la biennale di venezia reveals reimagined main structure
La Biennale di Venezia reveals its fully refurbished Central Structure at the Giardini, completing a 16-month intervention just ahead of the 2026 Art Biennale. The project revamps one of the exhibit’s most historically layered buildings into a spatially coherent and technically incorporated environment. The restored structure will host In Minor Keys, the upcoming exhibit curated by Koyo Kouoh, opening to the public on May 9th, 2026.
The group approaches the Central Structure as a layered architectural organism. Through succeeding additions and modifications, accumulated over more than a century, are restructured into an understandable spatial system. The intervention clarifies blood circulation and hierarchy, positioning the Sala Chini as the primary circulation node from which exhibition areas unfold.
A ring of public-facing functions, including a bookshop, lunchroom, educational spaces, and technical areas, is set up around the core galleries. These service spaces are dealt with as unique components, allowing the exhibit spaces to operate as flexible environments. Conceived as white box galleries, they are fully freed from noticeable technical systems, which are now embedded within walls and ceilings.
Central Structure refurbished with funding from the Ministry of Culture as part of the PNC under the PNRR|all images by Marco Cappelletti/ Marco Cappelletti Studio, courtesy La Biennale di Venezia/ MiC from collected layers to spatial clarity The job embraces a vital technique that chooses, analyzes, and rearranges historic layers. Initial components of the Central Structure such as the windows designed by Carlo Scarpa are restored and reinstalled, while the Sala Brenno del Giudice is reconfigured according to its 1928 spatial reasoning. Openings towards the canal-facing terrace are also restored, restoring visual and physical connections with the Giardini. Instead of preserving all traces indiscriminately, the intervention filters the history of the Biennale’s building, getting rid of incongruous additions while maintaining its structural and spatial memory.
2 new external structures reinterpret the conventional Venetian altana. Positioned adjacent to the snack bar and a multifunctional hall, these light-weight additions extend the pavilion outside without competing with its masonry mass. Built from carbonized laminated wood and X-LAM panels, they introduce a porous threshold in between interior and landscape, framing new relationships with the surrounding gardens.
Brand-new skylights integrate photovoltaic and diffused glass, supplying even natural lighting while contributing to on-site energy production. Operable modules allow natural ventilation, while motorized shading systems allow complete blackout when required. All technical infrastructure is hidden within the structure envelope, preserving spatial clearness. The project targets LEED Gold accreditation, aligning with wider sustainability requirements, consisting of energy performance, reduced emissions, and enhanced indoor ecological quality.
exhibition spaces the main pavilion as spatial and curatorial nucleus The Central Pavilion’s improvement reflects a longer historic shift within the Biennale itself. Initially built between 1894 and 1895 as the Palazzo Pro Arte, the building evolved throughout the 20th century into the Italian Structure, while continuing to host the exhibition’s
primary collective show. A decisive change happened in 1999 under Swiss curator Harald Szeemann, who presented the model of a unified worldwide exhibit curated as a particular task. Ever since, the structure has actually functioned as the main site for the Biennale’s curatorial story, distinct from the national pavilions distributed throughout the Giardini. Today, covering approximately 5,450 square meters within a 51,000-square-meter garden complex, the Central Pavilion combines its function as the spatial and conceptual anchor of the exhibit.
With building and construction completed in March 2026, setup works are now underway. The reopening of the Central Structure likewise marks a recalibration of how the Biennale phases its exhibitions, lining up a traditionally complicated structure with the spatial and technical demands of modern curatorial practice.
mezzanine view of the Sala Chini enfilade of exhibition rooms entryway hall Sala Brenno with Carlo Scarpa’s window garden seen from the multipurpose hall garden view from the exhibition spaces bookshop snack bar loggia
cafeteria loggia Cafeteria loggia from the Rio dei Giardini elevation dealing with the Rio dei Giardini 1/7 mezzanine portico facing the garden lunchroom counter interior of the snack bar cafeteria stairs causing the mezzanine view of the external portico dealing with the garden job details: name: Requalification of the Central Structure designers: BUROMILAN– Milan Ingegneria S.p.A.(
lead ), Labics S.r.l., arch. Fabio Fumagalli engineering and systems, ia2
Studio
Associato(MEP and fire security)place: Giardini
of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy|@labiennale geology: Francesco Aucone gross flooring area
: 5,450 square meters job management: Arianna Laurenzi(Head of Special
Projects, La Biennale di Venezia), RUP(responsabile unico del procedimento
)
, Cristiano Frizzele building guidance: Massimiliano Milan specialist: Setten Genesio S.p.A.