Grounded, curated by Ceren Erdem and Bilge Kalfa, will be on display at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale through the Türkiye Pavilion, which is organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV). 

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

Grounded emphasizes soil as a dynamic, underappreciated resource that is essential to comprehending ecosystems, civilizations, and sustainable existence. Through artistic interpretations, scientific research, and sensory experiences, the exhibition showcases the unique properties of Turkish soil.

Gulle Games, 2019, Sinem Disli, archival pigment print, courtesy of IKSV

Grounded positions soil at the center of the pavilion, portraying it as a living thing with intelligence and agency, in contrast to architecture's propensity to repress earthiness in the goal of controlled environments. By interacting with its texture, scent, and sound, visitors experience it as a living repository of human and natural history as well as an ecological system. 

As it examines Turkey's rich history, archaeological sites, and environmentally friendly building techniques, Grounded also considers the effects of human endeavors like construction. The exhibition explores architectural approaches that honor environment and culture by fusing traditional methods with modern advances, encouraging more harmonious ways of living.

Poster of Grounded. Image courtesy of IKSV

"With Grounded, we invite visitors to view soil not as something separate, but as an integral part of the same fabric of life that surrounds us," said Ceren Erdem and Bilge Kalfa, the curators of the exhibition. 

"It is not merely a surface beneath us or a resource to be extracted; rather, it is a dense, intelligent world in its own right – one we are already part of."

"Through material experiments, artistic documentation, and scientific observation, the exhibition encourages us to rethink our role in this dynamic exchange. It prompts us to recognise the structures we erode and the possibilities we often overlook."

"In doing so, it suggests ways of living and building that do not impose but instead listen to and engage with the environment," Erdem and Kalfa added.

Cosmic Core, 2024, Mono Earth, Solidified, rammed earth. Image © Zeynep Aksin

The project’s individual participants are Hüseyin Aksoy, Michael Akstaller, E. Füsun Alioğlu & Senem Akçay, Ali Mahmut Demirel, Sinem Dişli, Yelda Gin, Ali Miharbi, Özgül Öztürk, Serkan Taycan and Orkan Telhan. Bire-Pan, Common Action Walls, Herkes İçin Mimarlık & Poçolana Works, Mono Earth, Ozruh, Rec II, ReYard House, Solidified and Yalın Architects are the participant teams. The architectural research intern team includes Enes Yılmaz, Leonie Todd, Karim Gohary, Neha Goel and Simonida Galovic, while Dicle Beştaş serves as the curatorial assistant.

Balıktaş cave (January 2025) & Karadere Mining Field (October 2023), from multimedia installation Gods of Latmos (ongoing), 2024, Multimedia Installation, Ali M Demirel, archival pigment print, courtesy of IKSV

The architectural project is designed by Bilge Kalfa Architecture. Exhibitions visual identity and book are designed by Paleworks, and the editor is Melis Cankara.

Thanks to IKSV's initiative and the assistance of twenty-one sponsors, Arsenale's Sale d'Armi was acquired for a twenty-year term between 2014 and 2034, allowing the Türkiye Pavilion to be a member of the International Architecture Exhibition since 2014.

Alongside the exhibition, a book edited by Melis Cankara and designed by Paleworks (Ozan Akkoyun, Yağmur Rüzgar) is also being prepared. Featuring texts by the curators and artwork descriptions by the participants, the publication will also include contributions from Aytek Soner Alpan, Sevince Bayrak, Ömür Harmanşah, Enise Burcu Karaçizmeli, Burcu Serdar Köknar, Aslı Odman, Bülent Tanju, and Evren Uzer. The book aims to explore the themes addressed in the artworks from diverse perspectives.

Reflecting the layered and dynamic nature of the theme of soil, the book will be published in two volumes, in both Turkish and English. English volume will be available at the Biennale bookstores.

Photography from press conference. Ceren Erdem, Bilge Kalfa. Image © Fatih Yılmaz

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. Moreover, the Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates announced its theme, Pressure Cooker, and details for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. 

Also, 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: Common Action Walls (CAW), 2017. Project coordinators Fulya Ozsel Akipek, Tugrul Yazar, Istanbul bilgi University Department of Architecture, PotPlus DRG.

> via IKSV 

exhibition soil Türkiye Pavilion Venice Architecture Biennale