• Estimating time for complex projects

    Estimating the time required to complete a task is riddled with pitfalls.Let’s start with two key concepts you must understand — after managing and designing projects for over 20 years, I’ve seen these patterns play out again and again.Hofstadter’s lawHofstadter’s law is a self-referential adage about time that goes like this:“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s law.”This law highlights how difficult it is to accurately estimate the time required to complete complex tasks. Its recursive nature reflects the widespread experience that, no matter how complex a task appears, calculating the time needed is hard, even with our best efforts.Why is that?Optimism biasThe main reason stems from the tendency known as optimism bias — the inclination to be overly optimistic and thus overestimate favorable outcomes. In fact, we tend to overestimate our own abilities as well.It’s worth noting that this bias is actually quite necessary for humans: without it, we wouldn’t take risks, start businesses, or grow. However, when it comes to estimation, it can seriously backfire. This phenomenon naturally leads to…Planning fallacyOverly optimistic forecasts about the outcomes of plans are almost everywhere. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky introduced the term planning fallacy to describe how we consistently underestimate the necessary resourceswhen planning complex projects. This phenomenon pushes us toward optimistic planning. Unsurprisingly, we’re much more realistic when reviewing someone else’s plan.In short:We overestimate favorable outcomes and our abilities, and we underestimate the required resources and constraints.What can we do?As I mentioned earlier, I’ll share how I personally handle this. The phenomenon is not new, and there are countless methods available.2x + 15 ruleFor smaller tasks, I use this technique. I look at the task, estimate the number of hours, double it, and add 15 minutes. The extra 15 minutes is to get started and immerse yourself in the task. Most of the time, it works quite well and is incredibly simple.Hofstadter multiplierMy teammates track and record the actual time spent on tasks, which is useful for several reasons. First, it helps everyone gain experience with how long typical tasks take, which they can then compare to their own estimates, improving their estimation skills. Second, you can determine your own — or a particular person’s — so-called Hofstadter multiplier. We’re all different, so this is a more advanced, personalized version of the 2x + 15 rule.Complex projectsThe earlier solutions work well for simpler tasks, but complex projects require additional considerations. But first, it’s important to clarify one question:How much energy can you, or do you want to, invest in the estimate/proposal?From there, more questions arise:Is it a rough indicative proposal or a detailed, itemized one?What inputs, expertise, and professionals are needed for the estimate?Is all necessary information available?How much capacity do you havefor the estimation and/or execution?Do you realistically have a chance of winning the work? :)Your answers to these questions will influence the path you choose.Going back to the planning fallacy for a moment: it can be mitigated by involving a third party or by relying on real data from similar past projects.That’s why it’s crucial to keep precise records of the time spent on every task so that the data is available later.You will log the time for every task. — Obi-Wan KenobiMoving on…In an ideal world, the best approach is for the team that will actually execute the project to estimate it together. But consider how much it costs if a 4–5 person team individually reviews and interprets the materials, discusses them together, collects missing information, breaks down the project into items, and estimates each one using some method. It’s incredibly time-consuming and expensive.Therefore, as a substitute, it’s good to have an experienced person who’s seen many projects and/or to rely on actual hours from similar past projects. In this case, you only need to account for the differences and unknownsat the time of the proposal. Estimation becomes much simpler, faster, and cheaper.For indicative proposals, I almost always use this latter method, with one important addition: always assume a ±20% variation.Whoa, be careful!It may seem like you’ve done something similar before, but hidden behind the scenes are major differences. This can lead to nasty surprises if you rely on data from nearly similar projects. In such cases, it’s wise to consult multiple external teams to benchmark the work. This helps refine the estimate and creates a healthy competitive environment.And when a detailed, itemized proposal is necessary… There’s no shortcut: you’ll need to apply a methodology. I won’t even attempt to cover this topic here, as there are entire books written about the relevant methodologies.FinallyI’ve been in the product design profession for over 20 years, and I often play the game where, after hearing the requirements, I throw out a number almost off the top of my head. It works surprisingly often, but of course, I wouldn’t even call it indicative. Still, it’s fun.Estimating time for complex projects was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
    #estimating #time #complex #projects
    Estimating time for complex projects
    Estimating the time required to complete a task is riddled with pitfalls.Let’s start with two key concepts you must understand — after managing and designing projects for over 20 years, I’ve seen these patterns play out again and again.Hofstadter’s lawHofstadter’s law is a self-referential adage about time that goes like this:“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s law.”This law highlights how difficult it is to accurately estimate the time required to complete complex tasks. Its recursive nature reflects the widespread experience that, no matter how complex a task appears, calculating the time needed is hard, even with our best efforts.Why is that?Optimism biasThe main reason stems from the tendency known as optimism bias — the inclination to be overly optimistic and thus overestimate favorable outcomes. In fact, we tend to overestimate our own abilities as well.It’s worth noting that this bias is actually quite necessary for humans: without it, we wouldn’t take risks, start businesses, or grow. However, when it comes to estimation, it can seriously backfire. This phenomenon naturally leads to…Planning fallacyOverly optimistic forecasts about the outcomes of plans are almost everywhere. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky introduced the term planning fallacy to describe how we consistently underestimate the necessary resourceswhen planning complex projects. This phenomenon pushes us toward optimistic planning. Unsurprisingly, we’re much more realistic when reviewing someone else’s plan.In short:We overestimate favorable outcomes and our abilities, and we underestimate the required resources and constraints.What can we do?As I mentioned earlier, I’ll share how I personally handle this. The phenomenon is not new, and there are countless methods available.2x + 15 ruleFor smaller tasks, I use this technique. I look at the task, estimate the number of hours, double it, and add 15 minutes. The extra 15 minutes is to get started and immerse yourself in the task. Most of the time, it works quite well and is incredibly simple.Hofstadter multiplierMy teammates track and record the actual time spent on tasks, which is useful for several reasons. First, it helps everyone gain experience with how long typical tasks take, which they can then compare to their own estimates, improving their estimation skills. Second, you can determine your own — or a particular person’s — so-called Hofstadter multiplier. We’re all different, so this is a more advanced, personalized version of the 2x + 15 rule.Complex projectsThe earlier solutions work well for simpler tasks, but complex projects require additional considerations. But first, it’s important to clarify one question:How much energy can you, or do you want to, invest in the estimate/proposal?From there, more questions arise:Is it a rough indicative proposal or a detailed, itemized one?What inputs, expertise, and professionals are needed for the estimate?Is all necessary information available?How much capacity do you havefor the estimation and/or execution?Do you realistically have a chance of winning the work? :)Your answers to these questions will influence the path you choose.Going back to the planning fallacy for a moment: it can be mitigated by involving a third party or by relying on real data from similar past projects.That’s why it’s crucial to keep precise records of the time spent on every task so that the data is available later.You will log the time for every task. — Obi-Wan KenobiMoving on…In an ideal world, the best approach is for the team that will actually execute the project to estimate it together. But consider how much it costs if a 4–5 person team individually reviews and interprets the materials, discusses them together, collects missing information, breaks down the project into items, and estimates each one using some method. It’s incredibly time-consuming and expensive.Therefore, as a substitute, it’s good to have an experienced person who’s seen many projects and/or to rely on actual hours from similar past projects. In this case, you only need to account for the differences and unknownsat the time of the proposal. Estimation becomes much simpler, faster, and cheaper.For indicative proposals, I almost always use this latter method, with one important addition: always assume a ±20% variation.Whoa, be careful!It may seem like you’ve done something similar before, but hidden behind the scenes are major differences. This can lead to nasty surprises if you rely on data from nearly similar projects. In such cases, it’s wise to consult multiple external teams to benchmark the work. This helps refine the estimate and creates a healthy competitive environment.And when a detailed, itemized proposal is necessary… There’s no shortcut: you’ll need to apply a methodology. I won’t even attempt to cover this topic here, as there are entire books written about the relevant methodologies.FinallyI’ve been in the product design profession for over 20 years, and I often play the game where, after hearing the requirements, I throw out a number almost off the top of my head. It works surprisingly often, but of course, I wouldn’t even call it indicative. Still, it’s fun.Estimating time for complex projects was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. #estimating #time #complex #projects
