Lead Architects Of Dubai-based Design Firm Set To Curate National Pavilion UAE At The 2020 Venice Biennale

The exhibition will address sustainability and the use of salt as a local building material

Following over 90 submissions, principal architects of Dubai-based architecture and interior design practice Ibda Design, Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto, are set to curate the National Pavilion UAE at the 2020 Venice Biennale.

The focus of the exhibition will be on promoting sustainability by using locally-sourced sea salt as a building material, exploring the ways this could benefit desert environments such as Dubai.

Wael Alawar. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE

“Our approach to design interweaves natural light, time, structure, and landscape with architecture,” say Al Awar and Teramoto. “We are continually inspired by natural phenomena and the ways in which architects can adapt organic materials to create sustainable designs.”

The 2020 Biennale will shed light on architecture and its power to unite cultures and promote social, economic and political wellbeing. On 23 May until 29 November 2020, Ibda Design’s exhibition will be presented by the National Pavilion UAE at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition with the overarching theme of How Will We Live Together. This will mark the UAE’s tenth exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

Kenichi Teramoto. Image courtesy of National Pavilion UAE

“Salt is a geologically fascinating substance as well as one of the UAE’s most abundant natural resources, and through our exhibition we’ll explore its potential as an environmentally-friendly building material,” Al Awar and Teramoto add.

The National Pavilion UAE has been commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development.

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