Designed by Heneghan Peng Architects and opened in November, the Grand Egyptian Museum is the largest building on the planet dedicated to one specific field in cultural history.
– photos: Danica O Kus –
View through full height glass walls towards the pyramids 2 kilometers away, photo Danica O Kus
With a visual connection over the desert landscape towards the Giza pyramids, the museum is erected on the Nile plateau on the western edge of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. This specific location was the source of inspiration for the architects, who have used the triangular shape as a motif and a formal link to the ancient monuments, which thus are brought in as part of the spectacular historic narrative of the museum. Besides the visual organising principle, the triangle evokes a sense of uplift, seen as a symbol of spiritual transcendence.
Sculptural play with oblique triangular forms, photo Danica O Kus
The Dublin-based architects won the design competition in 2003 out of 1500 entries. It was a massive commission for the studio, founded by Róisín Heneghan and Shih-Fu Peng just a couple years earlier. Involving complex engineering, the museum took two decades to be completed, with technical design by Arup and Büro Happold. It is now the grand global centre for Egyptology, housing a collection of rare large scale artefacts as well as conservation and research laboratories.
Part of the museum is dedicated to the 4,600-year-old funerary boats of King Khufu, photo: Danica O Kus
As a cultural space the museum was envisioned as a contemporary layer extending from the historically charged archeological landscape. The great central stairway of the building is an architectural promenade that takes visitors through six stories, rising gradually towards the top floor and the view towards the pyramids of the Giza plateau. Evoking an ascent in time and space, visitors encounter colossal ancient statues placed along the stairs, culminating on the panoramic view.
Facade panels filtering light, photo: Danica O Kus
Based on a triangular master grid, derived from the alignment between the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the existing urban fabric, a geometric system organises all the museum’s circulation routes with the landscape, façades, and structural modules. The monumental scale is balanced by a refined optical control, precise proportions and with lots of day light pouring in. For the hot climatic conditions a state-of-art thermal system has been a big part of the technical design for safeguarding the preservation of the historic artefacts, while offering views towards the exterior. A play with light continues on the facade clad in semi-translucent alabaster-like panels that glow softly in the desert light.
Inside the Grand Atrium the 11-meter-tall Statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II, photo: Danica O Kus
“Despite its enormity, the design avoids ornament or historicist gestures. Its monumentality emerges from rigorous geometry,” architectural photographer Danica Kus says. “It’s an architectural response that understands the weight of history and adds to it with clarity, while expressing respect.”
Inside the 26 national pavilions of the Giardini, some of the most interesting exhibitions evolve as temporal research during the six months of the Architecture Biennale. The pavilions of Russia and Israel remain closed, as blank reminders of the real geopolitical crisis and destruction. The beautiful Venezuela pavilion also remains closed, due to the country’s difficult political situation.
Carlo Ratti’s overarching curatorial theme is an invitation for exploring the potential of human intelligence and action against the climate crisis. As he points out, architecture has always been the ultimate expression of human invention and engineering, the architecture of Venice being an enduring example of audacious urban design. Although projects expand over various thematics, there is an emphasis on ideas and approaches for a better use of materials and technological inventions for improved and alternative construction systems. These exhibition laboratories are great examples of imaginative approaches, in which the symbiosis of nature and technology forms new kinds of milieus, connections and environments.
At the Belgian Pavilion landscape architect Bas Smets, in collaboration with neuroscientist Stefano Mancuso, has created an indoor exhibition garden with over 200 subtropical plants. Although exotic plants have been in conservatories and winter gardens for centuries, this garden uses contemporary technology for monitoring the plants responses to their environment, for optimising the artificial conditions of this man-made microclimate. Bas Smets is known for prestigious landscaping projects, such as the urban transformation around the restored Notre Dame in Paris. At the Biennale he has introduced a laboratory for better understanding how plants will respond and behave in this monitored space, designed for amplifying the atmospheric effects they produce for improved climatic conditions. It is a calming oasis, offering also a glimpse into the history of indoor gardens and greenhouses. In practice Bas Smet’s project extends the modernist premiss of control and progress underpinned by human intelligence.
