DUBAI: The National Pavilion UAE has been awarded the Golden Lion Award this week for best national participation at Venice’s 2021 La Biennale Architettura.
“Wetland,” which is the pavilion’s 10th participation at the event curated by Wael Al-Awar and Kenichi Teramoto, presents a prototype of an environmentally friendly salt-based cement alternative from recycled industrial waste brine. It could reduce the impact the construction industry has on the environment.
It was selected by the jury for being “a bold experiment that encourages us to think about the relationship between waste and production on a local and global scale, and opens us to new construction possibilities between craft and high-technology,” said festival President Kazuyo Sejima at the ceremony.
The exhibition will remain on display until Nov. 2021.
Al-Awar accepted the award on behalf of the pavilion. (Supplied)
According to a released statement, the coordinating director of the National Pavilion UAE Laila Binbrek said: “Following ten exceptionally thought-driven and creative exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, National Pavilion UAE is honored to be chosen for the Golden Lion Award for best National Participation out of 60 national pavilions.
“This is a testament to the work we have been doing to contribute to the UAE’s evolving art ecosystem, and a recognition of our continued efforts to tell the UAE’s untold stories in a globally relevant way,” added Binbrek.
Al-Awar, who accepted the award on behalf of the pavilion at the ceremony said: “We are honored to accept this award.
We are very proud and humbled as we continue to spotlight potential solutions to global issues and move towards the future.”
This is the second time a country in the region has won the Golden Lion Award. In 2010, Bahrain won the same award at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition.
