The seventh edition of Time Space Existence, the biannual architecture exhibition, regears itself, shifting focus from the idea of architecture as a solely generative practice—one that consumes to no end—to that of a more caring and re-generative one. As necessitated by today’s world of dwindling resources and ecosystems, Rachele de Stefano, head of architecture at European Cultural Centre (ECC), Italy, asks participants to think of a world where repair is the norm for design. Building on the previous edition, which focused more broadly on different tools for sustainability, this year’s call asks contributors to “move beyond into the deeper concepts of repair and regeneration," de Stefano emphasised in a recent conversation with STIR—a distinguished media partner for this edition. Repair, Regenerate and Reuse, which will feature projects, research proposals and speculative projections through architectural documentation, photographs, videos and site-specific installations, is set to open to the public from May 10 – November 23, 2025.

Organised by the ECC, the showcase will be staged in three historic venues—Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora and the Marinaressa Gardens. This year’s edition brings together 207 participants from over 52 countries committed to the idea of care as the only path forward. Reiterating the urgency of this year’s theme, de Stefano told STIR, "The climate crisis is the most pressing challenge of our time and demands a collective response from architects, designers, researchers, artists and citizens alike. Exhibitions like ours, alongside the Biennale and national pavilions, amplify these discussions and drive public engagement.” She went on to emphasise the significance of Venice as a stage for such discourse, saying, “[The city] provides an unparalleled platform where international perspectives converge, allowing for deep exchanges between academia, practice and policymaking.”

In tandem with the 19th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale and curator Carlo Ratti’s call to harness Intelligens, Time Space Existence’s thematic threads dwell on the ways in which architecture serves as a tool for thinking with different actors of the natural and built world, and an agent for change. Broadly, projects within the main exhibition have been categorised into seven sections—Architecture as an Agent of Environmental and Social Repair; Indigenous Knowledge and Community-Based Practices; Nature as Mentor and Material; Rethinking Resources, Conservation and Craftsmanship; Technology and Circularity; Regenerative Landscapes and Decolonised Futures; and Design for Wellbeing.

Special projects this year will celebrate emerging talent and a plurality of perspectives. For this edition, Fundacio Mies van der Rohe will showcase projects shortlisted in EUmies Awards Young Talent 2025; Diversity in Architecture (DIVIA) will host their design awards at the event; and non-profit organisation Blurring the Lines will showcase Rocks, Roots, Unearth by Nesie Junyi Wang, one of the three winners of the 2024 Blurring the Lines' award. Apart from the projects to be displayed, Time Space Existence 2025 is envisioned as ‘a living laboratory’ from which to reimagine the role of architecture today, with public programming engaging visitors to envision an inclusive future. A dynamic series of talks, conferences and workshops will further explore the themes of the show. Alongside this, the ECC Awards will honour some of the most innovative projects on display for this edition.

The exhibits, projects and installations this year explore a wide range of topics regarding repair as a methodology. Participants have highlighted indigenous and vernacular architectures, adaptive reuse, material innovations and circular design, thinking through nature as an active collaborator for design, the potential of craftsmanship to foster an alternative design methodology that focuses on resourcefulness and the potential design presents to imagine a more inclusive world for all. With over 200 projects set to be on display, STIR looks at some of the most thought-provoking interventions on display for the seventh edition of the architecture biennale.

1. Vuild

Palazzo Mora

Through its work, Vuild, an architecture-focused startup, aims to promote sustainability and craftsmanship in Japan’s construction industry. The startup, which operates as both entrepreneurs and designers, is focused on uplifting rural economies and forestry practices by championing CNC milling technologies. For Time Space Existence 2025, Vuild will be showcasing five projects (three completed and two ongoing) that the team has worked on in both rural and urban areas in the Asian country. A major guiding principle for each project is the efficient use of local resources to ensure sustainable and cost-effective designs.

2. Alejandro Aravena in partnership with Holcim

Palazzo Mora, Marinaressa Gardens

In partnership with Holcim, an organisation dedicated to innovative sustainable building practices, Chile-based studio Elemental will be showcasing their design for a resilient housing project with a carbon-neutral footprint. The studio, led by Alejandro Aravena, is renowned for its expertise in housing design and an approach to practice that prioritises social experience. For the collaboration, the studio’s unique methodology will be combined with sustainable concrete technologies developed by Holcim. Building on ECOPact, the world’s broadest range of low-carbon concrete, the materials used for the prototype on display are derived from converting organic waste into biochar.

