Lina Ghotmeh on Designing Qatar’s Permanent Pavilion at Venice

Qatar has announced a significant milestone in its cultural journey: the creation of a permanent national pavilion in the historic Giardini della Biennale, the primary venue of the Venice Biennale since 1895. This pavilion is being designed by renowned Lebanese-French architect Lina Ghotmeh, whose practice is defined by an approach she calls “archaeology of the future.” We speak to her about her process, inspirations, and hopes for this groundbreaking commission.

With the construction of this permanent pavilion, Qatar becomes one of three nations to establish a new presence in the Giardini over the past five decades. Qatar will build a national pavilion in the historic venue of Giardini della Biennale, which first opened to the public in 1895. Qatar will join 30 other nations with permanent pavilions in the Giardini. Only two others have opened there in the last 50 years (Australia and Republic of Korea).

The initiative follows the signing of a Protocol of Cooperation between Qatar Museums and the Municipality of Venice in 2024, enhancing ties between Qatar and Italy and affirming Qatar’s commitment to cultural diplomacy. The pavilion, located adjacent to the iconic Book Pavilion, will serve as a permanent architectural ambassador for Qatar during the Biennale’s architecture and art exhibitions.

This ambitious and symbolic structure is being designed by renowned Lebanese-French architect Lina Ghotmeh, whose practice is defined by an approach she calls “archaeology of the future.” Known for her poetic sensibility, deep research, and ecological mindfulness, Lina’s work draws from memory, craft, and site specificity.

Her award-winning projects, such as the Stone Garden in Beirut and the Helsinki Dance House, reveal her ability to translate cultural narratives into enduring architectural forms.

If we had to choose one word to describe Lina Ghotmeh’s personality and vision, it would have to be: Humanist. Her architecture is grounded in empathy, driven by care, and always attuned to the human experience. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the prestigious Schelling Architecture Prize in 2021 and the Tamayouz “Woman of Outstanding Achievement” Award in 2020—recognitions that further affirm the impact and depth of her work.

For the Qatar Pavilion, Lina brings this singular vision to Venice, embedding meaning, matter, and memory into its design. In the following exclusive Q&A, she speaks to SCALE about her process, inspirations, and hopes for this groundbreaking commission.

SCALE: What core themes or narratives are you aiming to express through the design of Qatar’s permanent pavilion in the Giardini?

Lina Ghotmeh: The pavilion expresses a dignified presence in space — a subtle yet powerful presence. I wanted the pavilion to express dignity without spectacle. It doesn’t shout, but speaks through craft, through its form, through resonance. When we explored the etymology of “Qatar” and “Venezia,” we were drawn to their shared poetics—Qatar as “line” or “drop,” Venezia from “vena,” meaning “vein” or “canal.” This inspired a fluid, sculptural façade that rises from the water like a body drawn in motion. In a similar way to which Qatar had emerged from water. The pavilion is formed by layers, meaning, language, geography, and history. It is a convergence of two identities through the medium of water and matter.

SCALE: How does your architectural approach reflect or reinterpret Qatari cultural and architectural heritage within the context of the Biennale?

Lina Ghotmeh: Qatari heritage is translated here not through replication, but through resonance. I conducted with my team extensive research on materials, symbols, socio-cultural histories—to create a space that evokes. The idea is to root the pavilion in Qatar’s traditions while allowing it to converse with Venice’s own material culture. The pavilion becomes a medium of memory and possibility.

SCALE: The 2025 Biennale embraces the overarching theme “Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective.” How does your design engage with or respond to this theme?

Lina Ghotmeh: Our design begins with the belief that intelligence is embedded in matter and in its transformation. Natural intelligence lives in the hands of the artisans and in the sustainable process of making. The process is also collective, one that will bring together hands and crafts from Qatar, Italy, and beyond.

Considering the Biennale’s emphasis on sustainability and circular economy, how have these principles influenced your choice of materials and construction methods for the pavilion?

