The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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 Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
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The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
Graphics by Maciej Siuda
Photo credit:
Jacopo Salvi, Zachęta archive
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
The Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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 Polish Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
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
Announcing: The Finalists of the 2025 AZ Awards
AZURE Media
Finalists – A+ Student AwardEduard Matarredona Gómez (ETSALS – Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura La Salle – Universitat Ramón Llull – Barcelona): Land Reclamation – Return to El Prat’s OriginsMo Bayati and Zhiyuan Zhu (University of Toronto): Bahar NarenjMu Qu Jennifer Liu (Carleton University), Natalie Cole Bajet (University of Manitoba) and Nikki Elim Ng (University of Manitoba): tempo-
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AZURE
Announcing: The Finalists of the 2025 AZ Awards
AZURE Media
Finalists – Architecture – Adaptive ReuseAtelier Global Limited: Dialogue with Nature — Commune STORE, Houyuan Village, ChinaSkylab Architecture: Skylab HQ, Portland, OR, U.S.Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: The Yard | Dalian Cultural Center, Dalian, China
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AZURE
Announcing: The Finalists of the 2025 AZ Awards
AZURE Media
Finalists – Architecture – Commercial/Institutional Buildings Over 1,000 Square MetresSordo Madaleno: Academia Atlas, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico3XN with Urbio AB: Forskaren, Stockholm, SwedenOPEN Architecture: Sun Tower, Yantai, Chinahcma architecture + design with PFS Studio: təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre, New Westminster, BC, CanadaNADAAA with HDR: University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture, Lincoln, NE, U.S.
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AZURE
Announcing: The Finalists of the 2025 AZ Awards
AZURE Media
Finalists – Architecture – Commercial/Institutional Buildings Under 1,000 Square MetresStudio Cadena with Field Operations: Domino Square Building, New York City, U.S.Lateral Office and Verne Reimer Architecture: Inuusirvik Community Wellness Hub, Iqualuit, Nunavut, CanadaChen Suchart Studio: Los Milics Vineyard Tasting Room, Elgin, AZ, U.S.Audax: Saint Catherine’s Chapel, Florence, ItalySaunders Architecture with Alisberg Parker Architects and Reed Hildebrand: Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, Maine, U.S.
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AZURE
Announcing: The Finalists of the 2025 AZ Awards
AZURE Media
Finalists – Residential Architecture, Multi-UnitLGA Architectural Partners: Ulster House, Toronto, CanadaLorcan O’Herlihy Architects: Isla Intersections Supportive Housing & Paseo, Los Angeles, U.S.Marlon Blackwell Architects with D.I.R.T. studio and Studio Outside: PS1200, Fort Worth, TX, U.S.
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AZURE
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