Bahrain Wins Golden Lion at Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

Key facts

• Bahrain won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
• The pavilion is titled Heatwave and curated by Andrea Faraguna.
• The pavilion addresses rising global temperatures with traditional cooling techniques, passive outdoor solutions, shading structures, a geothermal well, and a solar chimney.
• The international jury included Hans Ulrich Obrist, Paola Antonelli, and Mpho Matsipa.
• Exhibitors included Andrea Faraguna, Wafa Al Ghatam, Eman Ali, Alexander Puzrin, and Mario Monotti.
• The pavilion was commissioned by His Excellency Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.
• Bahrain previously won the Golden Lion in 2010 for its first national participation at the 12th Architecture Biennale.
• Special mentions for national participation went to the Holy See and Great Britain.
• The Golden Lion for best participation in the main exhibition went to Canal Café by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Natural Systems Utilities, SODAI, Aaron Betsky, and Davide Oldani.
• The Silver Lion for a promising participation went to Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500 by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler.
• Special mentions were given to Alternative Urbanism: The Self-Organized Markets of Lagos by Tosin Oshinowo and Oshinowo Studio, and Boonserm Premthada’s Elephant Chapel.
• The 19th International Architecture Exhibition runs until 23 November.