Ukraine has selected the project that will represent the country at the 20th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The winner of the open competition is the pavilion CO-HATY. A Sea of Questions, created by the NGO METALAB, which explores architecture in the context of prolonged war, the revitalization of abandoned buildings, and new models of living for internally displaced people.
The results of the competition were announced by the Ukrainian Institute.
The exhibition is based on the CO-HATY initiative, which since 2022 has been restoring abandoned buildings and transforming them into housing for internally displaced Ukrainians. According to the project's creators, the initiative goes beyond addressing the housing crisis and examines architecture as a tool for building communities, trust, and mutual support during a prolonged war.
The pavilion asks whether society can afford to create spaces for joy, rest, and beauty while the war continues with no clear end in sight. Its central metaphor is the question, "Can we swim yet?", while a swimming pool symbolizes not only the right to safe housing but also the right to dignity, leisure, and a normal life.
The concept draws on the revitalization of a former kindergarten in the city of Kalush, where more than 100 people now live. Visitors to the pavilion will enter a space featuring a shallow, dark pool accompanied by video installations by filmmaker Nadiia Parfan, portraying the daily life of the community.
The project will unfold simultaneously in two locations. In Venice, it will host international discussions on architecture during wartime, while in Kalush, the practical work with the local community that inspired the exhibition will continue.
The winning project was selected by an international jury comprising former commissioner of the Ukrainian Pavilion Tetiana Filevska; Sevra Davis, Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at the British Council and commissioner of the British Pavilion; French architect Martin Duplantier; Oleksii Petrov, co-founder of the FORMA architecture bureau; and architect and artist Bohdana Kosmina.
The 20th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will run from May 8 to November 21, 2027, with preview days on May 6–7. The exhibition will be curated by Chinese architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu.
