The 18th edition of La BIennale di Venezia, one of the world's most prestigious biennials, opened on May 22nd and captured the world's attention. The event, curated by the Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko, Organized by La Biennale di Venezia, Africa, the most rapidly urbanizing continent on Earth, was chosen as the main character, with the theme of "Laboratory of the Future - Africa", to explore the possibilities of architecture and imagine the future world.

The 18th Venice Architecture Biennale has 63 countries participating, with national pavilions exploring and expanding on the central theme. The National Pavilion is the physical space that hosts the official representatives of their respective countries within the art and architectural versions of the Venice Biennale.

The Brazilian pavilion won the Golden Lion for best national participation in the exhibition, the winning exhibition "Terra," curated by architects Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares. With the theme of "Renewal · Symbiosis", the pavilion tells a Chinese story of symbiosis between life, architecture, cities and nature through mapping the changing human settlements in the past 40 years.

Brazil Pavilion

Brazil Pavilion cocurators Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares look at decolonization, national identity, diaspora, indigenous knowledge systems, and concepts of Brasilia and modernism, connecting to the theme of "Lab of the Future" through the vehicle of African diaspora. Titled "Terra," the exhibition works from the past to construct "possible futures, focusing on the role of land in shaping our understanding of heritage and identity." The pavilion features indigenous and Afro-Brazilian knowledge about land and territory, and exhibits include audiovisual works by Brazilian filmmaker Juliana Vicente, archival photographs compiled by historian Ana Flavia Magalhaes Pinto, and maps of Brazilian ethnic history.

China National Pavilion

The exhibition is hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and organized by China International Culture Group Co., LTD. Ruan Xin, dean of the School of Design of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, is the curator. With the theme of "Renewal · Symbiosis", the China Pavilion tells a Chinese story of symbiosis between life, architecture, city and nature through the mapping of the changing human settlements in the past 40 years. The exhibition takes the form of a "scroll" colonnade, which shows the Chinese reading process by digging a hole in the middle of each column to form a relatively independent display space.

The exhibition is divided into two parts: indoor and outdoor. Nearly 50 works are displayed indoors. The exhibition is divided into three chapters: "Livable · Legend · Diverse group images", "Livable · Renewal · Shanghai Story", "Symbiosis · Future · Natural Revival". The outdoor installation raises the question of the difference in land use efficiency and livability between the courtyard and the tower through the "mathematical model".

British pavilion

Titled "Dancing Before the Moon" and curated by a group of creatives, the UK Pavilion focuses on a series of installations by six artists and designers that aim to promote "daily rituals (from growing food and cooking to play and dance) as tools for diaspora communities to build Spaces and present new ways of thinking about architecture and the built environment." Participating artists include Yussef AgboOla, Mac Collins, Shawanda Corbett, Madhav Kidao and Sandra Poulson, who reflect on global cultural practices that influence the space through their work. "The UK Pavilion at 2023 is a space to rethink the role people play in shaping the built environment. It shows the need for architecture to look beyond architectural and economic structures and focus on everyday social practices, customs and traditions to meaningfully reflect how people use and occupy space, "said Jayden Ali, one of the curators of the UK Pavilion. The British Pavilion won a special prize at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Danish pavilion

The Danish pavilion, called Coastal Imagination, focuses on climate change, particularly rising sea levels. Curated by Josephine Michau in collaboration with landscape architecture firm ønherr. Schønherr proposes "urban design that can better coexist with rising sea and stormwater levels due to climate change." Widely praised for its quality of life, the Danish capital is one of many places in the world threatened by coastal change. The Danish Pavilion aims to highlight this and, through a diorama, tells of the transformation of the urban landscape infrastructure to prevent flooding.

Korean pavilion

"2086: How to Be Together?" The Korean Pavilion raised questions about the impact of the environmental crisis over the last 50 years. Curated by artistic directors Soik Jung and Kyong Park, the exhibition examines the case of small communities in South Korea. "Each neighborhood is a case study, using community leaders' indepth knowledge of the area and architects' spatial analysis to assess its current situation and propose future scenarios for the area up to 2086." In the case of Gunsan, South Korea, for example, practitioners explored how to coexist with abandoned houses and buildings to restore the old city's cityscape to a more natural state. Moreover, each project is motivated by how to deal with the differences between urban and rural areas that have resulted from centuries of unbalanced capitalist development ideas. "So these projects are about how to connect the past with the future, and how localism can reshape the globe." Soik Jung said.

