We know the winners of the Architecture Biennale 2025 – Venice rewards visionaries of the future

We know the winners of the Architecture Biennale 2025 – one of the most important events in the world of art and design. In Venice, projects were awarded that not only inspire, but also change the way we think about the future of cities and climate.

On May 10, 2025, the awards ceremony of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia took place at the Ca' Giustinian Palace in Venice . One of the most important events on the world's cultural map has been defining directions for thinking about space, aesthetics and the future of living in a shared environment for decades.

This year's edition, under the slogan Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., brought not only innovative creative proposals, but also a message - architecture as a form of care for a better tomorrow. In 2025, the Golden Lion was awarded to the Kingdom of Bahrain .

The main prize went to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the Heatwave project. The pavilion, located in the Arsenal, impressed the Jury with its response to the pressing problem – literally and figuratively – of extreme temperatures .

Heatwave, Kingdom of Bahrain - the winning project at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale / photo: Andrea Avezzù, La Biennale di Venezia

Curator Andrea Faraguna and his team have created a space that draws on traditional passive cooling methods, such as wind towers and shaded courtyards. The project combines tradition with modern thinking about adapting to climate change.

Special distinction was given to the Holy See for "Opera aperta" - a poetic project inspired by Umberto Eco's book . In the project, the church becomes a place of repair, exchange and joint action - not only in the spatial sense, but also symbolically.

An equally significant message is conveyed by the UK project "Geology of Britannic Repair" , which addresses the difficult subject of post-colonial heritage and geology as evidence of exploitation. Collaboration with Kenyan artists gives the project a narrative of repair - both of landscape and memory.

The British Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale / photo: Marco Zorzanell, Venice Biennale

The Golden Lion for the best participation in the main exhibition was won by the controversial project " Canal Café " by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and collaborating partners. It is a café serving espresso prepared with water from the city canals. Sounds bold? Easy. Before the water is used to brew espresso , it undergoes deep purification.

The Silver Lion Award was awarded to Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler for their project " Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500 ".

Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500, project by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler at the 2025 Architecture Biennale / photo by Luca Capuano, La Biennale di Venezia

- This is a large-scale research visualization that examines how technical and social structures have co-evolved over five centuries. The goal is to see the present as part of a longer sequence of ideas, devices, infrastructures, and systems of power. The project traces the technological patterns of colonialism, militarization, automation, and enclosure since 1500 - we read on the project's website.

Two honorable mentions in the main exhibition were awarded to: " Alternative Urbanism " by Tosin Oshinowo, showing the self-sufficient markets of Lagos as prototypes of a sustainable city, and " Elephant Chapel " by Boonserm Premthady – a temple built from organic materials, including… elephant dung.