11/06/2025
Posted • .architecture.biennale (to the stones) we lent you our breath, and you whispered it back to the earth. under this title, sevina floridou () curates the cyprus pavilion (), co-curated with nicola mitropoulou () and clara zinecker.
the exhibition () delves into the rhythms of building practices, tracing an operational chain of gathering, sorting, and placing. it proposes an architecture that emphasizes the intersection between the of the land and the commons of its inhabitants, echoing a shared labor put together by architects, drystone artisans, curators, artists, and public participation.
across three rooms at the associazione culturale spiazzi () – gathering, sorting, and placing – the pavilion reconfigures as carriers of utility, shifting focus from what they ‘are’ to what they ‘do’ or ‘say.’ in room 1, assembled stones recall traditional rural practices of ‘anathematisma’ a form of communal cursing or banishment against injustice.
room 2 highlights the hand and eye coordination involved in sorting stones into typologies, through an installation by with short films revealing the processes of drystone craftsmanship from salamiou, cyprus.
finally, room 3 showcases a circular drystone structure, assembled in real-time by artisans argyris panayiotou and panayiotis panayiotou, enhanced by the ambient soundscape of elena savvidou () and lighting hues by demetris shammas.
the project, organized and sponsored by , and supported by .architects.association, leventis foundation, and medochemie ltd, spotlights how drystone practices preserve a way of opposing systems of dispossession and ecological degradation.
images and videos ©