Uae pavilion

In the exhibition "Drought Abundance" at the UAE Pavilion, curator Faysal Tabbarah explores how arid environments can be rich Spaces for productivity and natural wealth. Tabbarah, associate dean and associate professor of architecture at the American University of Sharjah's College of Architecture, Art and Design, looks at architectural possibilities in particular environments around the world: "The overarching question I explored with 'Drought Abundance' was: What architectural possibilities emerge when we reimagine arid landscapes as rich Spaces?" Based on the experience of the UAE's arid landscape, the UAE exhibition delves into themes, lessons and issues that can inform other parts of the world facing the threat of drought and desertification.

Estonian pavilion

Curated by Aet Ader, Arvi Anderson and Mari Moldre, the Estonian Pavilion brings the discussion around architecture back into the home environment. An event called "Family Stage" takes place in a real-life rental apartment (address: 96 Salizada Streta). "The Estonian Pavilion exists in the form of a continuous performance in which ordinary housework and fictional quarrels and outbursts (scripted or unscripted) take place in the public eye. One of the performers, Paula Veidenbauma, became interested in how invisible issues such as caring, occupation and loneliness contrast with the great visibility of real estate, especially in Venice, It's driven by super-tourism and gentrification." Moldre said.

USA pavilion

USA Pavilion, exhibition design :Faysal Altunbozar, Chloe Munkenbeck

The US pavilion was curated by Tizziana Baldenebro and Lauren Leving in collaboration with Cleveland-based SPACES Gallery for an exhibition called "Eternity." The team brings together artists and designers who are concerned about the impact of the ubiquity of plastic on our lives and planet, while exploring themes such as "reconstructing our waterways, the excess plastic debris in landfills and streets as a rich resource" and "the inherent aesthetic and formal materiality of art and architecture." Plastics Forever is an entry point by rethinking our relationship with the physical world. "As the climate crisis becomes a reality, our everyday objects must become agents of change. This exhibition brings together a series of practices that examine, rescue and overturn global disasters."Baldenebro said.

Italian pavilion

The Italian Pavilion presents an exhibition called "Everyone Belongs to Everyone Else," curated by Fosbury Architecture, which focuses on the country's architects under the age of 40 who are "growing and practicing in the context of a long-term crisis, so that they use collaboration, sharing and dialogue as the basis of their work and activities."

Luxembourg Pavilion

The Luxembourg Pavilion, curated by Francelle Cane and Marija Mari, focuses on the potential of celestial bodies, planets and the Moon. The development of space resources, space mining and the idea of a "lunar laboratory" were discussed. On-site LABS, workshops and film materials make for an immersive experience.

Panama pavilion

The Republic of Panama and its commissioned curator Aimee Lam Tunon bring "Panama: Underwater Stories" to focus on three different areas of the former Panama Canal and on the communities, cultures and nature that exist in the area. "Since ancient times, the tropics have been widely regarded as a symbol of exotic landscapes, dangerous animals and lush vegetation. Portrayed as a distant place with a different history, language, and culture, this geographic region represents a fusion of wondrous reality and mystical essence. From a Western perspective, the tropics are often seen as a hostile environment for development, the antithesis of civilized modernity. "The exhibition at the Panama Pavilion provides a counter-narrative to this status quo by connecting the influences of its history and presenting Panama as a case study in its future vision as a 'tropical' country." Lam Tunon said.

Japan Pavilion

The focal point of the Japanese Pavilion is the Venice Biennale's Japan Pavilion itself, designed in 1956 by architect Takashasa Yoshizaka (1917-1980) and titled "Architecture, A Place to Be Loved." The exhibition was curated by a team of architects, Maki Onishi and Yuki Hyakuda, co-founders of Studio o+h.

By the early summer of 2023, the Japanese Pavilion has been built for 67 years. It has hosted many people over the years and is still standing today. "A place to be loved is possible when a building contains inscribed memories and stories, when it embodies the landscape behind it and the activities that take place around it," the curators wrote. The framework of the exhibition has broader implications. For this reason, we first think of the building as a 'living creature'."

Greek pavilion

The Greek pavilion explores the DAMS and reservoirs that are transforming the country with "Bodies of Water." Cocurators Costis Paniyiris and Andreas Nikolovgenis worked with a large team of architects, designers and students to construct an exhibition that digs deep into the retention, supply and use of water. "Bodies of water and all associated structures, such as DAMS and earthworks, constitute public buildings in the Roman or Vitruvian sense. It is a collective public project, literally, a means to maintain basic survival, and symbolically, a distillation of collective labor and common progress." The curatorial team wrote.