Saudi Arabia’s advocating voice

From Venice to Milan, Saudi Arabia presents a bold architectural narrative across three major exhibitions—spotlighting Riyadh’s evolving urban identity, the cultural richness of Al Ahsa at the Triennale Milano, and the adaptive potential of musallas at the Venice Architecture Biennale’s AlMusalla Prize exhibition.

Saudi Arabia’s Umm Slaim School shines at Venice Architecture Biennale

Saudi Arabia is in the midst of great urban, social and economic change. While it undergoes this transformation, a duo of architects Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi of Syn Architects based in Riyadh explore Riyadh’s architectural heritage and its relationship to urban and ecological resilience, highlighting how traditional building techniques can address global challenges, especially climate change.

Presented at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, titled this edition “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective” and curated by Carlo Ratti, the Saudi pavilion is curated by Beatrice Leanza and assisted by Sara Almutlaq and offers a thought-provoking collection of installations, drawings and photographs capturing various areas in Riyadh and its traditional architecture amid moments of change.

“The Um Slaim School is a foundation for an alternative approach to architectural re-imagining through spatial narratives and materiality,” Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi say in the opening press release. “This pavilion will invite a collective retelling of our effect on the environments we inhabit and our urban histories. Our interest lies in that symbiosis, how our values and ideas shape our world, and how the parameters of our landscapes influence that shaping.”

Founded in 2021, the Um Slaim Collective presents the evolution of traditional Najdi architecture in central Riyadh, bringing together preservation with contemporary practices.

“The Um Slaim School represents a critical response to Venice Biennale's call to integrating multiple forms of intelligence—natural, artificial, and collective—in reshaping our built environment,” said Sara Alissa and Nojoud AlSudairi, Syn Architects. “We wanted The Um Slaim School to embody a generational shift towards collective spatial practices that cultivates an architectural ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and builds on the spatial knowledge of the past. It also seeks to develop a local knowledge that contributes to global discussions on urgent social, economic, and environmental challenges.”

The exhibition in Venice incorporates archival and contemporary works to explore how traditional and modern narratives can shape daily life in the city.

“Through the Um Slaim School, we aim to strengthen architecture's connection with diverse stakeholders shaping future urban agenda,” Alissa and AlSudairi state. “This alternative pedagogical initiative will aim to foster local, regional, and international collaboration, emphasizing context, community, and care.”

The Umm Slaim Collective in Venice comprises three components: an exhibition, a program of laboratorial and public sessions unfolding during the Biennale, and a concluding publication of collated outcomes intended as a proof of concept for concrete application after the Biennale.

 On display in the pavilion are three new commissions by long-term collaborators of the Um Slaim Collective: a series by architecture photographer Laurian Ghinițoiu, a sonic scape by musician and composer Mohammed Alhamdan, and an installation by artist Maha Malluh.

As the architects put it: “By rethinking systems and spaces in which individuals learn, in response to our rapidly changing climate reality, we hope to inspire and raise awareness of sustainable architectural practices throughout the region and beyond.”

Maghras, a farm for experimentation

Al Ahsa, agricultural oasis located in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, is the focus of the Kingdom’s debut participation at the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition in Milan. Staged by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia, the showcase is dedicated to the region which has been inhabited since the third millennium BCE and recognized as the world’s largest and oldest oasis. Al Ahsa is also a UNESCO World Heritage site undergoing rapid transformation and the exhibition staged by Saudi Arabia, titled  “Maghras, A Farm for Experimentation,” reflects the Triennale’s theme this year of “Inequalities” looking at the urgent socio-economic and environmental concerns facing the planet.

The pavilion, which opened on May 13 and runs until November 9, is curated by Lulu Almana and Sara Al Omran with Alejandro Stein as Creative Director and showcases a space that combines both artistic interventions, programming and research to investigate the challenges as well as intimate connections between land, labor, and memory in Al Ahsa.

“We believe exhibitions at global stages such as the Venice Biennale and Milan Triennale help showcasing Saudi Arabia's unique position in exploring and confronting present climate challenges,” said the curators Almana and Al Omran. “Both pavilions emerge from deep engagement with our distinctive landscapes and traditional knowledge systems.”

The curators said their vision to invite “reconsideration of inherited practices and decentralized sources of knowledge as vital tools for resilience building.”

Through site-responsive commissions, research, and community engagement, they engaged practitioners and the community in a dialogue on the transformation of one of the world's largest oases as it faces challenges of groundwater depletion and desertification. The pavilion additionally explores how inherited farming practices, as well as cultural rituals involving crafts, songs, myths, are tethered to an ecology that is in flux.

Maghras presents findings developed during a year-long working program in Al Ahsa where cultural practitioners, architects, researchers, and community members were invited to explore and respond to the evolution of the landscape of the oasis and reflect ways in which its natural environment shapes the region’s ecological and cultural narratives.

