With only one month remaining before its closure on November 23, the 19th International Architecture Exhibition continues to solidify its reputation as the world's most influential platform for contemporary architectural discourse. This year's Venice Architecture Biennale, which opened to the public on May 10 under the curatorial vision of Italian architect Carlo Ratti, presents an unprecedented gathering of over 750 participants spanning 65 national pavilions, 11 collateral events, and numerous parallel initiatives throughout Venice.

Operating under the comprehensive theme "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.," this edition represents the largest Architecture Biennale in history. The exhibition explores three interconnected forms of intelligence—Natural, Artificial, and Collective—examining how architecture can address the complex challenges of climate adaptation, technological transformation, and social collaboration. Ratti's curatorial approach extends the exhibition beyond the traditional boundaries of the Giardini and Arsenale, creating a city-wide dialogue that promotes innovation, sustainability, and the integration of natural and artificial systems through circular design principles.

The Kingdom of Bahrain's "Heatwave" exhibition, masterfully curated by Andrea Faraguna, earned the prestigious Golden Lion for Best National Participation. This groundbreaking installation demonstrates passive cooling strategies deeply rooted in local climate conditions and cultural context. Located in the Artiglierie of the Arsenale, the project features an innovative integration of geothermal wells and solar chimneys through a sophisticated thermo-hygrometric axis, creating a modular structure characterized by a suspended ceiling and raised floor supported by a single column.

Developed through collaboration with engineer Mario Monotti and thermomechanical expert Alexander Puzrin, Bahrain's pavilion adapts to Venice's unique environment through mechanical ventilation systems, showcasing remarkable flexibility across diverse contexts. The international jury recognized this achievement for providing "viable proposals for extreme heat conditions," addressing one of the most pressing architectural challenges of our time with technical precision and architectural sensitivity.

The Holy See Pavilion, titled "Opera Aperta," received a Special Mention for National Participation, positioning architecture as an act of collective care and shared responsibility. Curated by Marina Otero Verzier and Giovanna Zabotti, and designed by Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO and MAIO Architects, this transformative project converts the 500-square-meter Santa Maria Ausiliatrice Complex in Venice's Castello district into a dynamic site for restoration, collaboration, and public engagement. Rather than presenting a completed work, Opera Aperta functions as an open, evolving process that invites local associations, artisans, and civic groups to participate actively in rehabilitating the historic complex.

The Estonian Pavilion, "Let Me Warm You," curated by Keiti Lige, Elina Liiva, and Helena Männa, offers a critical examination of the social and spatial implications of Estonia's comprehensive insulation-driven renovations. The installation provocatively covers a Venetian palazzetto façade with insulation panels typical of Estonian housing upgrades, creating a striking visual and conceptual contrast that highlights tensions between technical interventions and lived experience. Inside, an exhibition space wrapped in plastic film presents detailed models and compelling narratives exploring the social dynamics, collective decision-making processes, and challenges inherent in renovation projects.

Canada's "Picoplanktonics," developed by the Living Room Collective and led by architect and biodesigner Andrea Shin Ling, presents a revolutionary research-based exploration of architecture's relationship with living systems. This innovative installation features 3D-printed structures embedded with cyanobacteria capable of carbon sequestration, positioning biological collaboration as a powerful tool for ecological repair. The four-year interdisciplinary partnership combines architecture, biology, and digital fabrication to propose regenerative construction methods grounded in natural processes, with controlled environmental conditions sustaining the living material throughout the exhibition period.

Denmark's "Build of Site," curated by Søren Pihlmann and commissioned by the Danish Architecture Center, transforms a historic building complex into a living laboratory for sustainable practices. The exhibition demonstrates how reuse and resource-conscious design can address pressing architectural challenges through hyper-local methods for reclaiming and repurposing materials. By creatively integrating existing structures and surplus elements with bio-based binders, the pavilion offers a tangible model for resource-aware architecture, documented in the film "Make Materials Matter" produced in collaboration with Louisiana Channel.

The British Pavilion, "GBR - Geology of Britannic Repair," earned Special Mention recognition for its collaborative and critical approach examining the intertwined geological, cultural, and political histories of Great Britain and Kenya. Commissioned by the British Council and curated by Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi of Nairobi-based Cave_bureau, alongside Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff, the exhibition centers on the Rift Valley as both a geological and metaphorical axis, bringing together installations and commissioned works addressing legacies of extraction, colonialism, and resilience.

China's "CO-EXIST" pavilion, curated by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects and organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, explores how traditional Chinese philosophical thought can inform architectural responses in the age of advanced technology and artificial intelligence. Located at the Arsenale, the exhibition features ten works by twelve interdisciplinary teams, reflecting on relationships between humanity, nature, and the built environment while drawing on classical concepts of harmony through site-specific installations.

Togo's inaugural pavilion, "Considering Togo's Architectural Heritage," curated by Studio NEiDA and located at Venice's Squero Castello, explores the nation's architectural narratives from the early 20th century. The exhibition highlights conservation, transformation, and dialogue between traditional and modernist practices, featuring examples from Nôk cave dwellings and Tatas Tamberma to Afro-Brazilian and post-independence modernist buildings, applying an Afrocentric lens to emphasize cultural richness and enduring relevance.

Spain's "Internalities: Architectures for Territorial Equilibrium," curated by Galician architects Roi Salgueiro Barrio and Manuel Bouzas Barcala, showcases strategies for decarbonizing architecture through 16 selected projects emphasizing ecological, environmental, and economic considerations. The pavilion demonstrates close connections between architecture and territory through focus on materials such as wood, stone, ceramics, earth, clays, and natural fibers.

Serbia's "Unraveling: New Spaces" presents an immersive, wool-based installation exploring impermanence, adaptability, and circular design. Curated by Slobodan Jović and realized by an interdisciplinary team, the project transforms the Giardini pavilion into a dynamic space where knitted wool segments gradually unknit through algorithmically guided movement powered by solar panels. This innovative approach combines Serbian knitting traditions with contemporary architectural strategies, highlighting the potential of materials, computational design, and interdisciplinary collaboration in creating responsive and sustainable environments that produce zero waste as the wool returns to yarn at the exhibition's conclusion.