We know who will be the author of the exhibition design for the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025! The winner is a project that tells the story of how architecture inspires a sense of security.
On July 19 of this year, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Zachęta National Gallery of Art announced a competition for the design of the exhibition for the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, which will be held next year. Today, during a conference held at the Zachęta building , we got to know the team whose curatorial project will be implemented in the Polish Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. The winning team consisted of: Aleksandra Kędziorek (curator) Krzysztof Maniak (artist), Katarzyna Przyzwańska (artist) and Maciej Siuda (architect). The project is entitled "Lary and Penats - about building a sense of security in architecture."
Lary and Penaty - safety architecture
The exhibition prepared by the winning team will tell about the different faces of architecture as a phenomenon whose primary task is to ensure human safety. From protection from the weather, to preventing misfortunes sent by entities from the metaphysical world, to thwarting crime through monitoring systems, the exhibition will present how architecture has provided shelter and fostered a sense of agency over the centuries. The exhibition has been thought through comprehensively, including in the context of its fate after the Biennial. The newly designed elements will be created in the spirit of circular economy - after the exhibition is dismantled, they will be able to fulfill their function elsewhere.
The winning concept for the exhibition was selected by a committee chaired by Minister of Culture and National Heritage Hanna Wroblewska and composed of Anna Cymer, Michał Duda, Marlena Happach, Anna Barlik, Donata Jaworska, Kacper Kępiński, Ewa Porębska, Bolesław Stelmach, Łukasz Stępnik, Justyna Szylman and Jarosław Trybuś.
The jury also selected a reserve project, which will be implemented in case of difficulties with the implementation of the winning project. The concept for the "Uninvited Guests" exhibition was prepared by curator Adam Przywara, Archigrest, Toposcape studios and artist Diana Lelonek.
Between nature and human activity
The upcoming Architecture Biennale will be open to the public between May 10 and November 23, 2025. The general curator of next year's edition is Carlo Ratti, an Italian architect, critic and MIT professor who heads the Senseable City Lab, focused on researching the impact of modern technology on the functioning of contemporary cities. Urban themes will also be at the center of exhibitions presented at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, whose theme is "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Common."
The title of the International Architecture Exhibition is usually announced in English and Italian. In 2025, however, the reference to the common Latin root intelligens will make the same title applicable in both languages. The title intelligens has to do with the modern concept of intelligence, but also refers to a wider range of meanings due to the last syllable gens, which in Latin means people. It gives rise to a new fictional vocabulary base that indicates what the intelligence of the future should be: inclusive, multifaceted and endowed with imagination beyond what we know today as artificial intelligence.
- Carlo Ratti explains.
We are already congratulating the winning team, and in the coming days we will publish an article giving a more detailed look at the concept for the exhibition in the Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.
