The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities has installed an exhibition, titled Heatwave, at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, which takes place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale, and various venues in Venice. 

This pavilion is commissioned by His Excellency Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, and curated by architect Andrea Faraguna.

Situated in the historic Artiglierie section of the Arsenale, the pavilion showcases an architectural proposal that addresses the increasing challenge of rising global temperatures. It features an outdoor passive cooling installation designed for public spaces.

The Bahrain Pavilion was awarded the Golden Lion for the best National Participation. The pavilion presents a workable solution during extremely hot weather.

There is a greater need than ever for design to address social sustainability and environmental resilience as heatwaves occur more frequently. In an attempt to lessen the consequences of excessive heat in public areas, the pavilion investigates the possibilities of passive cooling and shading buildings in Bahrain, one of the nations most affected by intense heat. 

The pavilion suggests flexible ways to improve thermal comfort in cities that are becoming more and more hot.

By combining modern innovation with ancient Bahraini cooling methods, the architectural proposal showcased in Venice incorporates a ventilation chimney and a geothermal well. A modular floor and suspended ceiling define the compacted elemental space created by a thermo-hygrometric axis that links subterranean conditions with outdoor air. This building frames views of the surroundings while housing guests.

The system uses mechanical ventilation to produce a regulated microclimate in the Artiglierie dell'Arsenale exhibition space, where digging a geothermal well is impractical. Air is drawn through a canal-facing window and directed through a series of ducts and nozzles.

The pavilion's unique floor and cantilevered ceiling, both of which are supported by a single central column, distinguish its architectural style. 

It is intended for scalable application in a variety of metropolitan settings and is conceptualized as a modular unit. 

This inventive system, which reimagines conventional climate-control techniques in modern public spaces, is the result of structural engineering by Mario Monotti and thermomechanical knowledge by Alexander Puzrin.

The results are especially relevant to construction sites and outdoor work areas in the Gulf region, where high temperatures present social and technical difficulties. 

The pavilion demonstrates how creative design may improve comfort and sustainability in difficult environments by proposing modular, expandable structures that provide shaded, thermally regulated rest places.

The building site is a hub where social justice, architecture, and climate all come together. An abstract landscape of soil and sandbags in Venice evokes this idea, highlighting the relationship between constructed surroundings and the labor that keeps them going.

A book that supports the exhibition offers both qualitative speculations and numerical analysis. The impact of the pavilion is expanded beyond its physical presence with its expert writings on heatwaves, technical studies, surveys, and an examination of historical practices and facts.

The 19th International Architecture Exhibition will take place from 10 May to 23 November 2025 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in Venice, Italy.

Find out all exhibition news on WAC's Venice Architecture Biennale page. 

Project facts

Commissioner: HE Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities 

Deputy Commissioner: Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop 

Pavilion Coordinators: Batool Al Shaikh, Sara Ali 

Curation, Design, and Research Lead: Andrea Faraguna 

Publication Contributors: Abdulla Janahi, Alexander Puzrin, Caitlin Mueller, Eduardo Gascón Alvarez, Jonathon Brearley, Laila Al Shaikh, Latifa Al Khayat, Leslie Norford, Maitham Al Mubarak, Maryam Al Jomairi, Mohammad Salim, Paris Bezanis, Viola Zhang, Wafa Al Ghatam.

Research Contributors: concept developed with sub, Deniz Celtek, Eugenio Superchi, Freddy Vetter, Gösta Andreas Lönn Grill, Julia Wiesiollek, Paris Bezanis, Roula Assaf

Exhibition Contributors: Abdulla Janahi, Alexander Puzrin, Eman Ali, Laila Al Shaikh, Maitham Al Mubarak, Mario Monotti, Mohammad Salim

Photography: Eman Ali 

Publication Editor: Andrea Faraguna 

Graphic Design: Samuel Bänziger, Rosario Florio, Larissa Kasper.

All images © Andrea Avezzù, La Biennale di Venezia.

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Bahrain Pavilion exhibition pavilion Venice Architecture Biennale