Five new national pavilions debut at 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale

The 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled Freespace, features five new national participants: Antigua & Barbuda, Guatemala, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. The Holy See's debut with a diffused pavilion on San Giorgio Maggiore had already drawn attention. Pakistan's pavilion, curated by Sami Chohan, presents 'The Fold,' exploring informal settlements in Karachi through the work of a team under 35. Saudi Arabia's 'Spaces in Between,' curated by Sumaya Al-Solaiman and Jawaher Al-Sudairy and designed by Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz, uses sand and resin cylinders to address urban fragmentation. Lebanon's 'The Place that Remains,' curated by Hala Younes, documents the Beirut River with photos, video, and a 3D map. The Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—celebrate their centennials of independence with separate pavilions: Estonia's 'Weak Monument,' Latvia's 'Together and Apart,' and Lithuania's first solo pavilion, 'The Swamp School,' imagining coexistence between humans and other life forms.