23 Jul ALPS. ARCHITECTURE. SOUTH TYROL.
In the prestigious location of Palazzo Cavanis, in Venice, the exhibition organised by Merano Arte in collaboration with the South Tyrol Architecture Foundation and the Südtiroler Künstlerbund. Among the projects on display is the Waldheim house in Monticolo, designed by Busselli Scherer.
When: 10 May – 23 November 2025
Where: Palazzo Cavanis, Fondamenta Zattere 920, 30123 Venice
Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday: 12 noon – 7 p.m.
Following its presentation in Merano, the exhibition “Recent Architecture in South Tyrol 2018-2024”, curated by architect Filippo Bricolo, is being re-proposed under the new title ALPS. ARCHITECTURE. SOUTH TYROL. at Palazzo Cavanis in Venice, in conjunction with the 2025 Architecture Biennale.
ALPS. ARCHITECTURE. SOUTH TYROL. presents an inventory of projects documenting the architectural landscape that developed in South Tyrol between 2018 and 2024. The exhibition recounts the recent architectural history of the region and reflects the ongoing transformations of the urban landscape. The selection of projects was curated by an international jury composed of curator Filippo Bricolo (Italy), architect (Bricolo Falsarella Architetti) and professor at the Politecnico di Milano, alongside Annette Spiro (Switzerland), architect (Spiro + Gantenbein Architekten ETH/SIA AG) and full professor of architecture and construction at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), and Elisa Valero Ramos (Spain), architect and professor of architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura of the University of Granada. The three members of the jury first carried out a pre-selection of the more than 240 projects received; after an on-site visit to numerous structures, 28 main projects were chosen, which will be presented in detail, alongside a second group of 28 others, which will be featured in the exhibition and catalogue in a more reduced form.
The jury’s selection criteria are in line with the theme of this year’s Architecture Biennale, Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective, chosen by curator Carlo Ratti. On the one hand, the exhibition addresses the central question posed by Filippo Bricolo, namely whether there is such a thing as South Tyrolean architecture and what its distinctive features are; on the other hand, it deals with the guiding themes of the Biennale. At the heart of the exhibition are projects that stand out for their sustainable planning, careful restoration of urban centres and the most prudent use of resources, landscape and materials possible – aspects that characterise the cultural change in the region’s architectural sector and which are explored in depth in the 28 main projects. As part of the exhibition, a programme of talks, workshops and evening events is planned in the inner courtyard of Palazzo Cavanis, including meetings with architects from the studios involved, with interesting insights.
Traditionally conceived as a travelling exhibition and usually presented in various venues across Central Europe, the architecture exhibition organised by Kunst Meran Merano Arte is now setting off on a journey to Venice. Georg Klotzner, president of the Merano art association and creator of the ALPS. ARCHITECTURE. SOUTH TYROL. project, said, “The thematic proximity to this year’s Biennale offers a valuable opportunity to present the architectural diversity of South Tyrol to an international audience of experts. Encouraged by the positive response our architecture exhibitions have received nationally and internationally, we are convinced that South Tyrolean architecture can successfully hold its own in comparison with other regions in the Alps and beyond.”