Golden Lion of the Venice Architecture Biennale for Andrea Faraguna
The pavillion 'Heatwave' of the Kingdom of Bahrain, curated by Faraguna, wins the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Andrea Faraguna held a teaching position as Professor in the platform ADP/CMT at IKA during the study year 2024/25
The Pavilion offers viable proposal for extreme heat conditions. As the designers explain, “Architecture must address the dual challenges of environmental resilience and sustainability." The ingenious solution can be deployed in public spaces and in locations where people must live and work outdoors in conditions of extreme heat. The pavilion uses traditional methods of passive cooling typical of the region and reminiscence of wind towers and shaded courtyards.
Commissioner: Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities
Curator: Andrea Faraguna
Exhibitors: Andrea Faraguna, Wafa Al Ghatam, Eman Ali, Alexander Puzrin, Mario Monotti
Venue: Arsenale
Andrea Faraguna (b. 1981, Venice) studied architecture at Università Iuav di Venezia, where he received a master’s degree in 2006 and a doctorate in 2017. From 2010 to 2018, he taught at the Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio, first with Francesco Venezia and later with Piet Eckert and Wim Eckert of the studio E2A. In 2017, he and Niklas Bildstein Zaar cofounded the Berlin-based architecture office Sub.