The Belgian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 presents a prototype that integrates landscape architecture into architectural interiors. Designed by Bas Smets in collaboration with Stefano Mancuso, the exhibition transforms the pavilion into a microclimate modeled after the understory of a subtropical forest, creating an indoor jungle that actively regulates temperature and humidity. The curatorial concept, supported by the Flanders Architecture Institute and its director, Dennis Pohl, promotes landscape thinking as an active design force rather than exterior decoration. In this video interview from Venice, Bas Smets and Dennis Pohl explain to ArchDaily editors how the project positions architecture as a platform for climate resilience and proposes a shift in design paradigms, from static images to evolving, living processes.
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The Belgian Pavilion Explores Plant-Based Architecture at the Venice Biennale 2025
The 19th Biennale Architettura, which opened in Venice on May 10th, 2025, sees the Belgian pavilion transformed by an exhibition titled "Building Biospheres," curated by a team comprising landscape architect Bas Smets and biologist Stefano Mancuso. Initiated by the Flemish government and the Flanders Architecture Institute, this thought-provoking exhibit explores a transformative approach to architecture through the lens of plant intelligence.
The Belgian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale, Curated by Dirk Somers, Explores the Relationship Between Architecture and the City
Titled "Composite Presence", the Belgian pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, will explore the complex love-hate relationship between architecture and cities of Flanders and Brussels under the theme of "memory as a design studio". Curated by Bovenbouw Architectuur in collaboration with Flanders Architecture Institute, the national pavilion will be on display from 22 May until 21 November 2021.
Encounters in Optimism: Utopia in a Finite World
In late August, the Flanders Architecture Institute will organise Encounters in Optimism: Utopia in a Finite World, an interactive programme of lectures, debates and workshops that will take place in various national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The overarching theme is "the architectural utopia in a finite world."
Together with The British Council, the Deutsches Architekturmuseum and the Creative Industries Fund NL, the Flanders Architecture Institute has put together a programme for architects, students and the general public to reflect on how architecture can redefine the city. The economic climate and the idea of utopia are the main topics in these discussions.