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Emir Šehanović, in collaboration with Ivan Šuković and Dejan Todorović, has been selected to represent Montenegro at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – Biennale Architettura 2025, in Venice. The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property of Montenegro, along with the Commissioner and Curator of the Montenegrin Pavilion, organized the competition to select a conceptual project for Montenegro’s participation.

The Biennale will take place from May 10th to November 23rd, 2025, during which Montenegro will mark its participation by opening the national pavilion in the ArteNova gallery space, located at Campo San Lorenzo in Venice.

Winning Project: Terram intelligere: INTERSTITIUM (Understanding the Land: Interstitium)

The authors distinguished themselves with their response to the national theme under which Montenegro presents itself at this year’s Biennale—“Understanding the Land”—delivering a fundamental, interdisciplinary project that fosters an understanding and learning across generations and species.

By analyzing the local spatial and cultural phenomenon of “boundaries” (međe)—a defining characteristic of Montenegro—the authors translated this concept into a constellation of inhabited, floating, polycarbonate forms. The resulting spatial structure embodies the dichotomies of past and future, art and science, society and nature, providing a space for encounters and dialogues on sustainable and resilient growth models for natural organisms, human interaction, and future architectural planning.

The architecture of these polycarbonate forms—and their entire constellation—emphasizes the mediatory role of architecture in the future world. It directly responds to Carlo Ratti’s question regarding architecture as an agent and tool for establishing connections between different species and worlds. The installation is conceived as a border space between art and science, bringing forth a micro-world exploration by populating the forms with specific bacterial cultures collected from Montenegrin locations. The project’s scientific basis lies in microbiological research and its potential applications in architecture and construction, making invisible processes accessible and analyzable for visitors.

The “Living Laboratory” established in this way allows for exploration and learning from micro-processes, proposing potential analog applications in future construction practices.

Beyond its exceptional narrative and aesthetic qualities, the project introduces a poetic component, often missing in today’s architectural discourse. By exploring boundaries and their dual nature—both immovable and transient—through different dimensions and scales, the project opens new creative interpretations of the land. As the authors state, it gives “voice to the land—silent, yet deeply present,” shaping a volumetric space for dialogue with and learning from nature.

By integrating all of these components into a single project, the installation offers visitors both scientific insight and emotional resonance, fostering identification with the species that continue to teach us.