Best of the rest: starchitects pull in the crowds at Venice Architecture Biennale

Three heavyweights of contemporary architecture go on show during the Venice Architecture Biennale. Pictured: the Norman Foster Foundation’s Droneport project at the Arsenale’s gardens was conceived as a response to Africa’s exploding population and lagging infrastructure.
There’s a saying that the writer and chef Anthony Bourdain likes to use to epitomise the attainment of success, and the perpetual recognition that said success tends to create. To paraphrase, one goes to see a band like the Rolling Stones because you know that they’re going to play Satisfaction, and peering through the crowds, thronging a trio of exhibits at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, one gets the feeling that, come rain or shine, the crowd-pleasing combination of blockbuster names and dramatic centrepieces will always pull the masses in.
Such sentiments do not diminish in the least the power of these exhibits; if anything, they make the displays during this year’s Biennale by Frank Gehry, Lord Foster and the recently departed Zaha Hadid even stronger.
Gehry’s exhibition at the Espace Louis Vuitton near the city’s teeming Piazza San Marco retraces the story of the architect’s dream of ‘designing a magnificent vessel for Paris that symbolises France’s profound cultural vocation’, referring to his dramatic design for the Fondazione Louis Vuitton in Paris that opened in 2014. Entitled ‘Building in Paris by Frank Gehry con l’intervento di Daniel Buren’, it was initially unveiled in Paris for the inauguration of the Fondation, but has been imparted new life via a special redesign by Gehry Partners. The building’s architecture is being presented via a series of scale models.
The Canadian-American architect’s display is evenly matched by artist Daniel Buren’s spectacular in-situ installation that shares main billing with the exhibition, which works with the space’s glass roof to create a striking multicoloured vision in line with the artist’s best work.
Literally flying closer to the Biennale’s ‘Reporting from the Front’ theme is the Droneport concept, revealed by the Norman Foster Foundation at the Arsenale as its inaugural project. Conceived as a response to Africa’s exploding population and lagging infrastructure, each Droneport will serve as a base from which Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can deliver emergency medical supplies to remote communities previously difficult to access by conventional means, with the maiden flight set to launch later this year in Rwanda.
‘The Droneport project is about doing “more with less”, capitalising on the recent advancements in drone technology – something that is usually associated with war and hostilities – to make an immediate life-saving impact in Africa,’ says Foster. The structure’s vaulted form is made from two layers of a new type of compressed earth block dubbed Durabric, developed by the LafargeHolcim Foundation in conjunction with researchers at the Block Research Group from ETH in Zurich and Meco Concept in Toulouse.
Last, but certainly not least, is an artfully grand tribute to the late Zaha Hadid, organised by the Fondazione Berengo cultural institution and set within the walls of the spectacular 16th century Palazzo Franchetti. While no tribute or retrospective could truly encompass the breadth of Hadid’s work and process, this abridged version will more than suffice for most. Spanning her early works – including the distinctive, competition winning Peak in Hong Kong – all the way to works set to be completed by her studio ZHA this year (such as the Port House in Antwerp), the exhibition will offer new appreciation and insight to both experienced observers and architectural neophytes.
In particular, longtime fans will be glad to see familiar works juxtaposed with detailed visualisations; three milestone projects (the evergreen Vitra Fire Station, Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati and the MAXXI Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome) are given their own dedicated spaces, alongside a room reserved for Hélène Binet’s powerful images of the studio’s built work. In a career decorated with innumerable accolades and awards, it’s fitting that the architect's first tribute exhibition takes place during what is considered by most to be the world's biggest architecture celebration.
The Droneport will serve as a base from which Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can deliver emergency medical supplies to remote communities.
Frank Gehry’s exhibition at the Espace Louis Vuitton retraces the story of the architect’s recent Fondation Louis Vuitton building in Paris.
The building’s architecture has been presented via a series of scale models by Gehry’s studio.
Entitled ‘Building in Paris by Frank Gehry con l’intervento di Daniel Buren’, the project was initially unveiled in Paris for the inauguration of the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
Artist Daniel Buren’s spectacular, multicoloured in-situ installation shares main billing with the exhibition and works with the space’s glass roof
Zaha Hadid’s exhibition, located within the grand Palazzo Franchetti, presents a tribute to the grand dame’s wide range of work and lifelong accomplisments.
The exhibition will impart new appreciation and insight to both experienced observers and architectural neophytes.
The exhibition spans her early projects – including the distinctive, competition-winning Peak in Hong Kong – all the way to works set to be completed by her studio ZHA this year (such as the Port House in Antwerp).
INFORMATION
The Venice Architecture Biennale will run until the 27 November. For more information, visit the Biennale’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Meet the Palestinian artist putting a candy-coloured twist on traditional glassmaking
With her company Ornamental by Lameice, designer Lameice Abu Aker is bringing joy and optimism to a time-honoured craft
-
Messika’s fluid jewellery is given a textural twist
The Parisian brand borrows a textural finish previously reserved for high jewellery with its new collection, ‘Move Ciselé’
-
This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshop
New Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it
-
Porsche and the Norman Foster Foundation rethink the future of mobility
A futuristic Venice transport hub, created with the Norman Foster Foundation for Porsche’s The Art of Dreams programme, is a star of the city’s Architecture Biennale
-
Want to be a Venice pavilion commissioner? Bring ideas – and your Rolodex
The impressive showings of the USA's Venice pavilion in the Giardini belie the ambitious fundraising efforts that underpin them. Past and present curators tell us how it works
-
A mesmerising edition of The Dalmore Luminary Series is unveiled in Venice
The Dalmore Luminary Series sculpture No.3 by Ben Dobbin of Foster + Partners, co-curated by V&A Dundee, launches in Venice during the 2025 Architecture Biennale
-
A love letter to the panache and beauty of diagrams: OMA/AMO at the Prada Foundation in Venice
‘Diagrams’, an exhibition by AMO/OMA, celebrates the powerful visual communication of data as a valuable tool of investigation; we toured the newly opened show in Venice’s Prada Foundation
-
How was Carlo Ratti’s ‘Intelligens’? Wallpaper* editors discuss the 19th Venice Biennale
Having visited ‘Intelligens’, the 19th Venice Biennale's main show by curator Carlo Ratti, the Wallpaper* editors discuss what they saw at the world's biggest global architecture festival
-
The 2025 British Pavilion in Venice offered up a Geology of Britannic Repair
The 2025 British Pavilion in Venice is curated by an Anglo-Kenyan team of architects and designers; titled 'GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair', it explores the landscape of colonialism, its past, present and futures
-
A Venice sneak peek into the new Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean Nouvel
A new home for Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean Nouvel will open later this year in Paris; in the meantime, the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 offered the perfect platform for a sneak preview of what's to come
-
Sustainability underpins new Rolex Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale
Designed by architect Mariam Issoufou, the Rolex Pavilion is full of sustainably-minded soul – here’s what to expect from the building and the exhibit