Venice: Drystone walls invite us to reconsider architecture as an act of dialogue, Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr. Vasiliki Kassianidou, said in her address at the official inauguration of the Cyprus Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
According to Cyprus News Agency, since its inaugural edition in 1980, ‘La Biennale Architettura’ has constantly reinvented itself. Kassianidou noted that this year, under Carlo Ratti’s visionary direction, the Biennale challenges us to contemplate the responsibility of Architecture to safeguard our planet and respond to the constantly evolving human needs, drawing on the wisdom of age-old practices.
Within this context, she pointed out that Cyprus offers a human-centred proposal that is both lyrical and profound: ‘(to the stones) we lent you our breath and you whispered it back to the earth.’ Kassianidou said that the title alone invites us into a meditation on reciprocity between humanity and material, between past and present, between creation and decay.
Speaking of the ancient tradition of drystone technique, which is a UNESCO-recognized Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity, the Deputy Minister of Culture explained that these stones, stacked without mortar, are more than a feat of engineering; they are a testament to harmony – between human hands and the earth, between necessity and artistry. In Cyprus, drystone walls stitch together landscapes, shelter crops, and whisper stories of communal labor and resilience. Today, they invite us to reconsider architecture as an act of dialogue: a slow, patient exchange with the land that refuses exploitation.
Stones and drystone walls have been used as foundations of Cypriot villages since the Neolithic era, to build monumental edifices such as ancient temples, Frankish fortresses, Venetian fortification walls, and terrace walls that hold the soil in place all over the Troodos mountains. These bear witness to the resilience of the Cypriot people, Kassianidou pointed out.
Yet today, as the climate crisis reshapes our relationship with the earth, this exhibition compels us to ask: How do we build in an era of fragility? How might architecture honor the past while embracing its role as steward of the future? Kassianidou stated that the pavilion does not merely pose these questions; it embodies them, weaving tradition with innovation to suggest a language of care, adaptability, and dialogue with the natural world.
Speaking of the Cypriot curatorial team, consisting of Sevina Floridou, Aaron Gatt Nicola Mitropoulou, Clara Zinecker, Ioulita Toumazi, Seta Astreou-Karydes, and Miriam Gatt, the architects, artists, and the participating drystone artisans, Kassianidou said that their work reminds us that architecture is never neutral; it is a testament to who we are and who we aspire to be.