    UXDESIGN.CC
    Estimating time for complex projects
    Estimating the time required to complete a task is riddled with pitfalls.Let’s start with two key concepts you must understand — after managing and designing projects for over 20 years, I’ve seen these patterns play out again and again.Hofstadter’s lawHofstadter’s law is a self-referential adage about time that goes like this:“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s law.”This law highlights how difficult it is to accurately estimate the time required to complete complex tasks. Its recursive nature reflects the widespread experience that, no matter how complex a task appears, calculating the time needed is hard, even with our best efforts. (See the header image.)Why is that?Optimism biasThe main reason stems from the tendency known as optimism bias — the inclination to be overly optimistic and thus overestimate favorable outcomes. In fact, we tend to overestimate our own abilities as well.It’s worth noting that this bias is actually quite necessary for humans: without it, we wouldn’t take risks, start businesses, or grow. However, when it comes to estimation, it can seriously backfire. This phenomenon naturally leads to…Planning fallacyOverly optimistic forecasts about the outcomes of plans are almost everywhere. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky introduced the term planning fallacy to describe how we consistently underestimate the necessary resources (money, time) when planning complex projects. This phenomenon pushes us toward optimistic planning. Unsurprisingly, we’re much more realistic when reviewing someone else’s plan.In short:We overestimate favorable outcomes and our abilities, and we underestimate the required resources and constraints.What can we do?As I mentioned earlier, I’ll share how I personally handle this. The phenomenon is not new, and there are countless methods available.2x + 15 ruleFor smaller tasks (~1–20 hours), I use this technique. I look at the task, estimate the number of hours, double it, and add 15 minutes. The extra 15 minutes is to get started and immerse yourself in the task. Most of the time, it works quite well and is incredibly simple.Hofstadter multiplierMy teammates track and record the actual time spent on tasks, which is useful for several reasons. First, it helps everyone gain experience with how long typical tasks take, which they can then compare to their own estimates, improving their estimation skills. Second, you can determine your own — or a particular person’s — so-called Hofstadter multiplier. We’re all different, so this is a more advanced, personalized version of the 2x + 15 rule.Complex projectsThe earlier solutions work well for simpler tasks, but complex projects require additional considerations. But first, it’s important to clarify one question:How much energy can you, or do you want to, invest in the estimate/proposal?From there, more questions arise:Is it a rough indicative proposal or a detailed, itemized one?What inputs, expertise, and professionals are needed for the estimate?Is all necessary information available?How much capacity do you have (if any) for the estimation and/or execution?Do you realistically have a chance of winning the work? :)Your answers to these questions will influence the path you choose.Going back to the planning fallacy for a moment: it can be mitigated by involving a third party or by relying on real data from similar past projects.That’s why it’s crucial to keep precise records of the time spent on every task so that the data is available later.You will log the time for every task. — Obi-Wan KenobiMoving on…In an ideal world, the best approach is for the team that will actually execute the project to estimate it together. But consider how much it costs if a 4–5 person team individually reviews and interprets the materials, discusses them together, collects missing information, breaks down the project into items, and estimates each one using some method. It’s incredibly time-consuming and expensive.Therefore, as a substitute, it’s good to have an experienced person who’s seen many projects and/or to rely on actual hours from similar past projects. In this case, you only need to account for the differences and unknowns (the risks) at the time of the proposal. Estimation becomes much simpler, faster, and cheaper.For indicative proposals, I almost always use this latter method, with one important addition: always assume a ±20% variation.Whoa, be careful!It may seem like you’ve done something similar before, but hidden behind the scenes are major differences. This can lead to nasty surprises if you rely on data from nearly similar projects. In such cases, it’s wise to consult multiple external teams to benchmark the work. This helps refine the estimate and creates a healthy competitive environment.And when a detailed, itemized proposal is necessary… There’s no shortcut: you’ll need to apply a methodology. I won’t even attempt to cover this topic here, as there are entire books written about the relevant methodologies.FinallyI’ve been in the product design profession for over 20 years, and I often play the game where, after hearing the requirements, I throw out a number almost off the top of my head. It works surprisingly often, but of course, I wouldn’t even call it indicative. Still, it’s fun.Estimating time for complex projects was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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  • #333;">Round-up: Canadian-led exhibitions at the 2025 Venice Biennale
    The International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia,  has returned, with its grand opening held in early May.
    The exhibition runs until November 23, 2025
    The Canada Council for the Arts, Commissioner of Canada’s official participation in the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, administers the selection process and oversees the exhibition at the Canada Pavilion.
    But in addition to the Canada Pavilion, Canadian architects and designers have a presence in several other exhibitions that are part of this year’s festival.
    Here’s a round-up of the Canadian work in Venice.
    Picoplanktonics.
    Photo credit: Valentina Mori
    Picoplanktonics led by Living Room Collective
    Canada’s official entry to the Biennale is Picoplanktonics, a 3D-printed living artwork incorporating cyanobacteria—a global first at the intersection of architecture, biotechnology, and art.
    The exhibition, developed by the Living Room Collective, showcases the potential for collaboration between humans and nature. Picoplanktonics is an exploration of the potential to co-operate with living systems by co-constructing spaces that “remediate the planet rather than exploit it.”
    The installation transforms the Canada Pavilion into an aquatic micro-ecosystem, where architectural structures grow, evolve, and naturally degrade alongside their living components.
    It was designed according to regenerative architecture principles, and is not only a built object, but also a breathing organism interacting with its environment, which prompts reflection on potential futures of the built environment.
    The creative team is led by bio-designer Andrea Shin Ling, alongside core team members Nicholas Hoban, Vincent Hui and Clayton Lee.
    Etude Ile Verte by Atelier Pierre Thibault.
    Photo credit Alex Lesage
    Les boucaneries de l’île Verte by Atelier Pierre Thibault
    Atelier Pierre Thibault has been invited to participate in this year’s Venice Biennale as the only team from Québec.
    His project is inspired by the old fish smokehouses, or boucaneries, of Île Verte.
    With the support of the fifty permanent residents of Île Verte, Atelier Pierre Thibault has designed a participatory architectural project that aims to reinterpret the boucaneries as creative canvases to imagine new uses to strengthen Île Verte’s autonomy.
    This includes community greenhouses, artist studios, and gathering places.
