The Saudi Arabian National Pavilion for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition showcases with “The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection” developed by Syn Architects and curated by Beatrice Leanza Riyadh’s architectural heritage in relation to ecology, identity and urban construction, by promoting how local pedagogical institutions and places of knowledge can address the urgencies of a rapidly changing world, in Saudi Arabia, the Arab region and beyond.
The exhibition presents a living archive and interactive site to launch an alternative pedagogical platform that builds on the work of Syn Architects and Um Slaim Collective, through a generative program of public and laboratory sessions led by curator Beatrice Leanza and supported by Maryam AlNoaimi that will contribute to and enhance spatial and urban thinking in the region, while opening up transnational collaboration to inform the future school.
«The Um Slaim School is a foundation for an alternative approach to architectural reinvention through spatial narratives and materiality. This pavilion will invite a collective reckoning of our effect on the environments we inhabit and our urban histories. Our interest lies in that symbiosis, in how our values and ideas shape our world and how the parameters of our landscapes influence that configuration.»
Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi, partners at Syn Architects.
The Pursuit of Site, 2021. Photograph courtesy of Syn Architects.
The National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia will present «The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection» from 10 May (pre-opening on 8 and 9 May) until 23 November 2025, at the Biennale Architettura 2025. This will be Saudi Arabia’s eighth participation in the International Architecture and Art Exhibitions organised by La Biennale di Venezia. The Saudi Pavilion is located at the Arsenale and acts as a home for the Kingdom’s most innovative talent from all its regions. Cultural professionals will use the pavilion as a hub to explore, research and collaborate in the fields of art and architecture.
“Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition, this year with The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection, illustrates our commitment to contemporary approaches in architecture that honour our heritage while addressing global challenges. By highlighting an emerging generation of designers on a prominent international stage, we aim to inspire solutions for sustainable urban development locally and globally.”
Dr. Sumayah Al-Solaiman, Executive Director of the Architecture and Design Commission at the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Shamalat, cultural space by Syn Architects. Photograph by Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Established in 2021, Um Slaim Collective is a collaborative initiative by Riyadh-based Syn Architects, founded by Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi, to study the displacement of Najdi architecture in central Riyadh. “The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection” brings together oral, visual, and experimental documentation that explores the layered histories and relationships embedded in the fabric of the city to articulate new modes of reading and imagining the built environment that are continuous with spatial learnings of the past. In doing so, it aims to foster a new ecosystem for architectural education in Saudi Arabia and encourage transnational dialogue with generational experiences that are equally engaging in practice-based pedagogies and research-focused methodologies to address challenges related to climate change, resource management, and the social dimension of the city.
“Our participation in Biennale Architettura 2025 welcomes the emergence of generational voices in Saudi Arabia that are reconfiguring spatial practices. The Um Slaim School reflects a critical shift towards participatory frameworks for urban futures and eco-social imaginaries of resilience and renewal. It strives to create an alternative pedagogical initiative that remains rooted in vernacular knowledge while striving to suggest new paths for the role and purpose of architecture in today's world.»
Beatrice Leanza, Curator.
The Architecture and Design Commission is the commissioner of the Saudi National Pavilion for the Biennale Architettura entries. The Commission supports Saudi Arabian architects and designers through educational programs and initiatives to support talent and creative thinking that reflect the Kingdom's diverse culture.
