Qatar entrusts Lina Ghotmeh with new pavilion at the Giardini of the Venice Biennale

Architect Lina Ghotmeh (Beirut, 1980) is the artist selected to shape the new Qatar Pavilion at the Giardini of the Venice Biennale. The announcement was made on April 8, 2025 by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Museums. The choice came at the end of an international competition promoted to identify the best design to fit into the historic and landscape context of the Giardini, the Biennale’s exhibition center. The new structure will rise in a central location, on an area adjacent to the famous Stirling Pavilion. It will be the third building to be constructed in more than 50 years within one of the iconic sites of international art and architecture. It is being commissioned directly by Sheikha Al Mayassa, who will oversee the entire process on behalf of the State of Qatar.

Lina Ghotmeh’s proposal stood out among the bids for the clarity of its architectural language and its ability to fit into the historical and environmental fabric of the Gardens without forcing it. The project was designed to establish an open dialogue between Qatari culture and the international community, emphasizing the role of architecture as a means of connection and exchange. In addition to respecting the surrounding environment, the structure will also be able to enhance its reading, enhancing the identity of the place. The architecture conceived by Ghotmeh does not impose itself, it harmonizes, establishing an organic relationship with the landscape and pre-existing architecture.

“I extend my warmest congratulations to Lina Ghotmeh on being awarded the commission for the Qatar Pavilion in the Giardini of La Biennale di Venezia,” says Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa. Her work inspires new and traditional audiences through a deep sensitivity to the human condition and a bold and innovative language. Lina possesses a worldview and sensibility born in her homeland of Lebanon that has extended far beyond cultural boundaries. She has enthusiastically embraced our vision of the Qatar Pavilion as a platform for the artistic, architectural and cultural creativity of our nation and the region encompassing the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his vision and support in the realization of the Qatar Pavilion. I would also like to thank the Republic of Italy for its vision to bring our two nations closer together through art and culture; Maria Tripodi, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; the City of Venice and Mayor Luigi Brugnaro; Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, President of La Biennale di Venezia; S.E. Khalid bin Youssef Khalifa Abdullah Al Sada, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Qatar; and H.E. Paolo Toschi, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to the State of Qatar."

“My team and I are deeply honored to have been chosen for this project that is as exciting as it is significant,” says Lina Ghotmeh. “Qatar is a cultural beacon for the entire MENASA region. It is exciting to have the opportunity to design the Qatar Pavilion in the historic Giardini of La Biennale di Venezia.”

A flexible and future-oriented interior

In addition to its symbolic and cultural value, the new Qatar Pavilion will feature a strong focus on functionality. The interior will be designed as a flexible and transformable space, ready to accommodate contemporary art and architecture projects in ever-changing forms. Versatility will be one of the hallmarks of the new building: each exhibitor will be able to reinterpret the space according to his or her own artistic and design vision, in line with the Biennale’s experimental spirit.

Founder and director of the Paris studio Lina Ghotmeh - Architecture, the French-Lebanese architect is known for a design approach that combines research, contextual sensitivity and a deeply humanist vision. Her work stands out for its attention to materials, the memory of place, and the balance between tradition and innovation.

Notes on the artist

Lina Ghotmeh, an internationally renowned Lebanese architect, heads the Paris-based firm Lina Ghotmeh - Architecture, globally recognized for a design approach that combines sustainability, conceptual rigor and a deep connection to history. Her work blends traditional craftsmanship and innovation, resulting in architecture that looks to the future, with a strong focus on the environment and inclusiveness. His philosophy, termed “Archaeology of the Future,” promotes an intimate connection between history, nature and materials.

Among Ghotmeh’s most significant projects are the renovation of the British Museum’s Western Range galleries (announced in February 2025), the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion in London (2023), Ateliers Hermès in Normandy (2023)-the first French industrial building with reduced emissions and positive energy balance-the Stone Garden residential tower in Beirut (2020), and the Estonian National Museum in Tartu (2016). Currently, the firm is engaged in the design of the AlUla Contemporary Art Museum in Saudi Arabia and the Bahrain Pavilion for Expo 2025. His works were presented at the 17th. International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. In addition to her design career, Ghotmeh is a prominent speaker at international conferences and has held important academic positions at institutions such as Yale, the University of Toronto and Harvard GSD. She has received numerous awards, including the Great Arab Minds Award (2023), the Schelling Architecture Award (2020) and the Prix Dejean from the French Académie d’Architecture (2016).

The selection for the Qatar Pavilion.

Lina Ghotmeh was chosen to design the Qatar Pavilion after winning an international competition held by Malcolm Reading Consultants on behalf of Qatar Museums. The competition, which featured nine finalists selected by invitation, took twenty weeks to develop design proposals. The competition’s Advisory Committee was chaired by Rem Koolhaas, founder and director of OMA, and included international experts such as Alejandro Aravena, Georges Arbid, Zeina Arida, Jean-Paul Engelen, Massimiliano Gioni, Catherine Grenier, Mona Ahmad Hussain, Manuela Luca-Dazio, and Hafid Rakem.

Qatar entrusts Lina Ghotmeh with new pavilion at the Giardini of the Venice Biennale

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