Nordic Countries Pavilion, Giardini, photo @Marianna Wahlsten
The technological dimension of architecture is also a subject of critique at the Biennale. At the pavilion of Nordic Countries, the exhibition titled Industry Muscle, curated by Finnish architect Kaisa Karvinen looks at the oppressive and authoritative effects in architectural design through a series of performances and installations showcased inside the large open-plan pavilion, deconstructing the modernist myth of progress, which is at heart of the design of the pavilion itself, designed by Sverre Fehn. It is an argument against the categorical production of space in modernist architecture, which the exhibition explores as a gendered bodily experience. The rationalism of the modernist organisation of space is presented as harsh and constraining, calling perhaps for an idea of a more diverse, sensorial and fluid public space, although the proposed alternatives remain enigmatic…
‘Build of Site’ at Danish Pavilion, Giardini, photo @Marianna Wahlsten
One of the most real and direct material presentations of the Biennale must be the project at the Danish Pavilion, curated by Søren Pihlmann, an architect specialising in restoration. The building is undergoing full renovation on a massive scale, and the curatorial project explores the potential of recycling and reusing all the existing materials, which are carefully laid out for the exhibition inside the pavilion. For anyone interested in building materials it is a real delight, even just for witnessing the range of textures and substances extracted from the building site. But more importantly, Pihlmann’s project exemplifies an imaginative approach for the reuse of materials, which will hopefully become an ongoing inspiration for architectural practices everywhere. I saw Danish architect Bjarke Ingels exploring with enthusiasm the techniques Pihlmann has introduced to the project, so hoping future projects by BIG will also be focusing on new ways for recycling existing materials. Pihlmann says the exhibition has forced him to think differently, taking the restoration as a laboratory, open to constant public observation: “For creative people it’s always great when you have narrow boundaries to work with,” he says. As an ongoing testing ground, it opens a window to future approaches and simultaneously an archaeological viewpoint into the context of the Giardini, which is very inspiring.
At the Spanish Pavilion, a similar theme around the use of materials is presented in a more traditional exhibition format with a wider scope, curated by Spanish architects Roe Salgueiro Barrio and Manuel Bouzas, titled Internalities. While the Danish exhibition played with the rough reality of material presence, the Spanish curatorial team brings forth the potential of beauty of naturally produced local resources and recycled materials in compelling displays. The central hall presents sixteen current architectural projects from different regions of Spain, selected from an open call. Designed around a curatorial idea to emphasise the balancing act in the use and production of materials, the exhibition evokes the sensorial quality combined with the ecological ambition to stick with locally sourced materials. The qualities of various types of stones as well as earth used in the production of traditional construction materials is brought out and juxtaposed with new approaches, such as ‘urban mining’. Showcasing these characteristics and methods to be understood and appreciated instead of extracting new materials, the curators call for legal incentives to support and advocate more creative approaches and a renaissance in material culture.
As a showcase for ecological material production, the project at the Canadian Pavilion feels much more abstract, like a futuristic science fiction laboratory. The exhibition titled Picoplanktonics looks at a biological process, which is shown to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, based on the special feature discovered in marine cyanobacteria Picoplankton. It is an organic substance, now growing on robotically manufactured structures during the exhibition. In this environmental experiment for improved atmospheric oxygen levels, living organisms are simultaneously strengthening the structures on which they grow. The atmosphere inside the pavilion does indeed feel unusual, as if dense with oxygen. This fascinating biological process, in which digital technologies are part of the organic fabrication, is the invention of a research team at ETH Zurich, led by designer and architect Andrea Shin Ling.
Serbia Pavillion, Giardini, photo @Marianna Wahlsten
Another kind of immersive material experience can be found at the Serbian Pavilion, curated by architect Slobodan Jovic. Recalling late 1960s conceptual artworks, which sought to replace harsh industrial materials with more fluid and organic forms, this project titled Unraveling: New Spaces is designed as a kinetic artwork with digital programming. As the cloud-like hanging structure knitted of wool is being unravelled, it will continue altering and diminishing its form during the six-month period of the Biennale. Relying on an algorithmic design, this process will bring the yarn back to its original state. Happening in time and space, this project evokes Ratti’s theme in multiple ways, bringing together craft and technology, ultimately as a digital process that will undo the physical part of the exhibition, leaving the pavilion empty.
While the Biennale has received critical comments for being chaotic and providing too much content, it is simultaneously a great reflection on current global concerns and tendencies. Lead by Italian architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, the 2025 Biennale, titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, aims to break some boundaries, exploring the potential for technological solutions for saving the planet. Professor at the MIT in United States, as well as running his own global design firm, Ratti is passionate about the latest discoveries in tech for architecture. To the point, where some believe, his enthusiasm seems to overrule any aesthetic and social sensibilities. However, without preaching, Ratti’s curatorial work brings up some controversies.
