brazilian pavilion on reframing infrastructure through ancestral strategies at venice biennale

the brazilian pavilion links past with present at the biennale

At the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, Brazil presents (RE)INVENTION, a two-part exhibition curated by Luciana Saboia, Eder Alencar, and Matheus Seco of Plano Coletivo. Through a critical lens on infrastructure and ecology, the show connects ancient Amazonian knowledge with contemporary urban practices, occupying the Brazilian Pavilion until November 2025.

In an exclusive interview with designboom, the curators explain how they reframed Indigenous spatial strategies as models for today’s environmental urgencies. ‘While not strictly architectural, these earth formations have been reinterpreted through architectural tools (…) enabling a new reading of their spatial intelligence,’ they note, referencing vast geoglyphs unearthed by lidar in the Amazon. The installation in this first act uses biodegradable wood and rests directly on the ground to reflect Indigenous relationships to land.

The second act turns toward the urban present, curating Brazilian case studies that challenge dominant models of infrastructure. Projects range from low-impact, affordable construction to hybrid systems that operate between the formal and informal city. ‘These examples suggest that infrastructure, when grounded in local knowledge and environmental conditions, can support a more symbiotic coexistence between people, built environments, and ecosystems,’ share the curators. Structurally, the exhibition embodies this philosophy: suspended wood panels, counterweight stones, and steel cables form a balanced system, both physically and metaphorically. ‘This literal structural balance becomes a metaphor for the broader ecological and social equilibrium the exhibition seeks to promote,’ they explain.

view of the installation at the Brazil Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, part of the exhibition (RE)INVENTION | image © ReportArch / Andrea Ferro Photography / Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

(RE)INVENTION uses minimalist visuals and adaptable materials

Beyond historic and contemporary analysis, through the (RE)INVENTION exhibition, the Brazilian Pavilion also gestures toward speculative futures. ‘It offers a powerful outlook into the future by drawing a continuous line between ancestral knowledge, present-day practices, and future possibilities,’ explains Plano Coletivo. The exhibition’s minimalist visual language and adaptable materials are meant to invite reflection. Under Carlo Ratti’s Biennale theme Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective., the project argues that AI and sustainable futures must also make space for traditional, collective knowledge. ‘By proposing that the forest itself is a result of human-nature collaboration, the exhibition opens up a critical dialogue between ancestral and technological intelligences,’ they add.

Ultimately, (RE)INVENTION offers a call to action. In Brazil and beyond, it challenges architecture’s extractive tendencies and proposes design as a cyclical, relational process. ‘It explicitly aligns itself with circular design principles… and suggests a shift from architecture as object to architecture as process — an open system of relationships rather than a static end-product,’ they state. By positioning Indigenous, local, and informal practices as valid forms of intelligence, the pavilion pushes the discipline to rethink its priorities. ‘Ultimately, (RE)INVENTION aims to reframe architecture as a collaborative and continuous act of learning from what already exists,’ say the curators. Read on for the full interview with Plano Coletivo, where we unpack the thinking behind Brazil’s quietly radical vision.

Brazil presents (RE)INVENTION

interview with plano colectivo

designboom (DB): How did the recent archaeological discoveries in the Amazon shape the design of the exhibition? Can you share someexamples of how those findings were turned into architectural ideas or materials?

Plano Coletivo (PL): This vision directly informed the first act of the exhibition, which presents geoglyphs—vast, geometric earthworks uncovered by laser scanning technologies, often invisible beneath the forest canopy. While not strictly architectural, these earth formations have been reinterpreted through architectural tools such as topographic maps and drawings, enabling a new reading of their spatial intelligence. By framing these ancient interventions as a form of landscape architecture, the exhibition positions them as precedents for sustainable environmental design. In material terms, the Amazon room installation incorporates wood—echoing the biodegradable construction materials used by ancient Amazonian peoples. The elements rest directly on the ground, evoking the deep physical and symbolic relationship that these societies maintained with the soil.

the two-part exhibition is curated by Luciana Saboia, Eder Alencar, and Matheus Seco of Plano Coletivo

DB: How does the exhibition question traditional ideas of infrastructure? What new ways does it suggest to connect infrastructure with nature and culture?

PC: This is particularly evident in the second act of the exhibition, which presents selected examples from Brazilian cities that demonstrate alternative infrastructural approaches. These include low-impact constructions, projects with high affordability and accessibility, and hybrid solutions integrating formal and informal urban systems. Labeled as ‘strategies,’ these examples suggest that infrastructure, when grounded in local knowledge and environmental

conditions, can support a more symbiotic coexistence between people, built environments, and ecosystems.

suspended wood panels, counterweight stones, and steel cables form a balanced system

DB: The exhibition has two parts: one about the past and one about the present. Does it also provide an outlook into the future, and how?

