Learning(s) from Venice
The Triennale at the Biennale
From the conversation we contributed to at the Finnish Pavillion, co-hosted with ArchInfo and The Lisbon Architecture Triennale.
Besides offering inspiration and insights, the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale provided an opportunity for the Triennale to reach out to an international audience.
The Danish Pavillion, curated by architect Søren Pihlmann. "Build of Site" is a restoration of the pavillion and doubles as a living lab, repurposing surplus materials from the very local context. Photo: The Oslo Architecture Triennale.
As always, The Venice Architecture Biennale – this year curated by Italian architect and engineer Carlo Ratti – proves an inspiration and an important point of reference.
The Oslo Architecture Triennale team attended the pre-opening of the Biennale, getting insight into relevant themes, projects and practices, also using the occasion to connect with the international community.
From the main exhibition of the 9th Biennale Architettura, titled “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.”. To enter the main exhibition you have to walk through the installations "Terms and Conditions" (Bilge Kobas, Daniel A. Barber and Transsolar) and "The Third Paradise Perspective" (Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte): a dimly lit overheated room (due to the numbers of air conditioners hanging from the roof and working at full speed) surrounded by pools of dark liquid.
Foto: Oslo Architecture Triennale.
The Spanish Pavillion's exhibition "Internalities", curated by architects Roi Salgueiro Barrio and Manuel Bouzas Barcala. The exhibition demonstrates how the construction industry can be decarbonised, showcasing regenerative projects in Spain. Photo: The Oslo Architecture Triennale.
Connecting with the world
For us working within the field of architecture and focusing on the dissemination and discussion of urgent societal questions through the lens of sustainable architecture and urban development, the Biennale not only sets the very standard as the most important event within the world of architecture festivals – it is also an important opportunity to reach out to a wider audience and collaborate with partners.
Raising important questions of what role architecture can play in a time of (not only) climate and environmental crises, both the main exhibition and the different national pavillions in the Biennale Giardini and around the city of Venice inform and inspire our ongoing exploration towards the upcoming Oslo Architecture Triennale.
Shared perspectives
The title of the 9th Biennale Architettura, “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.”, provided a valuable fundament for the event we contributed to at the Finnish Pavillion in the Giardini della Biennale. Not only relating to the upcoming 9th edition of the Oslo Architecture Triennale, titled “What if Nature Comes First?”, the title corresponds both with the Finnish exhibition “The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship” and "How Heavy is a City?", which is the title of the 2025 Lisbon Architecture Triennale.
Thus, our director Line Ramstad joined the curators for a conversation on shared perspectives between our respective curatorial frameworks and the close-knit connection between architecture and nature.
The Finnish Pavillion, originally planned to be a temporary building, was designed by Alvar Aalto and was inaugurated in 1956. The exhibition for the 2025 Biennale, "The Pavillion – Architecture of Stewardship", tells the story about the building from the construction phase through maintenance and restorations, highlighting the importance of its caretakers along the way. Photo: Oslo Architecture Triennale.
Talking about stewardship
The exhibition in the iconic Aalto-designed Finnish Pavilion, with its focus on stewardship in the managment of architectural heritage, was well suited as a backdrop for the discussion, the curators' ambition being to redefine how we relate to the built environment by highlighting the knowledge related to the maintenance and care of a building.
A big thank you to the Archinfo team and the curators Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä and the Lisbon Architecture Triennale curators Ann-Sofi Rönnskog and John Palmesino and the rest of the team. (Congratulations also to our long time collaborators Transborder Studio, who are included in this year’s main exhibition!)
From left: Line Ramstad (director of the Oslo Architecture Triennale), Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä (curators of the Finnish Pavillion), Ann-Sofi Rönnskog and John Palmesino (curators of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale), Alexandra Cruz (Oslo Architecture Triennale), José Mateus (Lisbon Architecture Triennale), Katarina Siltavuori (ArchInfo), Manuel Henriques (Lisbon Architecture Triennale). Photo: Oslo Architecture Triennale.
