Fifty-two Finalists Announced for the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
Selected projects include the 2018 reimagining of the landscape surrounding Eero Saarinen’s St. Louis Arch as a “Civic Porch” by Studio James Carpenter, JCDA Inc., Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., and Cooper Robertson. Photo courtesy PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity Organizers
On February 3, the organizers of the United States Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia announced the 52 finalists selected for its exhibition, to debut in Venice this spring. Organized by the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, in partnership with DesignConnects and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Pavilion's exhibition is themed PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity, and highlights the cultural, architectural, and environmental significance of the distinctly American typology.
The finalists, chosen through a nationwide open call, were selected by a jury that included Austen Barron Bailly of the Crystal Bridges Museum and the Momentary, landscape architect Julie Bargmann, architect Marlon Blackwell, the Mellon Foundation’s Justin Garrett Moore, and designer Stephen Burks, as well as Jack Murphy, executive editor of The Architect’s Newspaper, and RECORD’s editor in chief Josephine Minutillo.
“The collaborative jury process affirmed the power of the American porch as a design concept that resonates with all types of communities and fosters positive connections,” said Bailly. “The selected porches’ aesthetic allure and civic vision reveal the spirit of invitation essential for the people who activate these spaces, and they promise to create a lively and transporting exhibition for the U.S. Pavilion.”
The selected finalists reflect diverse contributions from architects, landscape architects, designers, artists, nonprofits, and individuals from across the U.S. and its territories. Notable architecture firms among the group include Brooks + Scarpa, Lake|Flato, Olson Kundig, Ross Barney Architects, SO – IL, EskewDumezRipple, and Studio Gang.
At the Biennale, the finalists’ projects will be on display within the historic, Palladian-style U.S. pavilion, in conversation with a temporary, large-scale porch structure and surrounding landscape adjacent to the 1930 building, designed by Blackwell, Burks, Bargmann, and Maura Rockcastle.
As a complement to the announcement, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design will also feature a supplementary Beyond the PORCH collection that explores the porch's influence on cultural norms, philosophical thinking, and architectural movements, including examples Arcosanti and urban stoops. Additionally, a partnership with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture will solicit unbuilt and speculative work from U.S. architecture schools starting mid-March, culminating in presentations this November as a closing finale for the U.S. Pavilion.
The exhibition opens to the public on May 10, 2025, at the Venice Biennale.