    The exhibition aims to highlight, as Thibault puts it, “the strength of a sensitive and collective gesture in response to the erosion of traditional buildings and the major climate challenges faced by inhabitants living year-round in an isolated island environment.”
    The construction of the installations, along with the exchanges sparked with the community, was documented through photography and video, and captures both the process and the spirit of collaboration that defined the project.
    Celebrating the Verdoyants’ collective intelligence and inviting reflection on the future of the boucaneries, this participatory project highlights the exemplary and internationally resonant nature of this approach.
    The Atelier Pierre Thibault project will be on view at the Corderie dell’Arsenale.
    The pavilion itself will take the form of a temporary, lightweight structure constructed from reused materials, situated on the grounds of the French Pavilion, which is currently undergoing renovation.
    The curators have selected 50 projects to be featured across six thematic sections: Living With the Existing, the Immediate, the Broken, Vulnerabilities, Nature, and Combined Intelligences.
    Image courtesy of WZMH Architects
    Speedstac by WZMH Architects as part of Living With…Combined Intelligences 
    As part of the exhibition “Living With… Combined Intelligences,” WZMH Architects presents Speedstac, a prefabricated modular precast solution that aims to reimagine how urban areas devastated by war can be rebuilt.
    Originally designed to accelerate housing construction in Canada, Speedstac took on urgent new relevance following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
    With more than 170,000 buildings damaged or destroyed and millions displaced, WZMH’s innovation, developed through its R&D lab, sparkbird, aims to offer a scalable solution: self-contained, plug-and-play building modules with integrated electrical and plumbing systems that can be seamlessly inserted into existing structures.
    The use of modern materials such as high-performance concrete can reduce the weight of the modules, making them easier to lift and move using conventional crane equipment.
    Using a robust locking mechanism, several modules can be securely fastened and unfastened as needed, to produce an adaptive modular housing solution.
    The Speedstac system aims to offer a solution to the challenges of traditional construction methods, enabling faster, more flexible, and more sustainable building projects.
    The Vivre Avec / Living With exhibition is hosted in the French Pavilion.
    Presentation, Northern Horizons.
    Photo credit: Blouin Orzes architectes
    Northern Horizons by Blouin Orzes architectes as part of Time Space Existence 
    Through a wide selection of projects—ranging from conceptual works, models and photographs to videos, sculptures and site-specific installations—the exhibition Time Space Existence, hosted by the European Cultural Centre, aims to provoke participants to question their relationship with space and time, re-envisioning new ways of living and rethinking architecture through a larger lens.
    Quebec firm Blouin Orzes’ participation revolves around their first-hand understanding of Inuit territories, where they have been working since 2000.
    Their contribution is based on their  recent publication, Northern Journeys.
    Blouin Orzes’ contribution in on display at the Palazzo Mora, and additional contributions to Time Space Existence are on view at the Palazzo Bembo and Marinaressa Gardens.
    View of Commercial and Residential Towers from Seymour and West Georgia Streets.
    Image credit: Henriquez Partners Studio
    BC Glass Sea Sponge
    Another contribution to Time Space Existence is the work of Henriquez Partners Studio.
    The transformative mixed-use development which they are presenting merges architectural innovation, social responsibility and urban revitalization, and has recently been submitted to the City of Vancouver.
    The project is about ambitious city-building, and aims to unlock public benefits on currently underutilized land in a way that supports some of the city’s most urgent needs, while contributing bold architecture to the city skyline.
    Four towers, designed by Henriquez, draw inspiration from rare and ancient glass sea sponge reefs, whose ecological strength and resilience have shaped both form and structure.
    These living marine organisms, which are unique to the Pacific Northwest, aim to serve as a metaphor for regeneration and adaptation.
    This concept is translated through the architectural language of the towers: silhouettes, sculptural forms, and sustainable performance.
    The tallest tower, a stand-alone hotel, proposed at 1,033 feet, is shaped by a structural diagrid exoskeleton that allows for column-free interiors while maximizing strength and minimizing material use.
    Developed in collaboration with Arup, the structural system references the skeletal lattice of sea sponges; a concept researched at Harvard for its groundbreaking structural efficiency.
    Henriquez Partners’  contribution is on display at Palazzo Bembo.
    Renewal Development Shishalh Project Duplex Renderings – Image credit: Renewal Development
    Shíshálh Nation: Ten Home Rescue Project as part of theLiving With / Vivre avec exhibition
    Vancouver-based company Renewal Development has been selected to appear as part of the French Pavilion’s exhibition on housing innovation.
    In 2024, Renewal Development partnered with developer Wesgroup and the shíshálh Nation to relocate ten high value Port Moody homes set for demolition to the shíshálh Nation on the Sunshine Coast.
    The Nation has been experiencing an acute housing shortage with 900 Nation members currently on a waitlist for housing.
    Renewal Development says that this initiative reflects its “deeply held values of sustainability, and reconciliation” and its “work to offer real-world solutions to waste and housing shortages by reimagining what already exists.”
    The project will be on display in the French Pavilion.
    The following is a list of other Canadian groups and individuals contributing to this year’s Venice Biennale:
    On Storage
    Brendan Cormier is a Canadian writer, curator, and urban designer based in London.
    He is currently the lead curator of 20th and 21st Century Design for the Shekou Partnership at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
    Prior to this he served as the managing editor of Volume Magazine.
    La Biennale di Venezia and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London present for the ninth consecutive year the Applied Arts Pavilion Special Project titled On Storage, curated by Brendan Cormier, in collaboration with Diller, Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R).
    It explores the global architecture of storage in service of the circulation of things, and features a newly commissioned six-channel film directed by DS+R.
    From Liquid to Stone: A Reconfigurable Concrete Tectonic Against Obsolescence
    Inge Donovan, based in Boston, achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Design and Architectural History, Theory and Criticism from the Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto in 2019 after growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada.
    The Curse of Dimensionality
    Adeline Chum is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Spatial Research and third-year student in the MArch Program at GSAPP.
    She has received her Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo, Canada and has worked in small and medium-sized architecture firms in Toronto, New York, and London.
    Oceanic Refractions
    Elise Misao Hunchuck, born in Toronto and currently based Berlin and Milan, is a transdisciplinary researcher, editor, writer, and educator.
    Her practice brings together architecture, landscape architecture, and media studies to research sites in Canada, Japan, China, and Ukraine, employing text, images, and cartographies to document, explore, and archive the co-constitutive relationships between plants, animals, and minerals—in all of their forms.
    SpaceSuits.Us: A Case for Ultra Thin Adjustments
    Charles Kim is a designer currently based in Boston.
    Stemming from his background in architecture, he is interested in materials, DIY, and the aesthetics of affordability.
    Since graduating from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2022, he has been working as an architectural designer at Utile.
    Uncommon Knowledge: Plants as Sensors
    Sonia Sobrino Ralston is a designer, researcher, and educator, and is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor in Landscape Architecture and Art + Design at Northeastern University in the College of Arts, Media, and Design.
    She is interested in the intersections between landscape, architecture, and the history of technology.
    Doxiadis’ Informational Modernism
    Mark Wasiuta is Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Columbia GSAPP and Co-Director of the Critical, Curatorial and Conceptual Practices in Architecture program.
    Wasiuta is recipient of recent grants from the Onassis Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, NYSCA, and the Graham Foundation, where he was an inaugural Graham Foundation Fellow.
