Spain Pavilion Venice Biennale 19: Internalities: Spain Pavilion in Venice – Cartographies of an Architecture in Transition

Every two years, the Venice Architecture Biennale becomes the ultimate global barometer of our discipline. National pavilions act as cultural embassies, distilling in a few square meters the concerns, research, and proposals that define each country’s architectural landscape.

Following the presentation of the Spain Pavilion for the 19th edition, titled Internalities: Architectures for Territorial Equilibrium and curated by Roi Salgueiro and Manuel Bouzas, the exhibition explores how Spanish architecture can reduce its environmental impact (externalities) and move towards decarbonization.

Far from seeking an easy headline or a single iconic image, the proposal of Internalities seems to immerse itself in the diversity of strategies that the country’s architecture and urbanism are developing to navigate contemporary uncertainties.

The presentation suggests a holistic approach, a polyphony of voices addressing issues ranging from the climate crisis and resource scarcity to new models of coexistence and the relationship between technology and territory.

Beyond Form: Processes and Territories

The curatorial narrative deliberately moves away from formal spectacle to focus on the ethical and operational dimensions of architecture. It encourages reflection on how we design and build, emphasizing the chain of decisions that shape our built environment.

“Internalities presents an architecture that responds to environmental externalities with the goal of reversing them. Through various proposals, it seeks to explore how architects can aspire not to depend on intercontinental resource traffic but to internally balance the relationships between ecologies and economies.” — Internalities Press Dossier

The central concept, Internalities, contrasts with Externalities (indirect costs such as CO₂ emissions in construction) and proposes an architecture that internalizes processes, using local, regenerative, and low-carbon resources—reconnecting buildings with the territories from which their materials originate.

Aligning with the Biennale’s general theme (“Intelligens…”) proposed by Carlo Ratti, the pavilion showcases architectural intelligence applied to the climate crisis. It highlights the work of a new generation of Spanish architects seeking to balance ecology and economy.

The exhibition is structured around five research axes for decarbonization (Materials, Energy, Trades, Waste, and Emissions), each studied by a dedicated team of architects and photographers in a specific Spanish region. The project has government support and is sponsored by FINSA.

The BIM Connection: Managing Adaptive Complexity

Since the pavilion explores adaptation and resilience as thematic pillars, it is inevitable to consider how tools and workflows such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) become crucial.

This is not (or should not be) about including BIM as an exhibition topic per se but recognizing that many of the adaptive and efficient architectures likely to be represented depend significantly on information management and multidisciplinary collaboration, which BIM greatly facilitates.

The ability to simulate scenarios (energy, structural, usage), manage complex data throughout a building’s lifecycle, optimize resources, and precisely coordinate multiple stakeholders are intrinsic qualities of the BIM methodology. These capabilities are fundamental to addressing the very challenges the pavilion puts forward.

Thinking about adaptive territories, circular economies applied to construction, or parametric designs that dynamically respond to the environment implies handling an amount and complexity of information that traditional tools can hardly manage with the same efficiency. BIM, understood not only as software but as a collaborative data-driven methodology, thus becomes a silent yet powerful enabler of the more conscious and resilient architecture that Spain seeks to project in Venice.

An Invitation to Critical Reflection

Spain’s Pavilion at the 19th Venice Biennale promises an introspective and pluralistic exhibition. It seems to use Venice’s platform not just to showcase work but to raise questions about architecture’s role in contemporary society. It will be an opportunity to see how a generation of Spanish architects and urban planners is responding—with ingenuity and responsibility—to the urgent need to design not only spaces but more sustainable and equitable futures.