Bahrain's Golden Lion-winning pavilion features ceiling designed to cool construction workers

The Bahrain Pavilion at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, which won the Golden Lion award for best pavilion, aimed to address rising global temperatures by suspending a cooling ceiling over seating.

Named Heatwave, the pavilion features a central column connected to chains that support a square-shaped ceiling, which hangs over and provides cooling to the area underneath.

Structurally engineered by Mario Monotti with thermomechanical expertise by Alexander Puzrin, Heatwave was designed as one modular unit that could be reproduced at larger scales to provide cooling for public spaces.

The biennale installation, located in the Arsenale, was specifically focused on providing cooling for people working labour-intensive jobs outdoors and on construction sites, with seats made from sandbags surrounding the perimeter.

The Bahrain Pavilion was curated by architect Andrea Faraguna who argues that providing public spaces with climate comfort is a form of social equity.

It was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale.

At the ceremony, which took place on Saturday, pavilion commissioner Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said the pavilion addresses issues of rising temperatures in Bahrain and the rest of the world.

"The theme of the pavilion is a very relevant subject, not just to Bahrain but on a global scale," said Al Khalifa when accepting the Golden Lion award.

"The term heatwave is a very common term we hear in the media, in news and even amongst our conversations at home," he continued.

"It is a stress to our urban centres and local communities, and the pavilion aimed to address those issues through an innovative technique."

Drawing from traditional Bahraini cooling techniques, the pavilion included designs for a similar installation that would passively cool public spaces.

In the proposal, a geothermal well and solar chimney would connect outdoor air with conditions underground, forming a microclimate in the space between the installation's floor and ceiling.

In the Heatwave installation presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale, excavating a geothermal well was not possible. Instead, mechanical ventilation was used to cool the area under the ceiling.

A publication of essays, surveys and research on heatwaves was also presented alongside the pavilion installation.

We recently rounded up 10 must-see national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale, including renovation works made visible at the Danish Pavilion, a sports bar inside the Dutch Pavilion and a mass-timber canopy outside the US Pavilion.

The photography is by Ishaq Madan.

The Venice Architecture Biennale takes place from 10 May to 23 November 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest information you need to know to attend the event, as well as a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Bahrain's Golden Lion-winning pavilion features ceiling designed to cool construction workers appeared first on Dezeen.