FREESPACE

16th Venice Architecture Biennale Albanian Pavilion Competition Design Proposal

This intervention dissolves the spatial limitations of the existing room by introducing a series of bent vaults that pull visitors into a new circulatory journey.

The geometry reinterprets traditional Albanian arched portals—historical thresholds found in ancient citadels and the homes of Berat and Gjirokastër that naturally blur the lines between public and private, sheltered and exposed. By extruding these thresholds into a continuous elliptical form, the design creates an immersive architectural maze.

As these vaulted passageways intersect, they generate new spatial voids and offer a multiplicity of paths. Visitors are given the freedom to navigate their own experience, with the end of each vault acting either as an entry point or a contemplative space framing the work of contemporary Albanian artists.

Ultimately, the pavilion acts as both a freespace and a safespace. It is an environment that transcends physical boundaries, evoking our architectural history while creating an inspiring, uninhibited space for art and imagination.