List of winners of the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale of Architecture

These national pavilions and their authors have won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

History In 1996, the 6th International Architecture Exhibition, directed by Hans Hollein, introduced the Golden Lion for Best National Participant and the then-called Golden Lion for Best Interpretation of Exhibition. However, the following edition, held in 2000, awarded a "Special Prize for Best National Participant" instead.

In 2004, the award was reinstated as a Golden Lion. Two years later, it adopted its current name: Golden Lion for Best National Participation.

In 2014, the jury awarded an exceptional Silver Lion for Best National Participation to the Chilean pavilion, «Monolith Controversies», curated by Pedro Alonso and Hugo Palmarola.

As of 2025, 11 countries have received the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Japan (1996, 2012), Spain (2000, 2016), and Bahrain (2010, 2025) have each won the award twice.

Winners +YearCountryTitleCurator(s)Ref.1996Japan2000Spain2002NetherlandsHerman Hertzberger, Folkert Stropsma, Dickens van der Werff, Tjeerd van de Sandt2004BelgiumKinshasa, the Imaginary CityFilip De Boeck and Koen Van Synghel2006DenmarkCO-EVOLUTIONHenrik ValeurAbout CO-EVOLUTION , Danish Architecture Centre. Retrieved on September 16, 2015.2008PolandHotel Polonia. The afterlife of buildingsNicolas Grospierre and Kobas Laksa2010BahrainReclaimNoura Al-sayeh and Fuad Al-ansari2012JapanArchitecture, possible here? Home-for-AllToyo Ito2014South KoreaCrow's Eye View: The Korean PeninsulaMinsuk Cho, Hyungmin Pai, and Changmo Ahn2016SpainUNFINISHEDCarlos Quintáns and Iñaqui Carnicero2018SwitzerlandSvizzera 240: House TourAlessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg and Ani Vihervaara2021UAEWetlandWael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto2023BrazilTerra Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares2025BahrainHeatwaveAndrea Faraguna

See also Venice Biennale of Architecture List of Venice Biennale of Architecture exhibitions List of winners of the Golden Lion for Best Participation in the International Exhibition at the Venice Biennale of Architecture

References