    Blue Garden: The Architecture of Emergence
    Tanvi Khurmi, based in London, UK, is a multidisciplinary designer and artist.
    Her practice is focused on addressing and combatting issues surrounding the climate crisis.
    After receiving a Bachelor’s in Architecture with a minor in Environmental Studies from the John H.
    Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto, she earned a Masters of Architecture in Bio-Integrated Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London.
    Design as an Astronaut
    Dr.
    Cody Paige is the Director of the Space Exploration Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, a team of 50+ students, faculty, and staff building and flying advanced technology for space exploration.
    The Initiative focuses on helping students take their research into space.
    The pipeline developed to achieve this works with students from across the Media Lab and the MIT community to prototype space-related research in the lab, fly and test them in microgravity on parabolic and suborbital flights, and finally to take them to the International Space Station or on to the Moon.
    Cody also has a background in geology, specifically quaternary geochronology, and completed her Master of Applied Science at the University of Toronto in Aerospace Engineering and her Bachelor of Applied Science from Queen’s University in Engineering Physics.
     
    The post Round-up: Canadian-led exhibitions at the 2025 Venice Biennale appeared first on Canadian Architect.
    #666;">المصدر: https://www.canadianarchitect.com/must-see-exhibitions-at-the-2025-venice-biennale/" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">www.canadianarchitect.com
    #0066cc;">#roundup #canadianled #exhibitions #the #venice #biennale #international #architecture #exhibition #venezia #has #returned #with #its #grand #opening #held #early #maythe #runs #until #november #2025the #canada #council #for #arts #commissioner #canadas #official #participation #administers #selection #process #and #oversees #pavilionbut #addition #pavilion #canadian #architects #designers #have #presence #several #other #that #are #part #this #years #festivalheres #work #venicepicoplanktonicsphoto #credit #valentinamoripicoplanktonics #led #living #room #collectivecanadas #entry #picoplanktonics #3dprinted #artwork #incorporating #cyanobacteriaa #global #first #intersection #biotechnology #artthe #developed #collective #showcases #potential #collaboration #between #humans #naturepicoplanktonicsis #exploration #cooperate #systems #coconstructing #spaces #remediate #planet #rather #than #exploit #itthe #installation #transforms #into #aquatic #microecosystem #where 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    Round-up: Canadian-led exhibitions at the 2025 Venice Biennale
    The International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia,  has returned, with its grand opening held in early May. The exhibition runs until November 23, 2025 The Canada Council for the Arts, Commissioner of Canada’s official participation in the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, administers the selection process and oversees the exhibition at the Canada Pavilion. But in addition to the Canada Pavilion, Canadian architects and designers have a presence in several other exhibitions that are part of this year’s festival. Here’s a round-up of the Canadian work in Venice. Picoplanktonics. Photo credit: Valentina Mori Picoplanktonics led by Living Room Collective Canada’s official entry to the Biennale is Picoplanktonics, a 3D-printed living artwork incorporating cyanobacteria—a global first at the intersection of architecture, biotechnology, and art. The exhibition, developed by the Living Room Collective, showcases the potential for collaboration between humans and nature. Picoplanktonics is an exploration of the potential to co-operate with living systems by co-constructing spaces that “remediate the planet rather than exploit it.” The installation transforms the Canada Pavilion into an aquatic micro-ecosystem, where architectural structures grow, evolve, and naturally degrade alongside their living components. It was designed according to regenerative architecture principles, and is not only a built object, but also a breathing organism interacting with its environment, which prompts reflection on potential futures of the built environment. The creative team is led by bio-designer Andrea Shin Ling, alongside core team members Nicholas Hoban, Vincent Hui and Clayton Lee. Etude Ile Verte by Atelier Pierre Thibault. Photo credit Alex Lesage Les boucaneries de l’île Verte by Atelier Pierre Thibault Atelier Pierre Thibault has been invited to participate in this year’s Venice Biennale as the only team from Québec. His project is inspired by the old fish smokehouses, or boucaneries, of Île Verte. With the support of the fifty permanent residents of Île Verte, Atelier Pierre Thibault has designed a participatory architectural project that aims to reinterpret the boucaneries as creative canvases to imagine new uses to strengthen Île Verte’s autonomy. This includes community greenhouses, artist studios, and gathering places. The exhibition aims to highlight, as Thibault puts it, “the strength of a sensitive and collective gesture in response to the erosion of traditional buildings and the major climate challenges faced by inhabitants living year-round in an isolated island environment.” The construction of the installations, along with the exchanges sparked with the community, was documented through photography and video, and captures both the process and the spirit of collaboration that defined the project. Celebrating the Verdoyants’ collective intelligence and inviting reflection on the future of the boucaneries, this participatory project highlights the exemplary and internationally resonant nature of this approach. The Atelier Pierre Thibault project will be on view at the Corderie dell’Arsenale. The pavilion itself will take the form of a temporary, lightweight structure constructed from reused materials, situated on the grounds of the French Pavilion, which is currently undergoing renovation. The curators have selected 50 projects to be featured across six thematic sections: Living With the Existing, the Immediate, the Broken, Vulnerabilities, Nature, and Combined Intelligences. Image courtesy of WZMH Architects Speedstac by WZMH Architects as part of Living With…Combined Intelligences  As part of the exhibition “Living With… Combined Intelligences,” WZMH Architects presents Speedstac, a prefabricated modular precast solution that aims to reimagine how urban areas devastated by war can be rebuilt. Originally designed to accelerate housing construction in Canada, Speedstac took on urgent new relevance following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With more than 170,000 buildings damaged or destroyed and millions displaced, WZMH’s innovation, developed through its R&D lab, sparkbird, aims to offer a scalable solution: self-contained, plug-and-play building modules with integrated electrical and plumbing systems that can be seamlessly inserted into existing structures. The use of modern materials such as high-performance concrete can reduce the weight of the modules, making them easier to lift and move using conventional crane equipment. Using a robust locking mechanism, several modules can be securely fastened and unfastened as needed, to produce an adaptive modular housing solution. The Speedstac system aims to offer a solution to the challenges of traditional construction methods, enabling faster, more flexible, and more sustainable building projects. The Vivre Avec / Living With exhibition is hosted in the French Pavilion. Presentation, Northern Horizons. Photo credit: Blouin Orzes architectes Northern Horizons by Blouin Orzes architectes as part of Time Space Existence  Through a wide selection of projects—ranging from conceptual works, models and photographs to videos, sculptures and site-specific installations—the exhibition Time Space Existence, hosted by the European Cultural Centre, aims to provoke participants to question their relationship with space and time, re-envisioning new ways of living and rethinking architecture through a larger lens. Quebec firm Blouin Orzes’ participation revolves around their first-hand understanding of Inuit territories, where they have been working since 2000. Their contribution is based on their  recent publication, Northern Journeys. Blouin Orzes’ contribution in on display at the Palazzo Mora, and additional contributions to Time Space Existence are on view at the Palazzo Bembo and Marinaressa Gardens. View of Commercial and Residential Towers from Seymour and West Georgia Streets. Image credit: Henriquez Partners Studio BC Glass Sea Sponge Another contribution to Time Space Existence is the work of Henriquez Partners Studio. The transformative mixed-use development which they are presenting merges architectural innovation, social responsibility and urban revitalization, and has recently been submitted to the City of Vancouver. The project is about ambitious city-building, and aims to unlock public benefits on currently underutilized land in a way that supports some of the city’s most urgent needs, while contributing bold architecture to the city skyline. Four towers, designed by Henriquez, draw inspiration from rare and ancient glass sea sponge reefs, whose ecological strength and resilience have shaped both form and structure. These living marine organisms, which are unique to the Pacific Northwest, aim to serve as a metaphor