The Australian Institute of Architects has announced "Lived In" as Australia's official contribution to the 20th Venice Architecture Biennale, to be held in Venice, Italy, from May 8 to November 21, 2027. Developed by Kerstin Thompson, Maryam Gusheh, Lee-Anne Khor, and Louise Wright of Monash Urban Lab at Monash University, the exhibition is based on the ongoing Housing Atlas of Australia research initiative. Presented in response to the Biennale's theme, Do Architecture – For the Possibility of Coexistence Facing a Real Reality, curated by Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, the exhibition will present a selection of Australian multi-dwelling housing projects through drawings, photographs, film, and data.
At the core of the exhibition is the Housing Atlas of Australia, a national research and teaching initiative established by Kerstin Thompson and developed collaboratively through Monash Urban Lab. The project has brought together educators, practitioners, and students from universities across Australia to document significant examples of multi-residential architecture spanning more than one hundred years. Participating institutions include Bond University, Adelaide University, Monash University, RMIT University, the University of Canberra, the University of Queensland, the University of Tasmania, the University of Western Australia, UNSW, and Western Sydney University, with additional contributors expected to join during the 2026–2027 research period.
Australia's history of modern urbanization has been shaped by a body of multi-dwelling architecture developed across the country. While Australia is often associated with a suburban identity, the exhibition notes that many Australians live in apartments and brings together examples of multi-dwelling housing documented through the Housing Atlas of Australia. Presented through drawings, data, photographs, and film, the exhibition will include both canonical and lesser-known projects, capturing their responses to context, climate, and culture while exploring how housing shapes, and is shaped by, everyday life.
Related Article
Swiss Pavilion Examines Water as Resource, Subject, and Legal Entity at the 2027 Venice Architecture BiennaleThe Australian Institute of Architects selected the exhibition following a national call for research-led proposals from Australian schools of architecture. Twenty-one submissions representing eleven institutions were reviewed by a selection panel comprising Adam Haddow, Senlina Mayer, Candice Halliday, Cameron Bruhn, and Michelle Newton. Commenting on the selection, the Institute's 2025–2026 National President, Adam Haddow, said Australia is facing "urgent questions about housing, density, affordability, climate and the future of our cities," adding that architecture has a critical role in these discussions "not only through design, but through the lessons embedded in the housing we already have." Chris Brisbin, President of the Association of Architecture Schools of Australasia (AASA), noted that involving Australia's schools of architecture in the selection process expands the Biennale's capacity to engage practitioners, academics, and students while creating longer-term impact beyond the exhibition itself.
Lived In will be presented at the Australian Pavilion as part of the 20th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, before traveling to Australia in 2028 through a partnership between the Australian Institute of Architects and Museums of History NSW. The announcement follows Australia's participation in the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale with HOME, curated by Kate Goodwin and Philip Goad, which examined the evolving nature of the Australian home through a full-scale installation exploring domestic space and adaptability. Other recent announcements for national contributions to the 2027 Biennale include Iceland's SOAK: Rituals of Collective Belonging, which explores bathing culture through architecture and social interaction, and Switzerland's pavilion curated by Paola Viganò, which examines water as an ecological and territorial condition.
We invite you to check out ArchDaily's comprehensive coverage of the 2027 Venice Biennale.
