The architect Lina Ghotmeh has been chosen to design Qatar’s permanent pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The announcement was made last week by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the chair of Qatar Museums.
Once completed, the Qatar Pavilion, located in the heart of the Giardini della Biennale, will be only the third pavilion added to the historic Giardini in more than 50 years.
Ghotmeh has described her practice as an “archaeology of the future”. Her designs are rooted in a deep connection with history and nature—with her buildings often carefully integrated into the surrounding environment—and an interest in sustainable materials. Among her previous projects are the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion in London (2023); Ateliers Hermès (2023) in Normandy, France’s first low-carbon, energy-positive industrial building; Stone Garden Housing tower in Beirut (2020); and the Estonian National Museum in Tartu (2016). She has been selected to redesign the Western Range galleries of the British Museum, and is also designing the AlUla Contemporary Art Museum in Saudi Arabia and the Bahrain Pavilion for Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
According to a statement, Ghotmeh was selected for the Qatari Pavilion on the basis of a concept “distinguished by its architectural clarity and thoughtful response to the pavilion’s historic context, creating a cultural bridge between Qatar and the global community. Exemplifying architecture’s ability to engage with the public realm, the design blends seamlessly with the pavilion’s immediate landscape and the larger environment.”
The statement says that the space will feature an interior that is “flexible and adaptable”, so that exhibitors will be able to “transform [it] into their own creative visions.”
Speaking to The Art Newspaper, Ghotmeh says: “I’m thrilled to be designing the permanent Qatar Pavilion in the Giardini for La Biennale di Venezia. This is a unique and deeply meaningful commission—set within a place where art, architecture, and creative disciplines come together to bridge cultures through a shared, unspoken language.”
Sheikha Al Mayassa, meanwhile, said in a statement: “[Ghotmeh’s] work is inspiring new and traditional audiences with its sensitivity to the human condition and its confident, innovative flair. Lina has a worldview and sensibility that has grown from her native Lebanon to reach across cultures. She has wholeheartedly embraced our vision for the Qatar Pavilion as a platform for the artistic, architectural, and cultural creativity of our nation and the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.”
Although it will not be ready in time for the Architecture Biennale this coming May, the under-construction site will house an installation by the Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari. A conversation between Sheikha Al Mayassa and Ghotmeh, moderated by the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, will take place at Venice’s ACP – Palazzo Franchetti on 8 May.
