Togo makes its debut on the international architecture scene with a national pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, which runs until November 23, 2025.
Togo makes its debut on the international architecture scene with a national pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, which runs until November 23, 2025.
This participation is a historic first for the country, showcasing the richness and diversity of its built heritage under the theme "Considering Togo’s Architectural Heritage."
The pavilion, located at Squero Castello, explores a century of Togolese architectural history through an Afrocentric lens.
The Togolese exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Digital Economy and led by Sonia Lawson, director of the Palais de Lomé, is the result of the work by Studio NEiDA, co-founded by architect Jeanne Autran-Edorh and curator Fabiola Büchele.
For this occasion, the scenography traces vernacular practices such as the Tamberma Tatas in northern Togo, the troglodyte dwellings of Nôk, and Afro-Brazilian architecture inherited from former slaves who returned from Brazil. The exhibition also features post-independence modernist buildings still in use, such as the Sarakawa Hotel, the BOAD and ECOWAS banks, as well as buildings in decline or under restoration, such as the Hôtel de la Paix or the Palais des Congrès.
"This built heritage—sometimes ingenious, sometimes eccentric—is a powerful guide to thinking about future architecture, contextualized and adapted to the climate," explains Studio NEiDA.
With this participation, Togo joins the 65 countries present in Venice this year, competing for the prestigious Golden Lion, the event's top award.