for regeneration and adaptation. This concept is translated through the architectural language of the towers: silhouettes, sculptural forms, and sustainable performance. The tallest tower, a stand-alone hotel, proposed at 1,033 feet, is shaped by a structural diagrid exoskeleton that allows for column-free interiors while maximizing strength and minimizing material use. Developed in collaboration with Arup, the structural system references the skeletal lattice of sea sponges; a concept researched at Harvard for its groundbreaking structural efficiency. Henriquez Partners’  contribution is on display at Palazzo Bembo. Renewal Development Shishalh Project Duplex Renderings – Image credit: Renewal Development Shíshálh Nation: Ten Home Rescue Project as part of theLiving With / Vivre avec exhibition Vancouver-based company Renewal Development has been selected to appear as part of the French Pavilion’s exhibition on housing innovation. In 2024, Renewal Development partnered with developer Wesgroup and the shíshálh Nation to relocate ten high value Port Moody homes set for demolition to the shíshálh Nation on the Sunshine Coast. The Nation has been experiencing an acute housing shortage with 900 Nation members currently on a waitlist for housing. Renewal Development says that this initiative reflects its “deeply held values of sustainability, and reconciliation” and its “work to offer real-world solutions to waste and housing shortages by reimagining what already exists.” The project will be on display in the French Pavilion. The following is a list of other Canadian groups and individuals contributing to this year’s Venice Biennale: On Storage Brendan Cormier is a Canadian writer, curator, and urban designer based in London. He is currently the lead curator of 20th and 21st Century Design for the Shekou Partnership at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Prior to this he served as the managing editor of Volume Magazine. La Biennale di Venezia and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London present for the ninth consecutive year the Applied Arts Pavilion Special Project titled On Storage, curated by Brendan Cormier, in collaboration with Diller, Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R). It explores the global architecture of storage in service of the circulation of things, and features a newly commissioned six-channel film directed by DS+R. From Liquid to Stone: A Reconfigurable Concrete Tectonic Against Obsolescence Inge Donovan, based in Boston, achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Design and Architectural History, Theory and Criticism from the Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto in 2019 after growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Curse of Dimensionality Adeline Chum is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Spatial Research and third-year student in the MArch Program at GSAPP. She has received her Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo, Canada and has worked in small and medium-sized architecture firms in Toronto, New York, and London. Oceanic Refractions Elise Misao Hunchuck, born in Toronto and currently based Berlin and Milan, is a transdisciplinary researcher, editor, writer, and educator. Her practice brings together architecture, landscape architecture, and media studies to research sites in Canada, Japan, China, and Ukraine, employing text, images, and cartographies to document, explore, and archive the co-constitutive relationships between plants, animals, and minerals—in all of their forms. SpaceSuits.Us: A Case for Ultra Thin Adjustments Charles Kim is a designer currently based in Boston. Stemming from his background in architecture, he is interested in materials, DIY, and the aesthetics of affordability. Since graduating from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2022, he has been working as an architectural designer at Utile. Uncommon Knowledge: Plants as Sensors Sonia Sobrino Ralston is a designer, researcher, and educator, and is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor in Landscape Architecture and Art + Design at Northeastern University in the College of Arts, Media, and Design. She is interested in the intersections between landscape, architecture, and the history of technology. Doxiadis’ Informational Modernism Mark Wasiuta is Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Columbia GSAPP and Co-Director of the Critical, Curatorial and Conceptual Practices in Architecture program. Wasiuta is recipient of recent grants from the Onassis Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, NYSCA, and the Graham Foundation, where he was an inaugural Graham Foundation Fellow. Blue Garden: The Architecture of Emergence Tanvi Khurmi, based in London, UK, is a multidisciplinary designer and artist. Her practice is focused on addressing and combatting issues surrounding the climate crisis. After receiving a Bachelor’s in Architecture with a minor in Environmental Studies from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto, she earned a Masters of Architecture in Bio-Integrated Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. Design as an Astronaut Dr. Cody Paige is the Director of the Space Exploration Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, a team of 50+ students, faculty, and staff building and flying advanced technology for space exploration. The Initiative focuses on helping students take their research into space. The pipeline developed to achieve this works with students from across the Media Lab and the MIT community to prototype space-related research in the lab, fly and test them in microgravity on parabolic and suborbital flights, and finally to take them to the International Space Station or on to the Moon. Cody also has a background in geology, specifically quaternary geochronology, and completed her Master of Applied Science at the University of Toronto in Aerospace Engineering and her Bachelor of Applied Science from Queen’s University in Engineering Physics.   The post Round-up: Canadian-led exhibitions at the 2025 Venice Biennale appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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    Round-up: Canadian-led exhibitions at the 2025 Venice Biennale
    The International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia,  has returned, with its grand opening held in early May. The exhibition runs until November 23, 2025 The Canada Council for the Arts, Commissioner of Canada’s official participation in the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, administers the selection process and oversees the exhibition at the Canada Pavilion. But in addition to the Canada Pavilion, Canadian architects and designers have a presence in several other exhibitions that are part of this year’s festival. Here’s a round-up of the Canadian work in Venice. Picoplanktonics. Photo credit: Valentina Mori Picoplanktonics led by Living Room Collective Canada’s official entry to the Biennale is Picoplanktonics, a 3D-printed living artwork incorporating cyanobacteria—a global first at the intersection of architecture, biotechnology, and art. The exhibition, developed by the Living Room Collective, showcases the potential for collaboration between humans and nature. Picoplanktonics is an exploration of the potential to co-operate with living systems by co-constructing spaces that “remediate the planet rather than exploit it.” The installation transforms the Canada Pavilion into an aquatic micro-ecosystem, where architectural structures grow, evolve, and naturally degrade alongside their living components. It was designed according to regenerative architecture principles, and is not only a built object, but also a breathing organism interacting with its environment, which prompts reflection on potential futures of the built environment. The creative team is led by bio-designer Andrea Shin Ling, alongside core team members Nicholas Hoban, Vincent Hui and Clayton Lee. Etude Ile Verte by Atelier Pierre Thibault. Photo credit Alex Lesage Les boucaneries de l’île Verte by Atelier Pierre Thibault Atelier Pierre Thibault has been invited to participate in this year’s Venice Biennale as the only team from Québec. His project is inspired by the old fish smokehouses, or boucaneries, of Île Verte. With the support of the fifty permanent residents of Île Verte, Atelier Pierre Thibault has designed a participatory architectural project that aims to reinterpret the boucaneries as creative canvases to imagine new uses to strengthen Île Verte’s autonomy. This includes community greenhouses, artist studios, and gathering places. The exhibition aims to highlight, as Thibault puts it, “the strength of a sensitive and collective gesture in response to the erosion of traditional buildings and the major climate challenges faced by inhabitants living year-round in an isolated island environment.” The construction of the installations, along with the exchanges sparked with the community, was documented through photography and video, and captures both the process and the spirit of collaboration that defined the project. Celebrating the Verdoyants’ collective intelligence and inviting reflection on the future of the boucaneries, this participatory project highlights the exemplary and internationally resonant nature of this approach. The Atelier Pierre Thibault project will be on view at the Corderie dell’Arsenale. The pavilion itself will take the form of a temporary, lightweight structure constructed from reused materials, situated on the grounds of the French Pavilion, which