giulia Foscari and Venetian architects UNA transformed one of the 1952 Carlo Scarpa–designed ticket booths outside the Giardini. The small booth is now a radio broadcasting booth, where participants can hold discussions. During the Vernissage, Voice of Commons is a podcast series recorded live that tackles planetary issues such as the ocean, outer space, the atmosphere and Antarctica, which constitute a “global commons.” Ukraine’s exhibition focuses on building materials and methods from across the country historically and during the current invasion by Russia. (© Maxime Faure) Beyond the Prize A morning event at Ocean Space saw two panels discussing the relevance of architectural awards and how commendation mechanics can be carried out in ways that build connections instead of being a shallow, fast hit. In the second conversation, moderator James Taylor Foster spoke with Laura Viscovich, Marina Tabassum, Dirk Denison, Mohsen Mostafavi, Farrokh Derakhshani, and Rozana Montiel. Most lead award programs: Denison directs the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, Derakhshani directs the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and Viscovich is the executive director of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. Montiel, who has won major awards, said they “bring us together even though we’re far apart.” Foster asked if the group had ever questioned the existence of their awards; this prompted reflection about what they’re doing: The point, variously, is to produce knowledge and share it; to connect people across the Americas; and to readjust the focus of the program to stay relevant. (Did we mention our Best of Products Awards campaign is currently open?) Deserta Ecofolie posits a tiny structure for off-grid inhabitation. (Luca Capuano) Best Thing We Saw All Day Are you still reading this? If so, here’s our hottest tip: There’s a clearing surrounded by a berm at the very end of the show at the Arsenale. It hosts Deserta Ecofolie: A Prototype for Minimum Dwelling in the Atacama Desert and Beyond by Pedro Ignacio Alonso and Pamela Prado. The tiny structure sits on legs and provides for off-grid inhabitation with items like a solar array, a domestic wind turbine, a dry toilet, and other devices. The interior, organized around a staircase/ladder, is tight, but the bed is pushed up against a big window. It would be nice to wake up here. The structure is spiky but powerful: Its architects show us how we might live in a harsh climate, which is increasingly our reality. Ciao!