Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Samuele Cherubini
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https://www.archdaily.com/1026478/ireland-presents-assembly-at-the-venice-biennale-2025-reimagining-spaces-for-gathering-and-dialogue
Curated by Cotter & Naessens Architects, the Ireland pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2025 presents Assembly, exploring architecture’s role in shaping spaces for gathering, discussion, and democratic exchange. Commissioned by Culture Ireland in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland the pavilion is officially inaugurated by Yvonne Farrell of Grafton Architects with Sharon Barry, Director of Culture Ireland, and Fionnuala Sweeney, Head of Architecture at the Arts Council.
Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Ste Murray
At the core of Assembly is an investigation into how architectural space can facilitate collective participation. Drawing inspiration from Ireland’s first Citizens’ Assembly, an innovative form of participatory democracy established in 2016 to bring ordinary citizens closer to governance, Cotter & Naessens envision an environment where architecture acts as both a stage and a structure for discourse. In contrast to the fast-paced, algorithmically mediated flow of information that defines much of contemporary life, the Citizens’ Assembly model emphasizes slower, more deliberate processes of reflection and consensus-building. Building on this framework, Assembly challenges traditional spatial hierarchies, proposing a prototype for gathering that prioritizes inclusivity, fluidity, and interaction.
Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Ste Murray
Framing how architecture can learn from this political experiment, the pavilion presents a speculative prototype for a structure designed to facilitate non-hierarchical communication between strangers. Its concept and form draw on spatial typologies of political and social assembly from Ireland and beyond, including choir stalls, parliaments, and cattle marts. Circular, modular, and small in scale, the design has the potential to transform a range of publicly accessible spaces, from schools to shopping malls, into sites of civic participation.
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Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Ste Murray
The installation is realized through an interdisciplinary collaboration between Cotter & Naessens Architects, sound artist David Stalling, architect and poet Michelle Delea, curator Luke Naessens, and woodworker Alan Meredith. By integrating spatial design with sound and text, Assembly seeks to create a multisensory experience where the act of congregation is both reflected and enacted within the space itself. Visitors are being immersed in an environment where architectural elements, acoustics, and spoken word converge to highlight the significance of public dialogue in contemporary society.
Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Ste Murray
Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Samuele Cherubini
The pavilion reflects on assembly as both a product and a process of making. Harnessing age-old, renewable materials, traditional skills, and collaborative knowledge, the structure has been hand-crafted from Irish beech trees and features a handwoven carpet by Ceadogán Rugmakers to welcome visitors into its interior. A chorus of integrated soundboxes each delivers a fragment of a spatialized, polyphonic composition inspired by the Venetian tradition of cori spezzati. The audio work, created by Michelle Delea and David Stalling, combines music, poetry, interviews with the designers and participants of the Citizens’ Assembly, and recordings that document the fabrication of the structure.
Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Ste Murray
Beyond the exhibition, Assembly serves as a platform for a broader program of activations, discussions, and performances. The curators propose a dynamic, evolving space where guests, local and international participants, and the public can engage in ongoing conversations. This program extends the themes of the installation, addressing issues of civic space, community engagement, and the role of architecture in shaping democratic environments. Ultimately, Assembly aims to contribute a thoughtful and ambitious project to the Venice Architecture Biennale, positioning Irish architecture within a global discourse on space, democracy, and participation.
Installation view of ASSEMBLY, Irish Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025. Image © Ste Murray
In other similar news, Denmark’s contribution to La Biennale di Venezia is Build of Site, an exhibition curated by architect Søren Pihlmann, focusing on sustainable architecture through reuse and resourcefulness. Additionally, Austria’s pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 hosts Agency for Better Living, an interactive exhibition by Lorenzo Romito, Sabine Pollak, and Michael Obrist, exploring the political and social dimensions of housing as a fundamental right. Meanwhile, the Swiss Pavilion hosts The Final Form is Determined by the Architect on Site, an exhibition curated by an all-female team reflecting on Swiss architectural history and alternative narratives.
We invite you to check out ArchDaily’s comprehensive coverage of the 2025 Venice Biennale.
Editor’s note: This article was first published on February 5, 2025, by Nour Fakharany, updated on April 11, 2025, by Antonia Piñeiro with new details on the exhibition design and its contributors, and again on August 27, 2025, to include photographs of the exhibition.