is currently undergoing renovation. The curators have selected 50 projects to be featured across six thematic sections: Living With the Existing, the Immediate, the Broken, Vulnerabilities, Nature, and Combined Intelligences. Image courtesy of WZMH Architects Speedstac by WZMH Architects as part of Living With…Combined Intelligences  As part of the exhibition “Living With… Combined Intelligences,” WZMH Architects presents Speedstac, a prefabricated modular precast solution that aims to reimagine how urban areas devastated by war can be rebuilt. Originally designed to accelerate housing construction in Canada, Speedstac took on urgent new relevance following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With more than 170,000 buildings damaged or destroyed and millions displaced, WZMH’s innovation, developed through its R&D lab, sparkbird, aims to offer a scalable solution: self-contained, plug-and-play building modules with integrated electrical and plumbing systems that can be seamlessly inserted into existing structures. The use of modern materials such as high-performance concrete can reduce the weight of the modules, making them easier to lift and move using conventional crane equipment. Using a robust locking mechanism, several modules can be securely fastened and unfastened as needed, to produce an adaptive modular housing solution. The Speedstac system aims to offer a solution to the challenges of traditional construction methods, enabling faster, more flexible, and more sustainable building projects. The Vivre Avec / Living With exhibition is hosted in the French Pavilion. Presentation, Northern Horizons. Photo credit: Blouin Orzes architectes Northern Horizons by Blouin Orzes architectes as part of Time Space Existence  Through a wide selection of projects—ranging from conceptual works, models and photographs to videos, sculptures and site-specific installations—the exhibition Time Space Existence, hosted by the European Cultural Centre, aims to provoke participants to question their relationship with space and time, re-envisioning new ways of living and rethinking architecture through a larger lens. Quebec firm Blouin Orzes’ participation revolves around their first-hand understanding of Inuit territories, where they have been working since 2000. Their contribution is based on their  recent publication, Northern Journeys. Blouin Orzes’ contribution in on display at the Palazzo Mora, and additional contributions to Time Space Existence are on view at the Palazzo Bembo and Marinaressa Gardens. View of Commercial and Residential Towers from Seymour and West Georgia Streets. Image credit: Henriquez Partners Studio BC Glass Sea Sponge Another contribution to Time Space Existence is the work of Henriquez Partners Studio. The transformative mixed-use development which they are presenting merges architectural innovation, social responsibility and urban revitalization, and has recently been submitted to the City of Vancouver. The project is about ambitious city-building, and aims to unlock public benefits on currently underutilized land in a way that supports some of the city’s most urgent needs, while contributing bold architecture to the city skyline. Four towers, designed by Henriquez, draw inspiration from rare and ancient glass sea sponge reefs, whose ecological strength and resilience have shaped both form and structure. These living marine organisms, which are unique to the Pacific Northwest, aim to serve as a metaphor for regeneration and adaptation. This concept is translated through the architectural language of the towers: silhouettes, sculptural forms, and sustainable performance. The tallest tower, a stand-alone hotel, proposed at 1,033 feet, is shaped by a structural diagrid exoskeleton that allows for column-free interiors while maximizing strength and minimizing material use. Developed in collaboration with Arup, the structural system references the skeletal lattice of sea sponges; a concept researched at Harvard for its groundbreaking structural efficiency. Henriquez Partners’  contribution is on display at Palazzo Bembo. Renewal Development Shishalh Project Duplex Renderings – Image credit: Renewal Development Shíshálh Nation: Ten Home Rescue Project as part of theLiving With / Vivre avec exhibition Vancouver-based company Renewal Development has been selected to appear as part of the French Pavilion’s exhibition on housing innovation. In 2024, Renewal Development partnered with developer Wesgroup and the shíshálh Nation to relocate ten high value Port Moody homes set for demolition to the shíshálh Nation on the Sunshine Coast. The Nation has been experiencing an acute housing shortage with 900 Nation members currently on a waitlist for housing. Renewal Development says that this initiative reflects its “deeply held values of sustainability, and reconciliation” and its “work to offer real-world solutions to waste and housing shortages by reimagining what already exists.” The project will be on display in the French Pavilion. The following is a list of other Canadian groups and individuals contributing to this year’s Venice Biennale: On Storage Brendan Cormier is a Canadian writer, curator, and urban designer based in London. He is currently the lead curator of 20th and 21st Century Design for the Shekou Partnership at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Prior to this he served as the managing editor of Volume Magazine. La Biennale di Venezia and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London present for the ninth consecutive year the Applied Arts Pavilion Special Project titled On Storage, curated by Brendan Cormier, in collaboration with Diller, Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R). It explores the global architecture of storage in service of the circulation of things, and features a newly commissioned six-channel film directed by DS+R. From Liquid to Stone: A Reconfigurable Concrete Tectonic Against Obsolescence Inge Donovan, based in Boston, achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Design and Architectural History, Theory and Criticism from the Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto in 2019 after growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Curse of Dimensionality Adeline Chum is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Spatial Research and third-year student in the MArch Program at GSAPP. She has received her Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo, Canada and has worked in small and medium-sized architecture firms in Toronto, New York, and London. Oceanic Refractions Elise Misao Hunchuck, born in Toronto and currently based Berlin and Milan, is a transdisciplinary researcher, editor, writer, and educator. Her practice brings together architecture, landscape architecture, and media studies to research sites in Canada, Japan, China, and Ukraine, employing text, images, and cartographies to document, explore, and archive the co-constitutive relationships between plants, animals, and minerals—in all of their forms. SpaceSuits.Us: A Case for Ultra Thin Adjustments Charles Kim is a designer currently based in Boston. Stemming from his background in architecture, he is interested in materials, DIY, and the aesthetics of affordability. Since graduating from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2022, he has been working as an architectural designer at Utile. Uncommon Knowledge: Plants as Sensors Sonia Sobrino Ralston is a designer, researcher, and educator, and is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor in Landscape Architecture and Art + Design at Northeastern University in the College of Arts, Media, and Design. She is interested in the intersections between landscape, architecture, and the history of technology. Doxiadis’ Informational Modernism Mark Wasiuta is Senior Lecturer in Architecture at Columbia GSAPP and Co-Director of the Critical, Curatorial and Conceptual Practices in Architecture program. Wasiuta is recipient of recent grants from the Onassis Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, NYSCA, and the Graham Foundation, where he was an inaugural Graham Foundation Fellow. Blue Garden: The Architecture of Emergence Tanvi Khurmi, based in London, UK, is a multidisciplinary designer and artist. Her practice is focused on addressing and combatting issues surrounding the climate crisis. After receiving a Bachelor’s in Architecture with a minor in Environmental Studies from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto, she earned a Masters of Architecture in Bio-Integrated Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. Design as an Astronaut Dr. Cody Paige is the Director of the Space Exploration Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, a team of 50+ students, faculty, and staff building and flying advanced technology for space exploration. The Initiative focuses on helping students take their research into space. The pipeline developed to achieve this works with students from across the Media Lab and the MIT community to prototype space-related research in the lab, fly and test them in microgravity on parabolic and suborbital flights, and finally to take them to the International Space Station or on to the Moon. Cody also has a background in geology, specifically quaternary geochronology, and completed her Master of Applied Science at the University of Toronto in Aerospace Engineering and her Bachelor of Applied Science from Queen’s University in Engineering Physics.   The post Round-up: Canadian-led exhibitions at the 2025 Venice Biennale appeared first on Canadian Architect.
