The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens”

At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia 2025, the collateral event titled "NON-Belief: Taiwan Intelligens of Precarity" is curated by Cheng-Luen Hsueh and co-curators Ping-Sheng Wu, Meng-Tsun Su, and Sung-Chang Leo Chiang, working alongside a team from the NCKU Department of Architecture. In line with the Biennale's main theme, "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.", the exhibition explores the idea of "precarious intelligens," a form of resilience shaped by the intersection of natural disasters, geopolitical challenges, globalization, and an uncertain future.

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 2 of 19The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 3 of 19The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 4 of 19The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 5 of 19The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - More Images+ 14

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 7 of 19
Landscape In-Between Exhibitor Name: Ping-Sheng WU, Shih-Hua YEN, Po-Min KUNG Exhibition Teams: Yi-Hsien TSENG, Yen-Shan LEE, Xiao-Pei CHANG, Yi-Fang LAI, Ting-Chen WU, Tsai-Yu HUANG, Po-Yuan SU, Jasmine KUO. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.

Curator Cheng-Lun Hsueh notes that beliefs in Taiwan often emerge and shift rapidly, reflecting a perceptual fluidity shaped by the island's experience with frequent seismic activity, typhoons, its strategic position between China, Japan, and Western trade routes, and a complex political history marked by regime changes. The exhibition reframes "precarity" as a positive framework for reflecting on and critiquing globalization. While engaging with global issues related to technology and environmental sustainability, it positions Taiwan as a technological island defined by resilience in the face of political instability and ecological vulnerability. The exhibition highlights how this context fosters new architectural approaches that emphasize the resilient practices and potential of Taiwan's intelligens.

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 10 of 19
TECH-island Exhibition Teams: H2O Studio. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.

The NON-Belief: Taiwan Intelligens of Precarity brings together faculty and students from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) alongside practicing architects, forming numerous teams to present a collaborative body of research rooted in architectural practice. Through multi-scalar studies and prototype development, the exhibition addresses the future of architecture with an emphasis on real-world applications. The works collectively examine the ambiguous space between belief and non-belief in the governance of space, shaped by advanced technology, rapid development, and control. At the same time, the exhibition is structured around four interconnected thematic frameworks: "Tactical Interdependence," "Infrastructural Flux," "Embodied Resilience," and "Adaptive Assemblage." These themes offer a critical lens for engaging with the presented projects and understanding the broader narrative of the exhibition.


Related Article

Venice Architecture City Guide: 15 Historical and Contemporary Attractions to Discover in Italy’s City of Canals

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 15 of 19
Urban Spectacle Exhibitor Name: Wei TSENG, Jeong-Der HO Exhibition Teams: Tunghai University Department of Architecture. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.

Among the highlights, Border Elasticity reimagines the Tainan Railway Underground Project through a participatory installation using transparent acrylic sticks, reminiscent of incense sticks used in worship, encouraging public engagement in urban planning processes. Climate Justice highlights the urban heat island effect in Tainan with an installation resembling a ritual offering table, built from high-tech electronic paper screens, that visualizes temperature data controlled by integrated chips. The work invites visitors to reflect on the disparities between the belief in a "tech-island" and the pursuit of an "eco-island." Tāi-uân and Venice: The Embodied Intelligens of Two Island Republics draws parallels between Tainan and Venice, transforming spatial practices through a reinterpretation of roadside banquets and storefront architecture. Additionally, this year's Biennale curator, Carlo Ratti, contributes to the exhibition with Path of Knowledge – Southern Branch of the National Central Library, envisioning a library ramp as a space for spontaneous social and intellectual encounters, reframing traditional hierarchies of knowledge circulation into a collective "human intelligens."

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 6 of 19
H2O Studio, NON-Belief in TECHisland (Exhibition space), 2024, E-paper, Honeycomb Paper, Steel Structure, Digital rendering and laser cutting. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.
The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 12 of 19
H2O Studio, NON-Belief in TECHisland (Exhibition space), 2024, E-paper, Honeycomb Paper, Steel Structure, Digital rendering and laser cutting. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.

The exhibition space design centers around the concept of the "island," with a focal installation titled TECH-island. This installation features looping images of Taiwan's landscape displayed on E Ink electronic paper screens, which visualize the impacts of technological advancements on the island's environment. Surrounding the central installation, each architectural proposal is presented through models, research booklets, and QR codes linking to videos, offering visitors an opportunity for a deeper exploration of the projects. A key feature of the exhibition is the Votive Lamp Wall, which juxtaposes traditional religious symbols with modern technological elements. The front of the installation showcases votive lamps with deity figures, while the back is lined with circuit boards, glowing chips, and wires, symbolizing the shift from traditional faith to a future mediated by technology.

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 2 of 19
Old Town - [Railway Station] - Science Park Exhibitor Name: Ho-Ling CHANG, Li-Wen SUNG Exhibition Teams: AECOM︱hLc Architect + Li-Wen Sung. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.

Taiwan's participation in the Biennale also features a series of international forums during the preview period. Topics include "Architectural Pedagogy," focusing on the exchange between Taiwan and Università IUAV di Venezia; "Living Future Part I_Town and Gown," which examines the intersection of higher education and industrial innovation; and "Curating Precarity_Museum of the Future," comparing approaches between Taiwan and France. Additional forums such as "Inside Outside_Navigating Precarity and Global Flux" will bring together prominent architects from Taiwan and beyond, while "Taiwan Intelligens of Precarity" offers a guided exhibition tour. Director Sung-Chang Leo Chiang will lead a discussion on "Inhabiting Taiwan's Geopolitics Through Moving Images," exploring Taiwan's complex geopolitical identity. In addition, the Department of Architecture at National Cheng Kung University will host the "International Summer Workshop on Resilient Architecture" in Venice this July.

The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 3 of 19
Qigu Floating Escape Exhibitor Name: Shih-Cheng YANG Exhibition Teams: IHES Design. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.
The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens” - Image 4 of 19
Tāi-uân and Venice: The Embodied Intelligens of Two Island Republics Exhibitor Name: Cheng-Luen HSUEH, Brian McGRATH Exhibition Teams: NCKU ARCH x Parsons. Image Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.

The 2025 edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale will run from May 10 to November 23. Many other countries have revealed the details for the national pavilions. The installation and exhibition representing Estonia questions massive insulation projects through a façade installation, Brazil's exhibition (RE)INVENTION reflects on the recent archaeological discovery of ancestral infrastructure in the Amazon, the German Pavilion will explore how urban environments can adapt to rising temperatures, testing the resilience of cities in a warming world, and Uruguay's 53.86% Uruguay, Land of Water examines the intrinsic relationship between architecture, territory, and water.

We invite you to check out ArchDaily's comprehensive coverage of the 2025 Venice Biennale.

Image gallery

See allShow less
About this author
Cite: Reyyan Dogan. "The Taiwan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale Explores the “Precarious Intelligens”" 28 Apr 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1029584/the-taiwan-pavilion-at-the-2025-venice-biennale-explores-the-precarious-intelligens> ISSN 0719-8884

You've started following your first account!

Did you know?

You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.