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The nineteenth Venice Architecture Biennale will open in May 2025. This year, Finland will be responsible for the programme of the Nordic Pavilion in addition to its own pavilion, and Finnish representation will be unprecedented in the main exhibition of the Biennale. Aalto ARTS researchers and alumni are prominently featured in the Finnish programme.

Curated by architects and Aalto ARTS alums Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä, The Pavilion - Architecture of Stewardship explores the changing role of professionals working in the built environment. The creation and maintenance of the built environment is a multidisciplinary task in which architects and engineers, construction workers, renovation planners, maintenance staff and cleaners all play a central role. The object of study is the exhibition building itself, the Finnish Pavilion designed by Alvar and Elissa Aalto.

The theme of the Architecture Biennale, Intelligent. Natural. Artificial. Collective, is about diverse, inclusive and imaginative intelligence, according to chief curator Carlo Ratti . As in previous years, the curator has invited teams to participate in the main exhibition. In addition, for the first time, ideas for the exhibition could be submitted through an open call for submissions.

No fewer than three Finnish teams are taking part in the main exhibition of the Biennale.

Architects Maiju Suomi and Elina Koivisto, Aalto Doctoral researchers, were invited to participate in the main exhibition through the international Space for Ideas call with their Alusta pavilion, which explores the relationship between nature and culture. Alusta is a meeting place for humans and other species, and it has already delighted many visitors for example in the courtyard of the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design. Next, it will be presented in Venice.

Soft Infrastructure, an installation by architect Jaakko Heikkilä and designer Emil Lyytikäinen, was selected through a call for young designers, the Biennale College Architettura. The installation explores the use of lake cane as a sustainable material for erosion control instead of synthetic solutions that disrupt ecosystems.

At the heart of the project is community involvement, which is reflected in the Finnish tradition of volunteering 'talkoot' - working together for the common good. The installation highlights the architectural value of infrastructure as part of a cultural or natural landscape. Both are recently graduated Aalto ARTS alums.

The third of those invited to the main exhibition is Marco Casagrande, a visiting professor of architecture in Kharkov, Ukraine, and a TKK alum. Casagrande is participating in the Biennale for the sixth time. Casagrande's exhibition will focus on the architect's work on biourbanism, ecological urban restoration and urban-scale circular economy in war-torn Kharkiv.

Finnish colour can also be seen in the Nordic Pavilion, which is jointly owned by Finland, Norway and Sweden. The exhibitions are staged alternately, with the 2025 exhibition being produced by the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design. Performance artist Teo Ala-Ruona and his team have been selected to create a joint exhibition. It explores the impact of spaces on bodies and society. The exhibition is curated by architect Kaisa Karvinen from the Museum of Architecture and Design.