3. Semillas

 Palazzo Mora

Lima-based NGO Semillas highlights indigenous practices in their installation for the showcase. Offering a stark reminder of native culture and their harmonious relationship with their natural contexts, the collective will present an iteration of their project, Museo Itinerante del Bosque (Wandering Forest Manifesto). The 'museum' will showcase paintings by native students who narrate stories of the forests they live in—tracing local myths, the loss of these due to colonisation and eventual revitalisation of local knowledge—to establish the notion of the forest as an active subject in their culture. This represents the final phase of the educational endeavour the NGO carried out within the Nomatsiguenga community of Mencoriari, Territorio de los Saberes (Territory of Wisdom).

4. unEarthed / Second Nature / PolliNATION by Virginia Tech Honors College and Cloud 9

 Palazzo Bembo, Marinaressa Gardens

For their participation in Time Space Existence, students from Virginia Tech Honors College will team up with Barcelona-based interdisciplinary studio, Cloud 9, for a project that bridges research with real-world engagement. The pavilion, unEarthed, Second Nature, PolliNATION, aims to present a model of interspecies architecture, one that collaborates with humans and nature to restore biodiversity in Venice’s lagoon. While unEarthed refers to the idea of transdisciplinarity, Second Nature points to the project’s proposal to introduce 60 types of plants and over 10 pollinators in the exhibition space. PolliNATION further encourages the ideas of sustainability fostered during the showcase and collateral talks programme to spread like pollen. This approach to design, adopted by the curators Dr Enric Ruiz Geli and Dr Anne-Lise Velez, hopes to celebrate the role pollinators play in keeping natural landscapes healthy.

5. Henriquez Partners Architects in collaboration with ARUP

 Palazzo Bembo

Canadian architecture studio Henriquez Partners Architects has teamed up with British construction company Arup to explore the devastation of the climate crisis and potential methods for architecture to tackle it. The studio’s practice is based on the ethos of integrating a sense of poetics into projects to foster inclusive and engaged communities. Inspired by Canaletto’s paintings, the studio’s installation will include 3D-printed glass sea sponge sculptures alongside a proposal for a skyscraper in Vancouver. The proposal aims to highlight how architecture draws inspiration from both the form and the symbiotic essence of nature.

6. María Isabel Paz

Palazzo Mora

María Isabel Paz, an Ecuadorian architect and founder of Materia Arquitectura & Design, will be displaying a textile installation at the biennale. An inherent interest in the rug makers of Guano and their ancestral craft informs Paz’s practice, where she collaborates with the artisans. For the installation, which will feature three distinct works, Paz, along with her collaborators, has reinterpreted the urban maps of Quito, depicting them as intricate visual narratives in the form of rug designs.

7. Pragma, Design & More, Mozses with Roots of Hope

 Palazzo Mora

Pragma + Design & More, two studios based in the Arab region, turn attention to the annihilation of Palestine with their projective proposal. Finding harmony in their research-driven approach to design that foregrounds context and impact, their proposal imagines a regenerative future for the region by mapping its layered history and reconnecting its people to the land through ecological and social repair. The collaboration is an attempt to respond to the region’s challenges through thoughtful design that concerns itself with its context first and foremost, positioning design as a catalyst for social transformation and ecological resilience.

8. Tactile by DLR Group, Sammy Rupp, IIDA and Thessia Machado

Palazzo Bembo

Tactile is an interactive installation envisioned by the US-based firm DLR Group, interior designer Sammy Rupp, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and visual+sound artist Thessia Machado. Exploring the unique spatial needs of neurodivergent individuals, the work looks at design as a tool for personal restoration and well-being. Based on research and interviews Rupp conducted with various designers and individuals, the project will present strategies and tactile, visual, and acoustic elements designers can employ in their projects to enhance comfort and foster positive sensory stimulation. The exhibition space in the 15th-century palazzo will be divided into two sections: an active zone that encourages engagement with sculptural fibre designs and a quiet zone that incorporates stuffed fabric elements that envelop one like a cocoon.