Tag: islamic-arts-biennale | ArchDaily

Architects of the Global South: 10 Pavilions and Installations That Shaped 2025

Camilla Ghisleni — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 07:30:00 +0000

In a global landscape marked by accelerated change, 2025 emerged as a decisive year for architecture—not only because of the major events that animated the international circuit, but above all because of the voices that stood out within them. From the Venice Architecture Biennale to Expo Osaka, pavilions and installations from the Global South ceased to function as mere exhibition gestures and instead asserted themselves as territories of memory, resistance, and imagination, articulating narratives that expand the horizons of contemporary architectural debate.

From Ecologies to Everyday Life: Reflecting on Architectural Exhibitions in 2025

Daniela Andino — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:00:00 +0000

This past year marked a period of introspection for architecture. As 2025 unfolded, the discipline, confronted with evolving environmental and social realities, entered a broader turning point in how it understands its role and how users engage with it. Throughout the year, exhibitions shifted focus away from buildings as isolated objects toward a broader understanding of relationships between ecology, equity, everyday life, and collective imaginaries. Across institutions and cities, they operated less as showcases and more as discursive platforms: places where architecture was not only presented, but also imagined, questioned, and collectively redefined.

From Saudi Arabia to Uzbekistan: AlMusalla Pavilion Reinstalled for the Inaugural Bukhara Biennial 2025

Antonia Piñeiro — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 05:30:00 +0000

In April 2024, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation announced the AlMusalla Prize, an international architecture competition focused on designing a musalla: a flexible space for prayer and reflection accessible to people of all faiths. The winning project, designed by EAST Architecture Studio in collaboration with artist Rayyane Tabet and engineering firm AKT II, is a modular structure built with materials derived from local date palm waste, including fronds and fibers, and inspired by regional weaving traditions. Installed in the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the musalla served for four months during the Islamic Arts Biennale as a space for prayer, welcoming both Muslim and non-Muslim visitors. Conceived to be dismantled and reassembled, the structure was recently relocated to Uzbekistan for the inaugural Bukhara Biennial 2025.

11 Collateral Events to Explore While Visiting the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale

Reyyan Dogan — Tue, 06 May 2025 06:30:00 +0000

As one of the most important and visited contemporary architecture exhibitions worldwide, the Venice Architecture Biennale extends beyond the grounds of the Giardini and the Arsenale, aiming to engage the entire city in discussions on relevant issues, challenges, and opportunities within the architectural profession. This year's Biennale, curated by Carlo Ratti, explores the theme "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective," inviting visitors to consider how architecture, technology, and nature intersect to shape the future.

AlMusalla at the Islamic Arts Biennale / East Architecture Studio

Hana Abdel — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Titled "On Weaving," the winning pavilion of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation's inaugural AlMusalla Prize reconciles the historic and contemporary, giving new life to the ancient architectural traditions of Islamic prayer.

Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 Opens in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 05:30:00 +0000

The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, titled And All That Is In Between, has officially opened in Jeddah. Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Biennale takes place at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, a site that holds profound significance for millions of Muslim pilgrims traveling for Hajj and Umrah. The exhibition scenography is designed by the international architecture firm OMA, enhancing the experience with a thoughtful spatial narrative. The exhibition, which runs until May 25, 2025, explores how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through feeling, thinking, and making.

Unveiling the 15 Most Significant Architectural Events of 2025

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

2025 promises to be a landmark in architecture, heralding a vibrant renaissance of creativity and exploration. As societies confront challenges such as climate change, rapid urbanization, and technological evolution, architecture is both a mirror to these dynamics and a compass pointing toward a sustainable and inclusive future. This year's architectural calendar offers abundant opportunities to celebrate the discipline's transformative power — from boundary-pushing festivals to thought-provoking exhibitions that explore pressing cultural and environmental narratives.

EAST Architecture Studio Wins Inaugural AlMusalla Prize for Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 in Saudi Arabia

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has announced Lebanon-based EAST Architecture Studio, in collaboration with artist Rayyane Tabet and engineering firm AKT II, as the winners of the inaugural AlMusalla Prize, a significant new architectural competition launched as part of the Islamic Arts Biennale. Their winning design, a modular structure inspired by regional weaving traditions, uses sustainable materials derived from local date palm waste, including palm fronds and fibers. After the four-month Biennale, the Musalla will be dismantled and reassembled at a new location.