Entrance at the Corderie dell’Arsenale, start of the exhibition, @ Marianna Wahlsten
The main exhibition takes place at the gigantic Corderie dell’Arsenale shipyard. It is one of the greatest exhibition spaces in the world and the entry sets the underlying tone for this incredibly varied showcase for ideas and approaches in contemporary architectural culture. This year there are over 300 projects exhibited, chosen from an open call.
The first project launches the narrative, as you are immersed in the dystopian malfunction of the ‘machine-to-live-in’. This room represents a strange sense of realism – the uncanny – while deconstructing the technological premises of Modernism. Like a cinematic set, it shows the paradox of the modern air-con systems, which keep pushing out and generating more heat outside. The scene recalls the iconic artwork by British artist Richard Wilson, in which the viewer is perplexed by reflective surfaces and the smell of gasoline. While in here, it’s the heat, an instant reminder of the contemporary condition of crisis.
Walking through the 700 meters long shipyard, it is difficult to study each participating project. As an extreme alternative Ratti suggests the possibility of running through it in 15 minutes, to get a speedy overview in the style of the scene in the Godard movie shot at the Louvre. Or if you really want to get familiar with each exhibited project, it could take a whole week Ratti admits. The space is filled with installations showcasing experimental projects with materials and digital tools, for example the installation by Kengo Kuma Architects, made of tree trunks, collected on the landscape in Italy after a storm, held together with 3D printed supports. Apart from the AI-based design method on which the components were assembled, it doesn’t seem to have any direct significance for architectural design. It is rather like a poetic evocation of natural forces, technological culture, raw materiality, and hope for healing.
Close-up detail of installation by Kengo Kuma Architects @ Marianna Wahlsten
There are several exhibited projects that borrow the language of conceptual art, which is perhaps the way ideas are fused today and how influences circulate across art, architecture and design as part of a wider cross-cultural discourse. There are also lots of beeping robots and other sounds recalling the universal technological condition that underpins our daily moves and orchestrates what we can do. Although there were some complaints about the chaotic nature that these machines induced, robots are part of the digital workflow in construction industry, which couldn’t be overlooked at the Biennale. And the fact that short introductory texts for each exhibited project were created with AI was a great help and a showcase for the use of AI in organising information. It would be interesting to know if any of the curators had objected to this… In any case it was a way for providing a unified and neutral summary for each project, always helpful.
Towards the latter half of the Arsenale exhibition, after crossing through the mix of projects on all scales, ‘Material Palimpsest’ at the Moroccan Pavilion delights through its simplicity. The sensorial aspect of the material presence stands out against the overload of tech. Curated by Atelier BE, the exhibition is a showcase for Moroccan traditions of using earth as material for construction, combined for more precision with the use of digital software. Curators Khalil Morad El Ghilali & El-Mehdi Belyasmine explain that digital tools are used in their practice for mapping, modelling and simulating traditional techniques for adopting them for contemporary situations. Parametric modelling supports prototyping of more complex elements while using local materials. They strongly believe in the hybridisation of design processes, combining low tech approaches with the precision offered by new technologies, “It’s not an opposition, but a fertile dialogue”, they say.
Detail from the exhibition ‘Materiae Palimpsest’, Moroccan Pavilion @ Marianna Wahlsten
Awarded the Golden Lion for the best pavilion, one of the last exhibited projects at the Arsenale is titled ‘Heatwave’ at the Bahrain Pavilion, which makes for the perfect ending in Ratti’s curatorial narrative. The space is furnished with giant sand-filled cushions for seating – much appreciated after coming through the exhaustive amount of mind-blowing information. Calming by its minimalist presentation, which initially doesn’t give much away. In total contrast to the estrangement of the effects of failed technology showcased at the very first space at the start of the Arsenale show, this gallery has been equipped by a system for air-conditioning, based on a natural mechanism drawing cooling air from the ground, designed for outside cooling to ease working conditions under extreme heat. The system seems mysterious, but the experience brings pleasure and hope as a positive outcome through its elegant simplicity.
A new form for transport on the lagoon: pier and gateway designed by Norman Foster in collaboration with Porche @ Marianna Wahlsten
Outside after the far exit of the shipyard, ending on a high note celebrating technological design, the project created by Norman Foster with Porche brings a sense of shimmering fun after the intensely animated stroll through the Corderie dell’Arsenale galleries. On the quay side a gateway leads onto a jetty where rides can be taken over the water with bikes gliding smoothly over the lagoon, exemplifying the high-tech aesthetics of Fosters practice. The pier is covered with lightweight pieces of aluminium moving in the wind, providing shade, while sustaining cooling airflow through the gateway. Foster’s engineering supports this new transport mode, which, who knows, could provide a new perspective for exploring Venice in the future.
