html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Trkiye Pavilion has announced the project and curators for the19thInternationalArchitectureExhibitionof the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennalein Venice, Italy.Commissioned bytheIstanbulFoundationforCultureandArts(IKSV), the exhibition, titled Grounded,curatedby Istanbul-based curatorCerenErdemand Berlin-based architectBilgeKalfa.The 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale will take place fromMay10 to November23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice.TitledIntelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, the exhibition will be curated by Carlo Ratti, an architect and engineer, Carlo Ratti is currently holding teaching positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at the Politecnico di Milano.Ceren Erdem, Bilge Kalfa. Image courtesy of theIstanbulFoundationforCultureandArtsAfter evaluating 48 projects, the Selection Committeewhich included Melike Altnk, N. Mge Cengizkan, Prof. Dr. Zeynep elik, Oral Gkta, and Dr. Sait Ali Kknarselected Grounded, which was curated by Ceren Erdem and Bilge Kalfa, from a shortlist of three finalists, each of whom was noteworthy for its distinctive design concepts and content.Grounded examines soil as a living archive, an ecosystem, a form of natural intelligence, a supportive model, and a repository of ecological and cultural memory.The project was selected because of its creative research proposal, which seeks to unearth fresh optimism for the future, primarily from Trkiye, while integrating significant artistic perspectives in an interdisciplinary approach that enhances its story, advances global understanding, and stimulates critical thinking.By highlighting the qualities of soil as a source of life, memory, and knowledge, Grounded will establish a connection between the past and the future.The Pavilion of Trkiye, Ghost Stories: Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture. Image Rachele MaistrelloThe exhibition's main goal is to remind us that this object, which is sometimes dismissed as inert and unimportant, actually holds important knowledge about historical civilizations, ecological systems, and the potential for coexisting peacefully with the natural world. It will do this through sensory experiences, scientific documentation, architecture, and artwork.Grounded will combine new research with traditional building techniques with the soil, as well as future visions that value life both above and below the soil equally.With the help of 21 sponsors and the purchase of the permanent location at Sale d'Armi, Arsenale, at the initiative of IKSV, the Trkiye Pavilion has participated in the International Architecture Exhibition since 2014.Ceren Erdem is an Istanbul-based curator who has worked on exhibitions and publications internationally. Some of her projects include Tack, Limb, Ilizarov, Depo, Istanbul (2023); All Else Is Far (2021) and Ad Infinitum (2019), Dirimart, Istanbul; Inverse Grayscale, Pasinger Fabrik, Munich (2016); Istanbul. Passion, Joy, Fury, Fondazione MAXXI, Rome (2015); Water Knows All My Secrets, Pratt Manhattan Gallery (2015) and Private Matters, apexart (2014), New York.Erdem has taken full-time roles at Dirimart, Istanbul, Tina Kim Gallery, New York, British Council Turkey, Istanbul, and Istanbul Biennial.The Pavilion of Trkiye, Ghost Stories: Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture. Image Rachele MaistrelloErdem received her Master's Degree in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies at Columbia University, New York, MFA in Visual Arts - Visual Communication Design at Sabanc University, Istanbul, and BSc in Industrial Product Design at Istanbul Technical University.Bilge Kalfa is an architect who owns Bilge Kalfa Architecture and is an adjunct professor at Berlin International University. In addition to furniture design that emphasizes natural, cyclical materials, Kalfa's expertise encompasses all stages of architectural and interior design.A graduate of Istanbul Technical Universitys Faculty of Architecture with a bachelors and masters degree, she also co-owns The Keep, an artisanal rug company. In 2010, she received a national architectural prize for the group project mkanmekan. She has completed numerous projects in Istanbul and Berlin, including the renowned Moda Sahnesi and Theater Hall at Boazii University, with her former business partner. Her approach aims to honour the interconnectedness of life and the environment as much as possible.At the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, the Trkiye Pavilion hosted the exhibition, titled Ghost Stories: Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture curated by Istanbul-based architecture studio SO?, co-founded by Sevince Bayrak and Oral Gkta. The exhibition aimed "to question the taken-for-granted images and approaches to buildings and to reveal hopeful proposals for the future."Top image: The Pavilion of Trkiye, Ghost Stories: Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture. Image Rachele Maistrello.> via IKSV