Press kit no. 4232-31

Journalists, explore this publication-ready project. Create a free v2com media account to download high-resolution images.

Create a media account
Press kit - Press release - The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art

Press Kit | no. 4232-31

The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale

Venezia, Italy

Zachęta – National Gallery of Art

Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture

Venezia, Italy, 2025-05-12 - 

Since its origins, architecture has had the fundamental purpose of sheltering and protecting. But how does it succeed in doing so today? In a time marked by constant change and growing instability, the Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale offers a compelling exploration of architectural anthropology with the exhibition "Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture."


The goal of the multidisciplinary team—comprising the historian Aleksandra Kędziorek, artists Krzysztof Maniak and Katarzyna Przezwańska, and architect Maciej Siuda—is to examine architecture not from the designer's viewpoint, but through the eyes of those who live within it. By suspending judgment, the project gives space to fears, desires, and deep-seated needs, navigating both the emotional and the rational realms.


"Lares and Penates were Roman deities charged with protecting the household hearth. In many languages today, they still evoke the idea of guardianship and domestic safety," explains Aleksandra Kędziorek. "In tune with Carlo Ratti, curator of the 2025 Architecture Biennale, who includes the word 'intelligens' in this year's exhibition title, we look to lares and penates as a universal code—rooted in ancient tradition and deeply embedded in our collective human intelligence."


Careful research conducted across Poland reveals customs and gestures still practiced today and passed down across generations: a candle placed in the window to ward off storms, a garland hung—"wiecha" in Polish— at building sites to prevent accidents, an ancient threshold salvaged from a village marking the symbolic boundary between outside and in, or a rod used to locate underground veins at new construction sites.


At the same time, the exhibition draws attention to safety features and infrastructure aligned with contemporary regulations, such as the emergency exit or the fire alarm. These elements, already part of the Pavilion's architecture, are framed and highlighted as part of the display. Also included are peepholes, alarm systems, and padlocks—devices through which we watch and protect, often unseen.


With a humanistic gaze, the exhibition constantly weaves together the regulatory and emotional layers of architecture—two domains often perceived as separate. Thus, a fire extinguisher—quintessentially utilitarian—is set into a niche decorated like a fresco, or framed in a Venetian-style mosaic, revealing its symbolic and reassuring qualities.


The exhibition eschews digital abstraction. Instead, visitors encounter a constellation of found or assembled objects, presented at full scale and celebrated for their material presence within an essential scenography. These tactile, three-dimensional models are rooted in a shared cultural memory.


A fertile and vital undercurrent is one to be rediscovered as it points the way toward a more conscious architecture, one that meaningfully addresses the realities of the contemporary world. A contribution from the Polish Pavilion to the theme launched by curator Carlo Ratti for the 2025 Architecture Biennale: "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective."

Technical sheet


Authors: Aleksandra Kędziorek, Krzysztof Maniak, Katarzyna Przezwańska, Maciej Siuda
Commissioner of the Polish Pavilion: Agnieszka Pindera, Director of Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
Organiser: Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
Patron: ORLEN
Exhibition Partners: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Paradyż
Supported by: Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts
In cooperation with: Polish Institute in Rome
Media Partners: Architektura & Biznes, Autoportret, LABEL, PAP, Polskie Radio, Elle Decoration, TVP Kultura, Vogue Poland


Poland’s participation in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.


Address:
Polish Pavilion
Giardini della Biennale
Sestiere Castello
30122 Venice, Italy


19. International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia

10 May–23 November 2025

About the Polish Pavilion

For over 70 years, the Polish Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia has been managed by Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, which organizes the national exhibition at each International Architecture Exhibition. Poland has taken part in the Art Biennale since 1932, and in the Architecture Biennale since 1991. The Pavilion itself was built in the 1930s, financed by the Polish government, whose property it remains. Its mission is to promote contemporary art, foster the exchange of artistic ideas, and draw attention to the pressing issues of our time.

- 30 -

For more information

  1. tally.so/r/wLo8oO

Media contact

Terms and conditions

For immediate release

All photos must be published with proper credit. Please reference v2com as the source whenever possible. We always appreciate receiving PDF copies of your articles.

