Exhibition

2025

Location

The International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia held in Venice, Italy

The exhibition at the Danish pavilion will seek to answer the question: “Can we keep on building the world without building anew?”

On behalf of the Danish Ministry of Culture, an evaluation committee consisting of representatives from the architecture committee of the Danish Arts Foundation, the philanthropic association Realdania and Danish Architecture Center have selected architect and founder of pihlmann architects Søren Pihlmann to curate the official Danish contribution to the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2025.

He was chosen from a field of six candidates, who were all invited to submit their proposal for the exhibition at the Danish pavilion.

Can we keep on building the world without building anew?

Under the heading “Can we keep on building the world without building anew?” the evaluation committee wants the Danish contribution to focus on the transition to a sustainable society via the preservation and reuse of the existing building stock and cultural heritage.

“We demolish and build anew more than we use what we already have, and we do it in a way that damages not only our basis of existence but the basis of existence of future generations especially. Has this harsh reality truly not dawned on us?” asks Søren Pihlmann.

Søren Pihlmann will create a sensory installation, and the Danish pavilion will act as the framework for disseminating a new, circular architectural practice that focuses on using the materials and building components that are already available in the building and at the venue.

“Søren Pihlmann’s proposal contained a surprising and original 1:1 answer to the question of how we can keep on building the world without building anew. We expected a radical proposal that consolidates civil architecture, history and cultural history in a sensory experience, and which also communicates an entirely new architecture discipline and approach that preserves and reuses our existing built heritage,” says the jury.

Søren Pihlmann, architect MAA, is the founder of the architecture studio pihlmann architects. Søren Pihlmann is well-renowned for his focus on the sensuous and honest architectural experience, be it within the repurposing old industrial buildings, temporary pavilions or single-family homes. Søren Pihlmann explores the potential of repurposed materials and how we can create an aesthetic based on the new sustainability requirements.

The exhibition will be created in collaboration with a carefully selected curatorial team from e.g. Danish architecture schools, construction industry research centers, builders, manufacturers and material specialists. The experts will contribute specific knowledge within their field, which will ensure that the exhibition’s spatial approach is based on a solid foundation of expert knowledge.

The Danish pavilion at the Architecture Bienniale is currently hosting the exhibition ‘Coastal Imaginaries’. The exhibition will run from May 20 to November 26 2023.

Click here to read more about Coastal Imaginaries.