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  • #333;">Trump launches Middle East tour by meeting with Saudi crown prince
    U.S.
    President Donald Trump opened his four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on U.S.
    efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.Prince Mohammed warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital and kicked off his Middle East tour.The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts.
    Fighter jet escort
    The pomp began before Trump even landed.
    Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a lunch at the Royal Court, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue accents and massive crystal chandeliers.As he greeted business titans with Trump by his side, Prince Mohammed was animated and smiling.It was a stark contrast to his awkward fist bump with then-President Joe Biden, who looked to avoid being seen on camera shaking hands with the prince during a 2022 visit to the kingdom.Biden had decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia as he looked to alleviate soaring prices at the pump for motorists at home and around the globe.At the time, Prince Mohammed’s reputation had been badly damaged by a U.S.
    intelligence determination that found he had ordered the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.But that dark moment appeared to be distant memory for the prince as he rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives — including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — in front of the cameras and with Trump by his side.Later, the crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner.
    Trump is also slated to take part Tuesday in a U.S.-Saudi investment conference.“When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen — more often than not, great things happen,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said.
    Oil production
    Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production.
    Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans.
    The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.But Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget.
    It’s questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated.
    The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.“One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn’t necessarily imperil economic diversification programs, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
    Qatar and UAE next
    Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop, because it has pledged to make big investments in the U.S., but Trump ended up traveling to Italy last month for Pope Francis’ funeral.
    Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.The three countries on the president’s itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are all places where the Trump Organization, run by Trump’s two elder sons, is developing major real estate projects.
    They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine are isolating the United States from allies.He’s expected to announce deals with the three wealthy countries that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
    The administration earlier this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets.But Trump arrived in the Middle East at a moment when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach.
    Trump’s decision to skip Israel remarkable, expert says
    Before the trip, Trump announced that Washington was halting a nearly two-month U.S.
    airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.The administration didn’t notify Israel — which the Houthis continue to target — of the agreement before Trump publicly announced it.
    It was the latest example of Trump leaving the Israelis in the dark about his administration’s negotiations with common adversaries.In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t notified by the administration until after talks began with Hamas about the war in Gaza.
    And Netanyahu found out about the ongoing U.S.
    nuclear talks with Iran only when Trump announced them during an Oval Office visit by the Israeli leader last month.“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said last week following Trump’s Houthi truce announcement.
    “If others join us — our American friends — all the better.”William Wechsler, senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s decision to skip Israel on his first Middle East visit is remarkable.“The main message coming out of this, at least as the itinerary stands today, is that the governments of the Gulf … are in fact stronger friends to President Trump than the current government of Israel at this moment,” Wechsler said.
    Restarting efforts to normalize Israel-Saudi ties
    Trump, meanwhile, hopes to restart his first-term effort to normalize relations between the Middle East’s major powers, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
    Trump’s Abraham Accords effort led to Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.But Riyadh has made clear that in exchange for normalization it wants U.S.
    security guarantees, assistance with the kingdom’s nuclear program and progress on a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
    There seems to be scant hope for making headway on a Palestinian state with the Israel-Hamas war raging and the Israelis threatening to flatten and occupy Gaza.Prince Mohammed last week notably hosted Palestinian Vice President Hussein Sheikh in Jeddah on the sheikh’s first foreign visit since assuming office in April.Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the crown prince appeared to be subtly signaling to Trump that the kingdom needs to see progress on Palestinian statehood for the Saudis to begin seriously moving on a normalization deal with the Israelis.“Knowing how the Saudis telegraph their intentions, that’s a preemptive, ‘Don’t even think of asking us to show any goodwill toward normalization,'” Abdul-Hussain said.
    Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
    —Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press
    #666;">المصدر: https://www.fastcompany.com/91333433/trump-launches-middle-east-tour-meeting-saudi-crown-prince" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;">www.fastcompany.com
    #0066cc;">#trump #launches #middle #east #tour #meeting #with #saudi #crown #prince #uspresident #donald #opened #his #fourday #trip #tuesday #paying #visit #arabias #facto #ruler #mohammed #bin #salman #for #talks #usefforts #dismantle #irans #nuclear #program #end #the #war #gaza #hold #down #oil #prices #and #moreprince #warmly #greeted #stepped #off #air #force #one #king #khalid #international #airport #capital #kicked #tourthe #two #leaders #then #retreated #grand #hall #riyadh #where #aides #were #served #traditional #arabic #coffee #waiting #attendants #wearing #ceremonial #gunbeltsfighter #jet #escortthe #pomp #began #before #even #landedroyal #f15s #provided #honorary #escort #approached #kingdoms #capitaltrump #also #took #part #lunch #royal #court #gathering #guests #ornate #room #blue #accents #massive #crystal #chandeliersas #business #titans #side #was #animated #smilingit #stark #contrast #awkward #fist #bump #thenpresident #joe #biden #who #looked #avoid #being 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#announcementif #others #our #american #friends #betterwilliam #wechsler #director #rafik #hariri #atlantic #council #remarkablethe #main #message #coming #least #stands #today #governments #fact #stronger #current #government #saidrestarting #efforts #normalize #israelsaudi #tiestrump #meanwhile #hopes #restart #firstterm #effort #relations #between #easts #powers #arabiatrumps #abraham #accords #led #sudan #bahrain #morocco #agreeing #israelbut #clear #exchange #normalization #wants #ussecurity #guarantees #assistance #progress #pathway #palestinian #statehoodthere #seems #scant #hope #making #headway #state #israelhamas #raging #threatening #flatten #occupy #gazaprince #notably #hosted #vice #hussein #sheikh #sheikhs #foreign #since #assuming #aprilhussain #abdulhussain #research #foundation #defense #democracies #subtly #signaling #see #statehood #begin #seriously #moving #deal #israelisknowing #telegraph #intentions #thats #preemptive #dont #think #asking #show #any #goodwill #toward #normalization039 #saidmadhani #reported #emirateszeke #miller #aamer #madhani #gambrell #associated #press
    Trump launches Middle East tour by meeting with Saudi crown prince
    U.S. President Donald Trump opened his four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.Prince Mohammed warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital and kicked off his Middle East tour.The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts. Fighter jet escort The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a lunch at the Royal Court, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue accents and massive crystal chandeliers.As he greeted business titans with Trump by his side, Prince Mohammed was animated and smiling.It was a stark contrast to his awkward fist bump with then-President Joe Biden, who looked to avoid being seen on camera shaking hands with the prince during a 2022 visit to the kingdom.Biden had decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia as he looked to alleviate soaring prices at the pump for motorists at home and around the globe.At the time, Prince Mohammed’s reputation had been badly damaged by a U.S. intelligence determination that found he had ordered the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.But that dark moment appeared to be distant memory for the prince as he rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives — including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — in front of the cameras and with Trump by his side.Later, the crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner. Trump is also slated to take part Tuesday in a U.S.-Saudi investment conference.“When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen — more often than not, great things happen,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said. Oil production Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production. Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.But Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It’s questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.