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - The entrance and main façade of the Polish Pavilion, overlooking the Giardini of La Biennale di Venezia. Built in the 1930s, the Pavilion has hosted Poland’s national exhibitions since 1932 and now presents Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
The entrance and main façade of the Polish Pavilion, overlooking the Giardini of La Biennale di Venezia. Built in the 1930s, the Pavilion has hosted Poland’s national exhibitions since 1932 and now presents Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

High-resolution image : 9.02 x 13.52 @ 300dpi ~ 2.4 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - The modern archetype of protection: a fire extinguisher displayed with reverence, echoing centuries of firefighting evolution and domestic vigilance - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
The modern archetype of protection: a fire extinguisher displayed with reverence, echoing centuries of firefighting evolution and domestic vigilance
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 4.3 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - A hand fire extinguisher, part of a long history of firefighting tools—from bucket brigades to chemical cartridges—now reframed as both a safety device and a design element - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A hand fire extinguisher, part of a long history of firefighting tools—from bucket brigades to chemical cartridges—now reframed as both a safety device and a design element
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6.5 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - A wiecha—wreath of branches with ribbons and tools—placed atop the building to mark its structural completion, a tradition in Poland since the 15th century - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A wiecha—wreath of branches with ribbons and tools—placed atop the building to mark its structural completion, a tradition in Poland since the 15th century
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 22.77 @ 300dpi ~ 9 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - Entrance to the exhibition Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture, where visitors are invited into a space shaped by rituals, regulations, and everyday gestures of protection - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Entrance to the exhibition Lares and Penates: On Building a Sense of Security in Architecture, where visitors are invited into a space shaped by rituals, regulations, and everyday gestures of protection
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6.8 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - Presented as part of the building’s architecture, the fire extinguisher draws attention to the emotional dimension of functional safety elements - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Presented as part of the building’s architecture, the fire extinguisher draws attention to the emotional dimension of functional safety elements
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - A fire extinguisher set into a niche decorated like a fresco, revealing its symbolic and reassuring presence within the domestic space<span></span> - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A fire extinguisher set into a niche decorated like a fresco, revealing its symbolic and reassuring presence within the domestic space
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