PC: Yes, the exhibition offers a powerful outlook into the future by drawing a continuous line between ancestral knowledge, present-day practices, and future possibilities. While one part of the exhibition reveals how past societies lived in balance with their environment, and the other analyzes current urban and architectural practices that echo similar principles, the overall experience prompts visitors to reflect on how such lessons can shape future cities. Through its visual language—stripped-down line drawings in red and black—and its material composition, the exhibition avoids spectacle and instead fosters thoughtful interpretation. It invites visitors to project these strategies onto their own contexts and imagine future urban scenarios where balance, adaptability, and coexistence guide design decisions. Even if not free of contradictions, these visions offer constructive paths forward amid today’s climate and urban challenges.

DB: (RE)INVENTION focuses on reuse, low-impact design, and materials that can be taken apart and reused. How do these choices reflect or challenge today’s common architectural practices in

Brazil?

PC: (RE)INVENTION explicitly aligns itself with circular design principles, positioning itself in contrast to many dominant architectural practices in Brazil and beyond, which often prioritize permanence, monumentality, or unsustainable material consumption. The exhibition uses minimal and reconfigurable elements—wood panels, steel cables, and stones used as counterweights—that can be disassembled and reused in future installations. This approach was not merely conceptual, but also structural. In the second room of the pavilion, the installation physically embodies the principle of balance: it is a suspended, responsive system in which each element depends on the interaction of others. This literal structural balance becomes a metaphor for the broader ecological and

social equilibrium the exhibition seeks to promote. In doing so, (RE)INVENTION challenges the profession to rethink the lifecycle of materials, the environmental cost of construction, and the potential of adaptive reuse as a creative tool. It suggests a shift from architecture as object to architecture as process—an open system of relationships rather than a static end-product.

the second act turns toward the urban present

DB: Under the theme of this year’s Biennale, Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective., how do you see traditional or ancestral knowledge playing a role in today’s conversations about AI and sustainable cities?

PC: Traditional and ancestral knowledge plays a foundational role in this conversation, especially as we confront the need to build sustainable and inclusive cities. The first part of the exhibition foregrounds this idea by framing ancient Amazonian practices not as relics of the past, but as living models of environmental intelligence. These societies designed landscapes that were self-sustaining, resilient, and productive—principles that remain urgently relevant today. By proposing that the forest itself is a result of human-nature collaboration, the exhibition opens up a critical dialogue between ancestral and technological intelligences. In an age where AI and data-driven systems are increasingly shaping urban environments, the exhibition suggests that collective, ancestral, and place-based knowledge systems are equally intelligent—and perhaps more sustainable over the long term. This reframing calls for a convergence between artificial tools and traditional wisdom, rather than a replacement of one by the other.

projects range from low-impact, affordable construction to hybrid systems

DB: What long-term impact do you hope (RE)INVENTION will have, both for global architecture conversations and for Brazil’s environmental and urban planning efforts?

PC: (RE)INVENTION aspires to leave a lasting impact by contributing new frameworks for thinking about architecture—not as an isolated discipline, but as a mediator of cultural, environmental, and technological relationships. Internationally, it seeks to broaden the architectural discourse to include overlooked forms of intelligence, particularly those embedded in Indigenous, informal, and collective practices. For Brazil, the hope is that it can help catalyze a more integrated approach to urban and environmental planning—one that recognizes the complexity of Brazilian cities and ecosystems, and values local solutions over imported models. By showcasing real-world examples and foregrounding a design ethos rooted in balance and reusability, the exhibition encourages policymakers, architects, and communities to rethink the metrics of progress and development. Ultimately, (RE)INVENTION aims to reframe architecture as a collaborative and continuous act of learning from what already exists—be it in the past, in nature, or in the ingenuity of everyday practices.

through the (RE)INVENTION exhibition, the Brazilian Pavilion also gestures toward speculative futures

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the exhibition’s minimalist visual language and adaptable materials are meant to invite reflection

the project argues that AI and sustainable futures must also make space for traditional, collective knowledge

(RE)INVENTION offers a call to action

in Brazil and beyond, the show challenges architecture’s extractive tendencies

proposing design as a cyclical, relational process

the pavilion pushes the discipline to rethink its priorities

a critical lens on infrastructure and ecology

reframing Indigenous spatial strategies as models for today’s environmental urgencies

project info:

name: The Brazil Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
theme: (RE)INVENTION
curators: Luciana Saboia, Eder Alencar, Matheus Seco (Plano Coletivo)

location: Giardini, Venice, Italy

dates: May 10 – November 23, 2025

commissioner: Andrea Pinheiro, President of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

collaborators: André Velloso, Carolina Pescatori, Cauê Capillé, Daniel Mangabeira, Guilherme Lassance, Henrique Coutinho, Sérgio Marques

organized by: Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

main sponsors: Itaú, Bloomberg, Bradesco, Petrobras, Instituto Cultural Vale, Citi, Vivo