What Is an Architectural Curator?

Nour Fakharany — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

In his book "Curation: The Power of Selection in a World of Excess," Michael Bhaskar defines curation as "using acts of selection and arrangement (but also refining, reducing, displaying, simplifying, presenting, and explaining) to add value." Originating from the Latin word curare, meaning to take care of, the curator's role in dissecting our understanding of the world around us cannot be overlooked. Over time, as the definition morphs into different bodies, the practice of curation continues to evolve, filling the roles of caretakers of our built environment and thinkers of different forms for the overall bettering of society.

Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 Announces Theme: Exploring Faith Through Art and Culture

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has revealed the theme and title for the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale: And all that is in between. Scheduled from January 25 to May 25, 2025, at the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, this second edition will explore how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through the acts of feeling, thinking, and making.

Shaping the Future of Islamic Architecture: Diriyah Biennale Foundation Unveils AlMusalla Prize

Nour Fakharany — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has just unveiled the competition details for the AlMusalla Prize, along with the shortlisted architecture studios and the jury. An addition to the Islamic Arts Biennale, this international architecture competition focuses on designing a musalla, a flexible space for prayer and reflection accessible to people of all faiths. Situated in the Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the musalla will be an integral part of the Biennale’s upcoming edition. The winner of the competition will be announced later this year, and the opening of the musalla will be held on January 25th, 2025.

Sumayya Vally on the First Islamic Arts Biennale: "Claim, Reclaim, Configure, and Reconfigure"

Christele Harrouk — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:30:00 +0000

The First Islamic Arts Biennale, artistically directed by Sumayya Vally, opened on January 2023 and is still ongoing until May 23, 2023, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The inaugural event was commissioned and produced by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and was curated by Vally alongside Dr. Julian Raby, Dr. Omniya Abdel Barr, and Dr. Saad Al-Rashid. The biennale re-imagines the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and winner of the 1983 Aga Khan Award, as a cultural space to redefine Islamic Arts from "within, in a way, that connects some of these art forms and forms of artistic expression to the experience and rituals" of those that live it.

L.E.FT Architects Deconstructs Traditional Mosque for Jeddah Islamic Arts Biennale, in Collaboration with Iheb Guermazi and Beya Othmani

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 05:30:00 +0000

L.E.FT Architects, an architecture firm focused on examining the cultural and political intersections in the built environment, exhibited Jerba: Prototype 366, in the first edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Presenting a historical and contemporary exploration of Islamic heritage, the biennale, curated by Sumayya Vally, was located in the Western Hajj Terminal, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 1981.

The Islamic Arts Biennale Re-Imagines Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal as a Cultural Space

Maria-Cristina Florian — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 06:30:00 +0000

The Islamic Arts Biennale re-imagines the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as a cultural space to create an evocative journey to explore Islamic heritage. The terminal, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and a winner of the 1983 Aga Khan Award, will be extended and complemented to create the setting for the event. Through the contributions of over 60 artists from over 20 countries, the biennale aims to become a platform to explore and reflect the diversity of the Muslim experience worldwide. Themed Awwal Bait, or The First House, the event intertwines commissioned works with never-before exhibited historical artifacts to convey a holistic perspective of the Islamic arts. The Biennale, curated by Sumayya Vally, now in its inaugural edition, will be open from January 2023 to April 2023.

Counterspace Director Sumayya Vally Has Been Named Curator of Inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale

Andreea Cutieru — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 04:30:00 +0000

Diriyah Biennale Foundation recently revealed the curatorial team of Saudi Arabia's inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale, highlighting the past and present art of the Islamic culture. Among the curators is Sumayya Vally, co-founder of Johannesburg-based practice Counterspace, responsible for designing the 2021 Serpentine Pavilion. Taking place in Jeddah in early 2023, the Islamic Arts Biennale will foster artistic exchanges and further establish Saudi Arabia's status within the art scene.