High-resolution image : 8.0 x 11.1 @ 300dpi ~ 2.3 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - A blessed beeswax candle (gromnica), traditionally lit during storms and placed in the window to protect the house from lightning—a ritual rooted in Candlemas traditions - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A blessed beeswax candle (gromnica), traditionally lit during storms and placed in the window to protect the house from lightning—a ritual rooted in Candlemas traditions
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 16.29 x 24.43 @ 300dpi ~ 4.9 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - From fire rituals to radiesthetic rods, from holy corners to certified safety devices—this exhibition invites us to rethink how architecture has always mediated our need for protection - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
From fire rituals to radiesthetic rods, from holy corners to certified safety devices—this exhibition invites us to rethink how architecture has always mediated our need for protection
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6.1 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - Foundation offerings (zaktadziny), once buried beneath the home’s corners—eggshells, grain, money, blessed candles—to secure protection and abundance for the new dwelling - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Foundation offerings (zaktadziny), once buried beneath the home’s corners—eggshells, grain, money, blessed candles—to secure protection and abundance for the new dwelling
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6.7 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - The holy corner (pokuc), a sacred space in traditional Slavic homes, located opposite the entrance and adorned with icons, linen fabrics, and flowers—a domestic altar of protection and reverence - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
The holy corner (pokuc), a sacred space in traditional Slavic homes, located opposite the entrance and adorned with icons, linen fabrics, and flowers—a domestic altar of protection and reverence
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 7.2 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - Existing emergency infrastructure—such as evacuation signs and fire alarms—is highlighted within the exhibition to reflect how safety regulations shape architectural space - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Existing emergency infrastructure—such as evacuation signs and fire alarms—is highlighted within the exhibition to reflect how safety regulations shape architectural space
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6.9 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition -  Hermetically sealed armoured door, a standard element of underground shelters built to withstand shock waves and, in the case of nuclear shelters, to block radiation. Like all objects in the exhibition, it was selected by the curators as part of a dedicated research process—from real, existing pieces sourced and assembled specifically for this project  - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Hermetically sealed armoured door, a standard element of underground shelters built to withstand shock waves and, in the case of nuclear shelters, to block radiation. Like all objects in the exhibition, it was selected by the curators as part of a dedicated research process—from real, existing pieces sourced and assembled specifically for this project
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 7 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition -  Surveillance camera originally installed in the Pavilion, now deliberately revealed and framed as part of the exhibition—shifting its functional gaze into a curatorial presence  - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Surveillance camera originally installed in the Pavilion, now deliberately revealed and framed as part of the exhibition—shifting its functional gaze into a curatorial presence
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 27.31 x 18.21 @ 300dpi ~ 7.9 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - Here, gestures old and new—placing a candle in the window, installing a fire alarm—are presented side by side, revealing the continuous thread between ancestral rituals and modern safety protocols - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Here, gestures old and new—placing a candle in the window, installing a fire alarm—are presented side by side, revealing the continuous thread between ancestral rituals and modern safety protocols
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 27.31 x 18.21 @ 300dpi ~ 7.6 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - A bottle sealed into the wall, containing workers’ signatures and a newspaper—part of a long-standing tradition of leaving a trace inside the building for posterity, a practice still observed today - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A bottle sealed into the wall, containing workers’ signatures and a newspaper—part of a long-standing tradition of leaving a trace inside the building for posterity, a practice still observed today
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 6 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - The exhibition at the Polish Pavilion reflects on the continuity between ancient rituals and contemporary safety practices—where lighting a blessed beeswax candle and framing a fire extinguisher are gestures driven by the same human need for protection  - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
The exhibition at the Polish Pavilion reflects on the continuity between ancient rituals and contemporary safety practices—where lighting a blessed beeswax candle and framing a fire extinguisher are gestures driven by the same human need for protection
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 9.8 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - <p>Instructional graphics by Maciej Siuda illustrating how to use a fire extinguisher—functional drawings integrated into the installation as part of a reflection on safety and everyday ritual</p> - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive

Instructional graphics by Maciej Siuda illustrating how to use a fire extinguisher—functional drawings integrated into the installation as part of a reflection on safety and everyday ritual

Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 27.31 @ 300dpi ~ 9.2 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - Graphics by Maciej Siuda - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Graphics by Maciej Siuda
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 27.31 x 18.21 @ 300dpi ~ 12 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - A real fuse from the Pavilion’s electrical system—usually concealed—deliberately exposed and framed within the exhibition, transforming a regulatory safety element into an integral part of the installation - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A real fuse from the Pavilion’s electrical system—usually concealed—deliberately exposed and framed within the exhibition, transforming a regulatory safety element into an integral part of the installation
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 18.21 x 22.77 @ 300dpi ~ 8 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition - The actual bolt used to lock the main entrance to the Polish Pavilion in the Giardini, here framed and displayed at the threshold of the exhibition—a gesture that turns a functional element into a symbol of security - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
The actual bolt used to lock the main entrance to the Polish Pavilion in the Giardini, here framed and displayed at the threshold of the exhibition—a gesture that turns a functional element into a symbol of security
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

Very High-resolution image : 12.3 x 18.44 @ 300dpi ~ 4.7 MB

Press kit | 4232-31 - Press release | The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - Zachęta – National Gallery of Art - Event + Exhibition -  A found horseshoe, hung in a ‘U’ shape to keep luck from spilling out—presented here as part of an open-ended dialogue, without judgment, between ritual gestures, living myths, safety regulations, and emotional needs  - Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
A found horseshoe, hung in a ‘U’ shape to keep luck from spilling out—presented here as part of an open-ended dialogue, without judgment, between ritual gestures, living myths, safety regulations, and emotional needs
Photo credit: Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
Download

High-resolution image : 8.59 x 12.87 @ 300dpi ~ 1.6 MB

You may also like...