The Venice Biennale unveils the renovated central pavilion

The Venice Biennale unveils a redesigned central pavilion

The Venice Biennale fully reveals renovated Central Pavilion in the Giardini, completing a 16-month intervention just before the Art Biennale 2026. The project is reworked one of the of the exhibition most historic multi-level buildings in a spatially coherent and technically integrated environment. The renovated pavilion will host In Minor Keys, the upcoming exhibition curated by Koyo Kouoh, opening to the public on May 9, 2026.

The team approaches the Central Pavilion as a multi-layered architectural organization. Through successive additions and modifications, accumulated over more than a century, they are reorganized into an easily readable spatial system. The intervention clarifies circulation and hierarchy, positioning Sala Chini as the main distribution hub from which the exhibition spaces unfold.

Around the core galleries is arranged a circle of public-facing functions, such as a bookstore, cafeteria, educational spaces and technical spaces. These service areas are treated as separate elements, allowing the showrooms to function as flexible environments. It was designed as a white box gallerythey are completely freed from visible technical systems, which are now integrated into walls and ceilings.

The central pavilion was renovated with funding from the Ministry of Culture as part of the PNC under the PNRR | all images by Marco Cappelletti / Marco Cappelletti Studio, courtesy La Biennale di Venezia / MiC

from stacked layers to spatial clarity

The project adopts a critical approach that selects, interprets and reorganizes historical layers. The original elements of the Central Pavilion, such as the windows designed by Carlo Scarpa, are restored and repositioned, while the Sala Brenno del Giudice has been remodeled according to its spatial logic of 1928. The openings to the terrace facing the canal are also restored, restoring visual and physical connections to the Giardini. Instead of indiscriminately preserving all traces, the intervention filters the history of the Biennale building, removing incongruous additions while preserving its structural and spatial memory.

Two new exterior structures reinterpret the traditional Venetian gazebo. Located next to the cafeteria and in a multi-purpose room, these light additions extend the pavilion outwards without competing with the mass of the masonry. Constructed of carbonized laminated wood and X-LAM panels, they introduce a porous boundary between interior and landscape, framing new relationships with the surrounding gardens.

The new skylights combine photovoltaic and diffused glass, providing uniform natural lighting while contributing to the facility’s energy production. Functional units allow for natural ventilation, while motorized shading systems allow for total blackout when required. All the technical infrastructure is hidden within the building shell, maintaining spatial clarity. The project is aiming for LEED Gold certification, aligning with broader sustainability criteria, including energy efficiency, reduced emissions and improved indoor environmental quality.

exhibition spaces

the central pavilion as a spatial and curatorial core

The transformation of the Central Pavilion reflects a longer historical change within the Biennale itself. Originally constructed between 1894 and 1895 as the Palazzo Pro Arte, the building evolved over the course of the 20th century into the Italian Pavilion, while continuing to host the fair’s main collective exhibition.

A decisive change occurred in 1999 under the Swiss curator Harald Szeemann, who introduced the model of a unified international exhibition curated as a single work. Since then, the building has functioned as the main space for the curatorial narrative of the Biennale, distinct from the national pavilions distributed throughout the Giardini. Today, spanning approximately 5,450 square meters in a 51,000 square meter garden complex, the Central Pavilion cements its role as the exhibition’s spatial and conceptual anchor.

With construction completed in March 2026, installation work is now underway. The reopening of the Central Pavilion also marks a recalibration of the way the Biennale organizes its exhibitions, aligning a historically complex building with the spatial and technical demands of contemporary curatorial practice.

mezzanine

view of Sala Chini

showroom gang

entrance hall

The Sala Brenno with Carlo Scarpa’s window

garden seen from the multi-purpose hall

garden view from the showrooms

bookstore

bookstore

cafeteria shelter

cafeteria shelter

Cafeteria loggias from the Rio dei Giardini

elevation overlooking the Rio dei Giardini

project information:

name: Restoration of the Central Pavilion

architects: BUROMILAN – Milan Engineering SpA (head), Labics Srl, arch. Fabio Fumagalli

engineering and systems, ia2 Studio Associato (MEC and fire safety)

location: His gardens The Venice BiennaleVenice, Italy | @labiennale

geology: Francesco Aucone

gross floor area: 5,450 square meters

project management: Arianna Laurenzi (Head of Special Projects, La Biennale di Venezia), RUP (exclusive director of the process), Cristiano Frizzele

construction supervision: Massimiliano Milan

contractor: Setten Genesio SpA