Middle East Nations Redefine Architecture at 2023 Venice Biennale

The 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, themed 'The Laboratory of the Future' and curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko, shifts focus from traditional Global North narratives to African and diasporic voices, with Middle Eastern nations prominently featured. Egypt presents NiLab in its historic Giardini pavilion, examining Nile developments. Bahrain's 'Sweating Assets' proposes collecting condensate from air-conditioning units to irrigate date palms. The UAE's Faysal Tabbarah challenges desert scarcity with 'Aridly Abundant,' using local rocks and 3D scanning. Uzbekistan's Studio KO and master ceramicist Abdulvahid Bukhoriy celebrate vernacular brick craftsmanship. Saudi Arabia invites visitors to hang clay tiles on a framework. Kuwait explores decolonized futures in a warehouse. Türkiye highlights abandoned buildings. Despite conceptual focus, grand projects like NEOM's The Line and Qatari museums by OMA, Philippe Starck, ELEMENTAL, Herzog & de Meuron, and UN Studio are presented. New museums for AlUla by Linah Gotmeh and Asif Khan signal a shift toward locally connected architects. The biennale runs until 26 November 2023.