In recent years the emphasis of the Serpentine Summer Pavilion design has been increasingly focused on ecological thinking, sustainable materials and flexible forms. The 2024 pavilion by South Korean architect Minsuk Cho, designed mostly in locally sourced timber, exemplifies this trend. The open-plan form allows for a creative approach in how space is used and divided. It’s a delightful formal exploration, which echoes in poetic ways the previous pavilions.
If you missed visiting the pavilion, here you can explore the space through this virtual tour, provided by archi.tours
As founder of Studio Mumbai, Indian architect Bijoy Jain works with his team at the intersection of art, craft, architecture and design. His artisan-like method is well-known to be a slow working process, challenging the demands of technological production, where robotics and AI have been adopted for increased efficiency. Bijoy Jain collaborates with local craftsmen, exploring the potential and true spirit embedded in different materials. The exhibition at Fondation Cartier in Paris aims to show the interconnections between art and philosophy underpinning the Studio Mubai practice.
Chris Dercon, the new director of Fondation Cartier, links Bijoy Jain’s production to a trajectory of Indian design and architecture that was inspired by Charles and Ray Eames’ The India Report. The Eameses were invited by the Indian government in 1958 to find out how to strengthen the country’s craft-based traditions and small-scale industries. The report led to the establishment of the National Institute of Design (NID), which Dercon sees as a turning point.
Bijoy Jain has received many awards, for example the Alvar Aalto Medal in 2020. His interest towards traditional craftsmanship is expressed through a simplicity and fragility in the handling of materials showcased in the exhibition space designed by Jean Nouvel. Completed in 1991 the Fondation Cartier is one of Paris’ best-known contemporary art exhibition spaces. It is filled with objects in total contrats to the High-Tech style of the building. Sculptures carved in stone are shaped into benches and chairs, while bamboo woven structures are knotted together with twine to form a whole. The lightweight seats, made of silk thread wound around the wood, contain a structural poetry, as does the large abstract geometric pattern inscribed with red pigment on limestone, representing the flow of water.
The idea of ‘breath’ in this exhibition’s theme could be understood as in Monism, as the metaphysical dimension that unites mind and matter as one essence. For Bijoy Jain this idea conveys a sense of hope, despite the current state of the world. Although Jain’s architectural studies and early career took place in the United States, his work is strongly informed by Asian spiritual experience and a mystical connection with nature, where water, air and light are seen as the elements of architecture.
As a building, Jean Nouvel’s gallery concept has links with Mies van der Rohe’s Neues Nationagalerie in Berlin. In both, the walls are all glass and offer no hanging space. On the other hand, the connection to the surrounding garden is an essential element and a fine example of the modernist ideal of the outdoor-indoor connection. Nouvel’s architecture is dominant and perhaps Bijoy Jain’s material sensibility cannot be fully appreciated against Nouvel’s heavy steel structures. This, of course, results from different choices in the presentation, curation and design of the exhibition. And while Studio Mumbai’s artworks are in a fascinating way, the antithesis of Nouvel’s architectural language, on some level the tension between the two does not result in a synthesis. As a spatial experience, the massive steel columns somehow obstruckt the link to Studio Mumbai’s subtle production, which remains a bit flat.
At the initiative of chief curator Hervé Chandès, the exhibition also includes works by artists Hu Liu and Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye, who share Bijoy Jain’s interest in the spiritual dimension of materials. However, as the display contains very little explanation of the origins or purposes of Jain’s production, these other works seem to diminish the strength of the exhibition. Perhaps Studio Mumbai’s works should have been given more room to ‘breathe’, in order to show their conceptual links?
Studio Mumbai’s architecture has also attracted some criticism, because their artisanal approach resulting in sought-after and expensive design objects could be seen as elitist in the context of India’s housing crisis. Indeed, a sense of ‘conscious luxury’ characterises Studio Mumbai’s work, but on the other hand, their design approach should be understood as an example that elevates the value of craftsmanship. Rather than direct action, Bijoy Jain’s work conveys spiritual convictions such as honesty in the use of materials, which is inspiring in itself, and an interest in the existential forms of one’s own country. This is well illustrated in the documentary ‘The Sense of Tuning’ filmed for the exhibition by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine.
This year the Serpentine Summer Pavilion is a wooden structure, inspired by Mediterranean and African architecture. Designed by Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh the building is featured here in 360 panoramic views. Ghotmeh envisioned the space as a meeting point around a large circular table in the heart of London in the historic setting in Kensington Gardens.
Architect Lina Ghotmeh in front of the 2023 Pavilion, photo Danica O. Kus
