Hashim Sarkis to Curate 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale

Hashim Sarkis, founder of Hashim Sarkis Studios and dean of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, has been appointed curator of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, running from May 23 to November 29, 2020. The decision was made by the Biennale's board of directors on the proposal of President Paolo Baratta. Sarkis, born in Beirut in 1954, holds degrees from Rhode Island School of Design and Harvard University. He previously served on the international jury of the 2016 Architecture Biennale and participated in the US Pavilion (2014) and Albania Pavilion (2010). His studio, founded in 1998 with offices in Boston and Beirut, has designed projects including a master plan for Byblos, Lebanon, and the SOS Children Village school in Ksarnaba. Sarkis expressed eagerness to work with architects worldwide to address new challenges facing the field. Baratta noted Sarkis's sensitivity to societal urgencies regarding habitation.