“One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn’t necessarily imperil economic diversification programs, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Qatar and UAE next Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop, because it has pledged to make big investments in the U.S., but Trump ended up traveling to Italy last month for Pope Francis’ funeral. Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.The three countries on the president’s itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are all places where the Trump Organization, run by Trump’s two elder sons, is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine are isolating the United States from allies.He’s expected to announce deals with the three wealthy countries that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The administration earlier this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets.But Trump arrived in the Middle East at a moment when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach. Trump’s decision to skip Israel remarkable, expert says Before the trip, Trump announced that Washington was halting a nearly two-month U.S. airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.The administration didn’t notify Israel — which the Houthis continue to target — of the agreement before Trump publicly announced it. It was the latest example of Trump leaving the Israelis in the dark about his administration’s negotiations with common adversaries.In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t notified by the administration until after talks began with Hamas about the war in Gaza. And Netanyahu found out about the ongoing U.S. nuclear talks with Iran only when Trump announced them during an Oval Office visit by the Israeli leader last month.“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said last week following Trump’s Houthi truce announcement. “If others join us — our American friends — all the better.”William Wechsler, senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s decision to skip Israel on his first Middle East visit is remarkable.“The main message coming out of this, at least as the itinerary stands today, is that the governments of the Gulf … are in fact stronger friends to President Trump than the current government of Israel at this moment,” Wechsler said. Restarting efforts to normalize Israel-Saudi ties Trump, meanwhile, hopes to restart his first-term effort to normalize relations between the Middle East’s major powers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump’s Abraham Accords effort led to Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.But Riyadh has made clear that in exchange for normalization it wants U.S. security guarantees, assistance with the kingdom’s nuclear program and progress on a pathway to Palestinian statehood. There seems to be scant hope for making headway on a Palestinian state with the Israel-Hamas war raging and the Israelis threatening to flatten and occupy Gaza.Prince Mohammed last week notably hosted Palestinian Vice President Hussein Sheikh in Jeddah on the sheikh’s first foreign visit since assuming office in April.Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the crown prince appeared to be subtly signaling to Trump that the kingdom needs to see progress on Palestinian statehood for the Saudis to begin seriously moving on a normalization deal with the Israelis.“Knowing how the Saudis telegraph their intentions, that’s a preemptive, ‘Don’t even think of asking us to show any goodwill toward normalization,'” Abdul-Hussain said. Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. —Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press
    المصدر: www.fastcompany.com
    #trump #launches #middle #east #tour #meeting #with #saudi #crown #prince #uspresident #donald #opened #his #fourday #trip #tuesday #paying #visit #arabias #facto #ruler #mohammed #bin #salman #for #talks #usefforts #dismantle #irans #nuclear #program #end #the #war #gaza #hold #down #oil #prices #and #moreprince #warmly #greeted #stepped #off #air #force #one #king #khalid #international #airport #capital #kicked #tourthe #two #leaders #then #retreated #grand #hall #riyadh #where #aides #were #served #traditional #arabic #coffee #waiting #attendants #wearing #ceremonial #gunbeltsfighter #jet #escortthe #pomp #began #before #even #landedroyal #f15s #provided #honorary #escort #approached #kingdoms #capitaltrump #also #took #part #lunch #royal #court #gathering #guests #ornate #room #blue #accents #massive #crystal #chandeliersas #business #titans #side #was #animated #smilingit #stark #contrast #awkward #fist #bump #thenpresident #joe #biden #who #looked #avoid #being #seen #camera 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    Trump launches Middle East tour by meeting with Saudi crown prince
    U.S. President Donald Trump opened his four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.Prince Mohammed warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital and kicked off his Middle East tour.The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts. Fighter jet escort The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a lunch at the Royal Court, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue accents and massive crystal chandeliers.As he greeted business titans with Trump by his side, Prince Mohammed was animated and smiling.It was a stark contrast to his awkward fist bump with then-President Joe Biden, who looked to avoid being seen on camera shaking hands with the prince during a 2022 visit to the kingdom.Biden had decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia as he looked to alleviate soaring prices at the pump for motorists at home and around the globe.At the time, Prince Mohammed’s reputation had been badly damaged by a U.S. intelligence determination that found he had ordered the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.But that dark moment appeared to be distant memory for the prince as he rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives — including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — in front of the cameras and with Trump by his side.Later, the crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner. Trump is also slated to take part Tuesday in a U.S.-Saudi investment conference.“When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen — more often than not, great things happen,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said. Oil production Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production. Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.But Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It’s questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.“One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn’t necessarily imperil economic diversification programs, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Qatar and UAE next Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop, because it has pledged to make big investments in the U.S., but Trump ended up traveling to Italy last month for Pope Francis’ funeral. Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.The three countries on the president’s itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are all places where the Trump Organization, run by Trump’s two elder sons, is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine are isolating the United States from allies.He’s expected to announce deals with the three wealthy countries that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The administration earlier this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets.But Trump arrived in the Middle East at a moment when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach. Trump’s decision to skip Israel remarkable, expert says Before the trip, Trump announced that Washington was halting a nearly two-month U.S. airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.The administration didn’t notify Israel — which the Houthis continue to target — of the agreement before Trump publicly announced it. It was the latest example of Trump leaving the Israelis in the dark about his administration’s negotiations with common adversaries.In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t notified by the administration until after talks began with Hamas about the war in Gaza. And Netanyahu found out about the ongoing U.S. nuclear talks with Iran only when Trump announced them during an Oval Office visit by the Israeli leader last month.“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said last week following Trump’s Houthi truce announcement. “If others join us — our American friends — all the better.”William Wechsler, senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, said Trump’s decision to skip Israel on his first Middle East visit is remarkable.“The main message coming out of this, at least as the itinerary stands today, is that the governments of the Gulf … are in fact stronger friends to President Trump than the current government of Israel at this moment,” Wechsler said. Restarting efforts to normalize Israel-Saudi ties Trump, meanwhile, hopes to restart his first-term effort to normalize relations between the Middle East’s major powers, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump’s Abraham Accords effort led to Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.But Riyadh has made clear that in exchange for normalization it wants U.S. security guarantees, assistance with the kingdom’s nuclear program and progress on a pathway to Palestinian statehood. There seems to be scant hope for making headway on a Palestinian state with the Israel-Hamas war raging and the Israelis threatening to flatten and occupy Gaza.Prince Mohammed last week notably hosted Palestinian Vice President Hussein Sheikh in Jeddah on the sheikh’s first foreign visit since assuming office in April.Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the crown prince appeared to be subtly signaling to Trump that the kingdom needs to see progress on Palestinian statehood for the Saudis to begin seriously moving on a normalization deal with the Israelis.“Knowing how the Saudis telegraph their intentions, that’s a preemptive, ‘Don’t even think of asking us to show any goodwill toward normalization,'” Abdul-Hussain said. Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. —Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press
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