The Philippine Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia has unveiled 'Soil-beings (Lamánlupa),' a groundbreaking exhibition that fundamentally reimagines the relationship between architecture and soil. Curated by artistic director Renan Laru-an, the exhibition challenges conventional architectural paradigms by presenting soil not as a passive building material, but as a living force with agency, history, and transformative power.
The exhibition represents a collaborative effort that brought together architects, technical experts, indigenous leaders, artists, policymakers, and local communities from across the Philippines. Through interdisciplinary partnerships, the pavilion explores the cultural, ecological, and technological dimensions of soil, shifting the focus from traditional structure-based architecture to a more holistic understanding of earth as an active participant in shaping the built environment.
At the heart of the exhibition space in the Arsenale stands 'Terrarium,' a striking installation designed by artist and designer Christian Tenefrancia Illi. The centerpiece features nearly a thousand tiles of soil sourced from diverse Philippine landscapes across Metro Manila, Batangas, Leyte, and South Cotabato. This immersive installation recreates microclimates and simulates natural processes of weathering and transformation, offering visitors an experiential encounter with soil that goes beyond its traditional role as a foundation material.
The content displayed at the pavilion emerged from extensive collaborative research carried out across multiple regions of the Philippines. Workshops and research initiatives were conducted to reframe soil not only as a construction material but also as a custodian of memory, climate, and resistance. These preparatory activities helped establish a new framework for understanding how architecture can develop a more reciprocal and ethical relationship with the earth.
The curatorial approach invites visitors to engage with the interplay between 'soil-body' and 'soil-time,' moving beyond soil's traditional role as merely a stabilizer for human-made environments. The exhibition poses fundamental questions about architectural responsibility, asking what it would mean for architecture to truly listen to soil and to build not upon it, but collaboratively with it as a living partner.
By questioning conventional understanding of this elemental material, 'Soil-beings (Lamánlupa)' encourages a reconsideration of architecture's responsibilities beyond human-centric design and extractive development practices. The exhibition promotes respect for the interconnectedness of living and nonliving entities, suggesting new pathways for sustainable and regenerative architectural practices that honor the earth's agency.
The 19th Venice Architecture Biennale opened on May 10 and runs until November 23, 2025, featuring 65 National Pavilions, with Azerbaijan, Oman, Qatar, and Togo participating for the first time. Several other exhibitions at the Biennale also address soil-related themes, including the Kosovan Pavilion's combination of local soils with a hanging olfactory calendar, the Moroccan Pavilion's focus on earth as a renewable resource for heritage preservation, and the Lebanese Pavilion's call for architecture to begin with the land itself, emphasizing architects' responsibility to protect and regenerate nature.
