The Biennale Architettura 2025 has come to an end – Based on feedback, the Pavilion of Finland’s exhibition was a cultural act

Finland’s national pavilion hosted an exhibition entitled The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship. Curated by architects Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä, the exhibition examined the maintenance and repair that ensure the longevity of architecture by presenting the different stages of the Alvar Aalto-designed pavilion building itself, and the people who have contributed to the continued existence of the small wooden building constructed in humid Venice in 1956. 

Read more about the exhibition here. 

The 19th International Architecture Exhibition was open from mid-May to the end of November. A total of 298,000 tickets were sold for the Biennale, and nearly 18,000 guests attended during the opening week. Thanks to the large number of participants during the opening week, curator Carlo Ratti's exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective broke the architecture biennale's visitor record. Half of the visitors were Italian and half were from around the world, with an exceptionally strong participation – 28% – of students and young people.

Visitor feedback was praising

Over the course of six months, the Pavilion of Finland’s exhibition was seen by 140,000 visitors, which is almost as many as the previous record set by the 2023 exhibition Huussi – Imagining the future history of sanitation.

The Pavilion presented its theme through a multi-channel video work created by video artist Merle Karp and sound designer Jussi Hertz. Audience feedback emphasised the significance of the theme: the exhibition, which addressed the preservation and restoration of modern architecture and documented the history of the beloved pavilion building, was considered by many to be an important topic, even a cultural achievement. The video format was considered an accessible, insightful, and touching way of storytelling. The video received much praise in the feedback.

"We both cried! A very touching and strong video."

“A magnificent work, great idea. It was wonderful to walk around in the building and simultaneously watch the video work. This was definitely the best pavilion here.”

“Wonderful, interesting, easy to understand, and important.”

“A true act of cultural significance.”

“The exhibition was really interesting, it's very important to highlight the importance of maintenance.”

“Brilliant, amazing… love the spiders… we shouldn't build more!” 

“There are multiple pavilions with the same concept, the pavilion itself, but this one did it the best. I felt really connected.”

"I have explored almost all the pavilions, and this was definitely my favourite! So simple."

“The best thing I have seen.”

The exhibition video trailer's duration is 1:49.

The exhibition received 32 international media hits, reaching an audience of 102 million. For example, The Architect’s Newspaper, Artribune, Domus, DesignBoom, StirWorld, Wallpaper, Casa BRUTUS, ArchDaily, and World Architects placed the Finnish pavilion among their top picks. The exhibition secured a prime spot in Dezeen's "First Look" coverage, and the curators were interviewed by Monocle, among others. London-based ING Media was Archinfo's PR partner.

The year 2025 was a super year for Finnish architecture in Venice, with Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki hosting the Nordic Pavilion’s exhibition Industry Muscle: Five Scores for Architecture by artist Teo Ala-Ruona and team, and the Biennale’s main exhibition featuring three Finnish working groups. 

The publication Architecture of Stewardship, produced in connection with the Pavilion of Finland’s exhibition, discusses the themes in a broader context. More information about the publication can be found here. 

The publication is available at Arvinius + Orfeus' online store via this link. 

Archinfo organised the 2025 exhibition, as well as the two previous biennale exhibitions, through an open call for curators. The 20th Biennale Architettura will be held in 2027. Archinfo has begun preparations for the exhibition with a new concept, about which we will provide more information later this year. 

The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship

Curators Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä
Video artist Merle Karp
Sound designer Jussi Hertz
Graphic designer Samuli Saarinen
Exhibition architect Antti Auvinen
Archinfo team Katarina Siltavuori, Ulla Kallakivi, Miina Jutila, Francesco Raccanelli, Anna Rusi
Main supporter Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland
Supporter Finnish Cultural Foundation
Main partner Kontio
Partners Artek, Tervakoski Ltd, Helsinki Distilling Company, Embassy of Finland in Rome, Unidrain

Warm thanks to all participants, supporters and partners!