2027 Venice Architecture Biennale: Building and Local Knowledge in Focus

Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu have outlined the curatorial framework for the 20th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale. As reported in an article published on October 20, 2026, the exhibition will take place from May 8 to November 21, 2027, at Giardini and Arsenale, as well as at various locations throughout Venice. The curators’ approach proposes a renewed look at architecture’s physical production and its relationship with lived reality.

What questions does the exhibition raise for architectural practice?

Titled “Do Architecture – For the Possibility of Coexistence Facing a Real Reality,” the exhibition focuses on how architecture is practiced today. According to the curators, excessive abstraction, commercialization and digitalization can distance architecture from the realities of everyday life. The exhibition will therefore consider not only the forms architecture might take in the future, but also the conditions and experiences of its production today.

Materials, ways of building, local knowledge and direct experience are among the key themes of the curatorial framework. This approach is not presented as a program that requires a particular design method or building type. Instead, it asks how architectural production relates to the conditions of its location and people’s everyday experience.

Craft, technology and local conditions

The idea of coexistence in the exhibition’s title also points to an effort to consider different forms of architectural production side by side. The curatorial approach raises the question of how technology and craft, as well as urban and rural building practices, can be considered in light of the distinct realities of each place. The emphasis is less on reducing differences to a single model and more on considering these conditions together while preserving architecture’s relationship with context.

Traditional building techniques, the reuse of materials and the relationship between architecture and place have long been central to the work of Amateur Architecture Studio, founded by Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu in 1997. The framework announced for the Biennale also identifies these subjects as a basis for discussion. However, the information currently available does not include a detailed list of projects or participants in the exhibition.

Implications for architecture, interior design and archviz workflows

For architects and interior designers, the exhibition’s approach invites a fresh look at how material choices, construction decisions and local context are made visible in a project narrative. For archviz teams, how images communicate a design’s relationship with its physical and local conditions may also be worth considering. This does not mean the exhibition recommends a particular presentation format or technical method; the announcement contains no instructions on software, hardware or visualization tools.

A critical discussion of digitalization should not be read as a wholesale rejection of digital tools. The curatorial framework presents technology and craft not as opposing poles, but as conditions that can be discussed together. For offices and visualization teams in Turkey, a practical takeaway may be to assess how well digital representation communicates relationships with materials, building and place, rather than immediately changing the tools they use. The source contains no information about licensing, hardware requirements or software compatibility. How the exhibition will translate these ideas into spatial form will become clear in 2027.