Polish Pavilion at 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale Focuses on Rural Landscapes

The 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, titled 'How will we live together?', runs from May 23 to November 29, 2020, directed by Hashim Sarkis, dean of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning. The Polish Pavilion, organized by the Zachęta-National Gallery of Art, presents 'Trouble in Paradise' by the collective PROLOG+1, exploring non-urban areas as independent research zones. The group, founded in 2017 by Polish architects Mirabela Jurczenko, Bartosz Kowal, Wojciech Mazan, Bartłomiej Poteralski, and Rafał Śliwa, now includes Robert Witczak for this occasion. They argue that the planet's future depends on the countryside, which constitutes 93% of Poland's territory. The exhibition examines physical and social aspects of rural settlements, inviting architects from across Europe to contribute diverse perspectives. This theme gains urgency amid recent Australian wildfires and aligns with Rem Koolhaas's 'Countryside, The Future' exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York (February 20 – August 14, 2020), which argues that humanity's destiny requires rethinking rural spaces.