Ireland at Venice is set to return to one of the world’s most influential architecture showcases, with Minister Patrick O’Donovan confirming the team that will represent the country at the 20th International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia in 2027. The announcement, published via gov.ie, names Emmet Humphreys and Dr Nathalie Weadick as curators of Ireland’s national presentation on behalf of Galway City Council.
The selected project, RESIDUUM, was chosen through an open call led by Culture Ireland in partnership with the Arts Council. It will place Ireland’s architectural thinking on a major global platform while also drawing attention to urgent issues shaping cities today, including housing, place-making and civic identity.
Ireland at Venice to showcase RESIDUUM in 2027
The latest Ireland at Venice presentation will centre on the idea that cities already contain untapped physical, social and cultural value. Rather than treating underused spaces, inherited structures and fragmented urban areas as obstacles, RESIDUUM proposes they can become the foundations for more connected and liveable places.
According to the announcement, the exhibition asks three core questions:
- How can architecture unlock the potential of the city that already exists?
- What role can the public architect play in serving the public good?
- How can thoughtful densification support homes, stronger communities and belonging?
These themes speak directly to wider national conversations across Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Climate Action, Transport and community-led urban development. In that sense, Ireland at Venice is not just an arts story; it also intersects with policy debates that matter across Irish public life.
Curators and multidisciplinary team
Emmet Humphreys and Dr Nathalie Weadick will lead the project with a broader team that includes Alice Casey and Cian Deegan of TAKA Architects, Jim Byrne of Galway City Council, Peter Maybury, Frank Monahan, Caoimhín Corrigan and Elaine White. Their combined expertise spans architecture, exhibition design, research, public programming and project delivery.
Humphreys is widely known for his work on urban regeneration and public architecture, while Weadick brings deep experience in architecture curation, international cultural programming and public engagement. Their appointment reinforces the importance of collaborative practice in shaping Ireland at Venice for 2027.
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Why Ireland at Venice matters internationally
The Venice Architecture Biennale runs from May to November 2027 and remains the leading international exhibition for architecture. The 2027 edition will be curated by Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu under the title Do Architecture. For Ireland, participation offers a rare opportunity to present national ideas to architects, curators, institutions and policymakers from around the world.
Ireland at Venice also builds on a strong recent track record. Ireland has steadily expanded its visibility at the Biennale, including the internationally acclaimed 2018 edition curated by Grafton Architects’ Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. The new pavilion continues that momentum while placing Galway at the centre of the conversation.
The project’s emphasis on public architecture is especially relevant at a time when bodies across the Irish state, from the Department of the Taoiseach to agencies connected to Finance, Health, Social Protection, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Office of Public Works (OPW), are increasingly linked to long-term planning, infrastructure and public value. While the exhibition is cultural in nature, it reflects broader ideas about how Ireland designs for people.
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What RESIDUUM says about Galway and the future of cities
One of the strongest aspects of Ireland at Venice is that RESIDUUM is rooted in Galway while addressing issues shared by cities everywhere. The exhibition will use artefacts, speculative 3D scenarios and dialogue to explore how urban change can happen through what is already present, rather than relying only on expansion from scratch.
This approach aligns with current thinking around sustainable development, heritage-sensitive renewal and compact growth. It also supports a more civic model of architecture, where public interest, social connection and long-term place-making sit alongside design ambition.
In practical terms, the Irish pavilion aims to become a platform for exchange rather than a static display. That means the ideas presented in Venice are intended to feed back into Galway’s ongoing transformation and into wider debates across Ireland.
In the end, Ireland at Venice is more than a cultural announcement on gov.ie. It is a statement about how Irish architecture can respond to housing pressure, urban fragmentation and community identity with imagination and public purpose. As 2027 approaches, RESIDUUM will be closely watched as a bold expression of how Ireland wants to build, live and belong.Article/Image Courtesy: gov.ie