My practice has always been engaged with projects that emerge in symbiosis with their environment, that have positive impact both ecologically and socially. Every decision began with the intention of building a low carbon, sustainable construction. Sustainability is not only related to the material with which we make our constructions but is a wholistic mindset that incorporates the processes of making and the impact of the capacity of a building to also be a social as well as historical catalyst.

SCALE: How have you collaborated with Qatari artists, designers, or cultural institutions to ensure the pavilion authentically represents Qatar’s identity?

Lina Ghotmeh: Parallel to this project, I have been working for a few months on Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. It is a fantastic platform for Arab and Qatari artists and we have been looking at how to expand Mathaf into a state of the arts making place (ceramics, glass blowing and other facilities). This work has allowed me to have in-depth conversations with leaders and creatives in Qatar and allowed me a better understanding into how to design a pavilion that would authentically echo this dynamic culture.

SCALE: What challenges and opportunities have arisen in translating Qatari cultural elements into a contemporary architectural language suitable for an international audience?

Lina Ghotmeh: The challenge of this project was to avoid literal interpretation of Qatari culture, and look into how the pavilion can speak to the national culture but also to its place in Venice. This drove the design as such.

SCALE: As the pavilion is intended to be a permanent structure, how do you envision its role evolving within the Giardini and the broader context of the Venice Biennale in the years to come?

Lina Ghotmeh: The pavilion is designed to be an open and flexible space, adaptable to changing curatorial programs, seasons, and audiences. It is conceived to be both a special architectural piece and a flexible tool for exhibitions and for subliming works displayed.

SCALE: Your practice is often described as “archaeology of the future.” Could you tell us how this idea continues to shape your architectural language today?

Lina Ghotmeh: It’s really about a methodology, to dig deep—into the soil, into memory, into the material, history books, journals, collections, and cultural layers of a site—building a material memory for every project all while making an architecture that is not nostalgic, but anticipatory. Buildings carry time within them—By approaching design as a form of archeology, we can create spaces that are both grounded and visionary.

SCALE: How do you balance poetic expression with practical and environmental constraints in your work?

Lina Ghotmeh: Poetics merge through a careful and precise mastery of constraints. A hand-laid stone, a roof that gathers rain—these are gestures of care, and care is inherently poetic. Environmental performance enhances the beauty of architecture, it allows it to breathe with its surroundings, ages gracefully, provides spaces for its various users, and listens. When poetics and practicality align, the building becomes both expressive and enduring.

SCALE: Much of your work emphasises the use of natural materials and a deep reading of the site. How do you approach materiality in new geographies—especially when working across cultures, as in the Qatar Pavilion?

Lina Ghotmeh: For me, materiality is an inherent part of the making of any architecture. In every geography we search and listen to the geology, the vernacular practices, technologies and seek local artisans. In Venice, we explored the rich stones from Verona, and the recycled Murano glass. We also considered the climate and ecology of the lagoon—its humidity, salt air, flooding. This sensitivity, and awareness, allows us to work with the place, rather than impose upon it. And when bridging cultures, as in this case, we find ways for materials from Qatar and Italy to converse.

SCALE: What does collaboration look like in your studio? How do you work with researchers, engineers, and craftspeople to shape the narratives of your projects?

Lina Ghotmeh: Collaboration is core to my studio. It is structured like a collective workshop, a space where researchers, architects and designers all contribute equally to our architecture projects. We begin with intense research, often delving into archives, etymologies, geological data, even oral histories. Engineers help us push the limits of form and performance. And craftspeople bring intuition, material intelligence, and the spirit and care of the hand. This collective work allows us to create architecture that is layered, responsive, and human.

SCALE: Many of your recent projects emerge from or respond to regions facing social, political, or ecological crises. How do you think architecture can meaningfully respond to such contexts without becoming symbolic or superficial?

Lina Ghotmeh: Architecture must participate, rather than represent. Architecture can offer a form of repair, of grounding, most importantly of dignity. Architecture cannot solve every problem, but it can create spaces of possibility: spaces that gather people, that protect resources, that preserve memory. When we build with care, we also build hope and understanding.

Images Courtesy Qatar Museums and Lina Ghotmeh