53,86% URUGUAY Land of water
by Katia Sei Fong, Ken Sei Fong and Luis Sei Fong
SEI FONG Studio. Montevideo, 2025
by Katia Sei Fong, Ken Sei Fong and Luis Sei Fong
SEI FONG Studio. Montevideo, 2025
PAVILION OF URUGUAY
19th International Architecture Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
19th International Architecture Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
We are possibly facing the age of water — the "Hydrocene"— where the way we manage and conserve it will shape humanity’s future. Architecture has the potential to address water-related challenges through designs that encourage its conservation and efficient use, ensuring a reliable supply for human consumption, agriculture, industry, and energy generation. Water in the territory opens up innovative urban planning and design possibilities, acting as an element that unifies and invites us to rethink how we inhabit spaces.
We have arrived at a decisive moment where the management and symbolic value of water are essential for life. Now is the time to come together to preserve and protect this precious resource.
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., curated by Carlo Ratti and organised by La Biennale di Venezia, will open to the public from Saturday May 10 to Sunday November 23, 2025, at the Giardini, the Arsenale and at the Forte Marghera. The pre-opening will take place on May 8 and 9; the awards ceremony and inauguration will be held on Saturday May 10, 2025.
«Architecture has always been a response to a hostile climate. From the earliest "primitive hut," human design has been led by the need for shelter and survival, driven by optimism: our creations have always strived to bridge the gap between a harsh environment and the safe, livable spaces we require.» Carlo Ratti stated.
«Adaptation demands a fundamental shift in our practice. This year’s Exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. invites different types of intelligence to work together to rethink the built environment. The very Latin title Intelligens contains the word gens (“people”) - inviting us to experiment beyond today’s limited focus on AI and digital technologies.»
«In the time of adaptation, architecture is at the center and must lead with optimism. In the time of adaptation, architecture needs to draw on all forms of intelligence – natural, artificial, collective. In the time of adaptation, architecture needs to reach out across generations and across disciplines - from the hard sciences to the arts. In the time of adaptation, architecture must rethink authorship and become more inclusive, learning from science.»
«Architecture must become as flexible and dynamic as the world we are now designing for».
labiennale.org
The National Department of Culture, through the National Institute of Visual Arts, the Department of Internationalization of Culture and the Uruguay Culture Foundation, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Uruguay in Italy, the General Department for Cultural Affairs and the Honorary Consulate of Uruguay in Venice, will be in charge of organizing the exhibition in collaboration with the Uruguay XXI Agency and with the generous support of the Viñoly Foundation, which has committed to sponsor the Uruguay Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale for the next 10 years.
Uruguay is one of three Latin American countries, in addition to Brazil and Venezuela, that has its own pavilion in the grounds of Il Giardini, also known as the Gardens of the Biennale. The Uruguayan pavilion is owned by the State, its acquisition was authorized by Law 12,697 of January 20, 1960, while the land is used based on right-of-use concessions (renewable every 19 years) granted by the Municipality of Venecia; the current concession is valid until 2027.
mec.gub.uy