The resulting pavilion in Milan presents learnings from this extended intervention, including three new commissions: a work by Leen Ajlan, an architectural designer from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, working at the intersection of spatial design, cultural narratives, and material experimentation. Composed entirely of farming byproduct waste, Ajlan’s piece interrogates the expansion of agrarian monoculture and the impact of artificial fertilizers. There’s also a multimedia film installation by Mohammed Alfaraj, a visual artist from Al Ahsa through which he re-imagines the local folk tale of a village landmark. Lastly, a there is also sonic essay by Sawtasura, a socially engaged research platform dedicated to non-tangible heritage and art forms in the Arab Gulf and wider region presenting work that ​​stems from recordings and conversations revolving around women’s oral histories and sonic memory as forms of environmental knowledge.

“The exhibition represents our commitment to place-based design approaches that invite reflections on Al Ahsa's ecological and cultural narratives while confronting contemporary challenges,” they added. “As a nation that is adept in adapting to extreme heat and aridity, our heritage has a lot of valuable lessons to offer at a time when the world increasingly faces similar conditions. The pavilion positions Al Ahsa as a lens through which global conditions of fragility, adaptation and renewal might be rethought.”

AlMusalla Prize’s Rooted Transience at the Venice Biennale

Beyond Saudi Arabia‘s standout presence with two remarkable contributions in both Venice and Milan, the Kingdom unveils Rooted Transience, an exhibition showcasing the winning design for the inaugural AlMusalla Prize 2025, as a Collateral Event of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Faysal Tabbarah and presented by The Diriyah Biennale Foundation at the Abbazia Di San Gregorio, Rooted Transience includes full-scale fragments of the AlMusalla Prize’s winning design by EAST Architecture Studio in collaboration with artist Rayyane Tabet and engineering firm AKT II and, alongside works from shortlisted firms AAU Anastas, Asif Khan, Dabbagh Architects, and Office of Sahel AlHiyari for Architecture.

“By bringing these full-scale fragments of AlMusalla to the Abbazia Di San Gregorio, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation is essentially continuing the narrative of cultural exchange that has been central to Islamic architectural traditions throughout history,” explains Prince Nawaf bin Ayyaf, jury chair of the AlMusalla Prize. “Venice, much like Jeddah, represents a historical crossroads of civilisations. It’s a setting that allows us to expand the conversation about how architectural practices rooted in transience and adaptability can reshape our understanding of built environments,” he adds.

Rooted Transience carries forward the core ideals of On Weaving from the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, through its celebration of adaptability, sustainability, and cultural dialogue. “What started in Jeddah as a prize-winning design that honored Saudi traditions, by utilizing palm tree waste as primary building material and incorporating traditional weaving techniques, now finds a new home in Venice. By bringing these full-scale fragments of AlMusalla to the Abbazia Di San Gregorio, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation is essentially continuing the narrative of cultural exchange that has been central to Islamic architectural traditions throughout history,” Prince Nawaf explains.

AlMusalla typology resonates deeply with the theme of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale: "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective."- And, as Prince Nawaf sees it, profoundly embodies its essence. “The "Natural" aspect is evident in AlMusalla’s use of sustainable materials, transforming what would normally be discarded into the primary building material. This approach demonstrates an intelligence that has been inherent in vernacular architectural practices for centuries, where local materials are employed with remarkable ingenuity. Then the "Artificial" dimension comes through in how these traditional techniques are adapted and enhanced through contemporary design methodologies and engineering solutions,” he explains.

At the heart of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Rooted Transience and the Saudi National Pavilion engage in a compelling dialogue- each offer a complementary exploration of architectural heritage and innovation. “The two exhibitions intersect in their approach to tradition as a living resource rather than a static artifact. Both look to historical building practices not with nostalgia, but as sources of wisdom for addressing contemporary challenges. I believe, together, these exhibitions demonstrate Saudi Arabia's commitment to advancing architectural discourse that honors our cultural heritage while responding to urgent social and environmental concerns, “says Prince Nawaf.

Addressing the urgent need for adaptation in the face of environmental crises lies at the heart of this year’s edition of the international exhibition, and Rooted Transience - as a Collateral Event-  contributes meaningfully to the broader conversation on the evolving role of architecture in addressing global challenges and promoting a more sustainable and interconnected future. “The exhibition assigns a multifaceted role to architecture in the sense that it must be environmentally conscious, socially responsive, and culturally resonant. By learning from vernacular traditions that have evolved over centuries to address local climatic conditions, architecture can become more adaptive and resilient,” stresses Prince Nawaf. “From the very beginning, sustainability was an important factor in our decision-making process for the inaugural AlMusalla Prize. We set out on a mission to create a sustainable project that would function and thrive beyond the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025,” he adds.

Rooted Transience not only reinforces Saudi Arabia’s growing role on the global creative landscape, but also highlights how traditional architectural practices grounded in sustainability, impermanence, and flexibility can inspire fresh ideas and solutions for tomorrow, underscoring the Kingdom’s broader commitment to shaping the future of architecture in an era of climate uncertainty.