The Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates has announced its theme and details for the upcoming 19th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy. 

The 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy. Titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, the exhibition is curated by architect and engineer Carlo Ratti.

The Pressure Cooker exhibition, which is curated by Emirati scholar and architect Azza Aboualam, explores the changing relationship between architecture and food production in the United Arab Emirates and offers creative solutions for more sustainable food production at the individual and community levels. 

Pressure Cooker provides architectural ideas made especially for arid environments and investigates themes of self-sufficiency using a research-based methodology.

Corn fields and net houses in Liwa, Abu Dhabi. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. Image © Ola Allouz

The exhibition provides fresh insights into food security, a problem that is becoming more urgent on a regional and international scale, by reinventing the greenhouse for arid regions. Traditional farming practices are increasingly under risk from temperature extremes and soil degradation as a result of climate change's disruption of agricultural systems. 

According to recent studies, if emissions keep increasing, a sizable amount of the world's food production may be in jeopardy by the end of the century. Pressure Cooker looks at how local knowledge of food production has evolved over time to fit the unique climate and environmental circumstances of the Gulf region. 

It places the food production environment in the United Arab Emirates in this global framework, highlighting the necessity of flexible methods.

The exhibition examines the UAE's current food-growing infrastructures, which are situated in resource-rich settings that are frequently hidden, disregarded, or physically isolated from metropolitan centers. It does this by drawing on fieldwork and archival research. The study looks at local design solutions, from the traditional to the cutting edge, that were developed throughout time during periods of food scarcity. 

Pressure Cooker investigates how architecture may address the food security issues facing the UAE and the world by putting forth a number of greenhouse models. This could lead to a future where these forms are included into our built and lived environments.

Aboualam's research findings will highlight the various ways that architecture, food, and the built environment intersect. They will be displayed in Venice and accompanied by a publication. In an effort to assist the research of cultural practitioners, curators, and researchers in the United Arab Emirates, the National Pavilion UAE is still working with regional organizations like Zayed University.

Azza Aboualam. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. Image © Niño Consorte of Seeing Things

"Pressure Cooker will exhibit research that speaks to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: food security. The exhibition examines the intersection of architecture, innovation, and sustainability to address critical issues shaping our shared future," said curator Azza Aboualam. 

"The curatorial approach is rooted in contemporary research, linking the UAE’s unique cultural and architectural identity to pressing globalchallenges, offering grounded, technical, and imaginative perspectives on food systems and sustainability."

"Ultimately, Pressure Cooker asks: Using the UAE as a case study, how can architecture be mobilized towards greater food security?," Aboualam added.

"The UAE’s participation in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia reflects our nation’s steadfast commitment to fostering innovation in addressing critical global challenges. The exhibition highlights the intersection of architecture and food security, demonstrating how sustainable design can contribute to building climate resilience and enhancing resource management," said His Excellency Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture. 

"This thought-provoking showcase exemplifies the UAE’s leadership in advancing architectural solutions tailored for arid environments while promoting a global dialogue on sustainability and self-sufficiency in food. We are proud to support this remarkable effort that celebrates Emirati ingenuity and inspires innovative pathways for a sustainable future," Al Qassimi added.

The National Pavilion UAE is commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture and has a permanent pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia’s Arsenale – Sale d’Armi.

Greenhouses in Hatta, Dubai. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. Image © Ola Allouz

Emirati architect Azza Aboualam is a co-founder and director of research at Holesum Studio, a multidisciplinary architecture and design firm with offices in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and New York, USA. She is also an assistant professor at Zayed University's College of Arts and Creative Enterprises in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A few years after graduating from Yale School of Architecture, she co-founded the studio in 2021.

In addition to this announcement, Qatar announced that it will build a national pavilion in the historic venue of Giardini della Biennale, which first opened to the public in 1895. The Türkiye Pavilion announced its theme and curators. Titled Grounded, the exhibition will be curated by Istanbul-based curator Ceren Erdem and Berlin-based architect Bilge Kalfa. 

Moreover, the Finland Pavilion will explore The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship, highlighting the various types of labor that go into building and maintaining architecture. The Austrian Pavilion will explore the theme of Agency for Better Living, focusing on affordable housing and tackling the cities of Vienna and Rome.

The top image in the article: Greenhouses in Alzubair, Sharjah. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. Image © Ola Allouz.

> via National Pavilion UAE

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