{"id":2957,"date":"2025-09-05T04:14:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T04:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/2957\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T04:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T04:14:11","slug":"the-philippine-pavilion-at-the-2025-venice-biennale-reimagines-the-relationship-between-architecture-and-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/2957\/","title":{"rendered":"The Philippine Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Reimagines the Relationship Between Architecture and Soil"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>Installation shots of the Philippine Pavilion exhibition Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa) curated by Renan Laru-an featuring the work of Christian Tenefrancia Illi. Courtesy of the NCCA – PAVB. Photographs by . Image \u00a9 Andrea D’Altoe<\/p>\n

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The Philippines<\/a>‘ Pavilion<\/a> at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition \u2013 La Biennale di Venezia<\/a> presents Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa), an exhibition curated by artistic director Renan Laru-an. Through interdisciplinary collaborations, the Pavilion brings together architects, technical experts, indigenous leaders, artists, policymakers, and local communities to explore the cultural, ecological, and technological dimensions of soil. Its objective is to challenge conventional architectural paradigms by shifting the focus from structure to soil, not as a passive material, but as a living force with agency, history, and power.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>\"The<\/a>\"The<\/a>\"The<\/a>\"The+ 28<\/a><\/p>\n

The exhibition reimagines the foundational relationship between architecture and soil. In Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa), soil is not treated as a mere substrate but is presented as an active participant in shaping the built world. Visitors are invited to engage with the interplay between soil-body and soil-time, moving beyond its traditional role as a stabilizer for human-made environments. By questioning our understanding of this element, the exhibition asks how architecture can adopt a more reciprocal and ethical relationship with the earth.<\/p>\n

\"TheInstallation shots of the Philippine Pavilion exhibition Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa) curated by Renan Laru-an featuring the work of Christian Tenefrancia Illi. Courtesy of the NCCA – PAVB. Photographs by . Image \u00a9 Andrea D’Altoe<\/a>\"TheInstallation shots of the Philippine Pavilion exhibition Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa) curated by Renan Laru-an featuring the work of Christian Tenefrancia Illi. Courtesy of the NCCA – PAVB. Photographs by . Image \u00a9 Andrea D’Altoe<\/a><\/p>\n

The content on display is the result of a collaborative process carried out across the Philippines<\/a>, in Metro Manila<\/a>, Batangas<\/a>, Leyte, and South Cotabato. To prepare the exhibition, workshops, and research initiatives reframed soil not only as a building material but also as a custodian of memory, climate, and resistance. At the center of the exhibition space in the Arsenale stands an installation built with nearly a thousand tiles of soil sourced from diverse Philippine landscapes.<\/p>\n

Related Article From Little Venice to Venice: The Narrative of Carlo Scarpa\u2019s Venezuela Pavilion<\/a> <\/p>\n

The installation, titled Terrarium, was designed by artist and designer Christian Tenefrancia Illi. It immerses viewers in an experiential encounter with soil, recreating microclimates and simulating processes of weathering and transformation. In doing so, it foregrounds soil’s role in shaping human and nonhuman futures, encouraging a reconsideration of architecture’s responsibilities beyond human-centric design and extractive development. Inviting respect for the interconnectedness of living and nonliving entities, the curatorial approach asks: What would it mean for architecture to listen to soil? To build not upon it, but with it?<\/p>\n

\"TheInstallation shots of the Philippine Pavilion exhibition Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa) curated by Renan Laru-an featuring the work of Christian Tenefrancia Illi. Courtesy of the NCCA – PAVB. Photographs by . Image \u00a9 Andrea D’Altoe<\/a>\"TheInstallation shots of the Philippine Pavilion exhibition Soil-beings (Lam\u00e1nlupa) curated by Renan Laru-an featuring the work of Christian Tenefrancia Illi. Courtesy of the NCCA – PAVB. Photographs by . Image \u00a9 Andrea D’Altoe<\/a><\/p>\n

The 19th Venice Architecture Biennale opened on May 10<\/a> and runs until November 23, 2025, featuring 65 National Pavilions<\/a>, with Azerbaijan, Oman, Qatar, and Togo participating for the first time. Several exhibitions also address soil-related themes: the Kosovan Pavilion combines local soils with a hanging olfactory calendar<\/a> to create a sensorial fieldwork experience; the Moroccan Pavilion highlights earth as a renewable resource<\/a> for both heritage preservation and contemporary ecological challenges; and the Lebanese Pavilion calls for architecture to begin with the land itself<\/a>, underscoring architects’ responsibility to protect and regenerate nature.<\/p>\n

We invite you to check out ArchDaily’s comprehensive coverage of the 2025 Venice Biennale.<\/a><\/p>\n