VENICE: The Saudi National Pavilion “Irth” is participating at the 18th edition of the Biennale Architettura 2023 in Venice, according to the the Architecture and Design Commission.
A ceremony was held on Thursday for special invitees before the official opening on Saturday.
“Irth,” meaning legacy in Arabic, is an artwork presented by the participating team comprising Al-Bara Saem Al-Dahr, Basma Bouzo, Noura Bouzo, Jawhara Lou Babelt and Cyril Louis Zammit.
The CEO of the Commission Sumaya Al-Sulaiman said: “We are proud of the third participation of the Saudi National Pavilion in the 18th edition of the Biennale Architettura 2023 … the theme was defined by the curator, Lesley Lokko, as the ‘Laboratory of the Future’.”
Al-Sulaiman continued: “We can build new bridges of understanding and communication through learning from our partners’ experiences and interacting with new partners.”
The theme of “Irth” comes in line with the theme of exhibition itself, “The Laboratory of the Future.” It is about determining the way people understand their places of residence and their relationship with their spaces.
“Irth” proposes an interactive journey that explores the permanent continuity of development in architecture, in addition to the materials used in constructing houses and forming urban spaces linking the past and future, starting with clay, an essential component of the Saudi traditional architecture.
The pavilion showcases the division of the exhibition space, reflects the way traditional materials are used according to new technologies, and highlights new construction materials and their future in Saudi architecture. It combines the concepts of nostalgia, legacy, handcraft, and cultural transformation, while looking to the future through the lens of the past.
It holds in its core an experimental dimension represented in a simple room that evokes visitors’ reactions, mixed with personal emotions and memories, in an independent manner without any guidance from the outside.
The journey begins in the pavilion through its three main sections, passing through six arched gates embodying immensity, flexibility, and dynamism, consisting of octagonal metal structures covered with wooden panels on the inside and with traditional 3D printed ceramic brick tiles on the outside.
It is also covered with wavy and irregular designs representing sand dunes. The experimentation begins in the middle section of the pavilion, in a large rectangular room with dim lighting, scented with a special oud fragrance.
