Fay Jones School, Partners to Represent U.S. at Venice Architecture Biennale

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, in partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and DesignConnects, has been selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs to commission, organize and curate the exhibition of the United States Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.  

Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale is considered the most prestigious international art and architecture exhibition in the world, introducing hundreds of thousands of visitors to exciting new architecture every two years. The 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, which will run from May 10 to Nov. 23, 2025, will be curated by the architect and engineer Carlo Ratti. 

Co-commissioned by Peter MacKeith, dean and professor of the U of A Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design; Susan Chin, principal of DesignConnects; and Rod Bigelow, executive director of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the exhibition titled “PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity” will focus on the representation of the United States through the contemporary manifestation of the porch in American architecture — a quintessential constructed place that is at once social and environmental, tectonic and performative, hospitable and intimate, generous and democratic. 

“The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and the University of Arkansas are honored by this selection and thankful for the collaboration with DesignConnects and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,” said MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School. “‘PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity’ proposes a positive, productive presentation of American architecture, one of empathy and education. The exhibition format emphasizes a diversity of voices and perspectives, but also a set of common causes for productive action through architecture and design. 

“The emphasis will be on imperative issues, national and global, addressed through architecture and design, and on public engagement and civic building for the greater good, founded on a generous architectural diplomacy of creative expression, representing the best of the nation’s past, present and future.”  

MacKeith will also serve as coordinating curator for the exhibition, together with Jonathan Boelkins, special projects manager for the Fay Jones School. 

“As we search for new places to gather and connect to community, it’s a privilege to be selected to present ‘PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity’ with this dynamic team,” said Chin, principal of DesignConnects. “Exploring how this classic typology shapes lives, defines communities and enriches society, I believe our ‘PORCH’ will provide opportunities for cultural exchange and expand our understanding of the world and each other.” 

“Bringing people, art and nature together is at the core of Crystal Bridges’ mission, and architecture is a key factor in that equation,” said Bigelow, executive director, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. “Architecture has been one of our institution’s three pillars from the beginning, in part because of the long history of architecture and architectural scholarship across our region. Our collaborators at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design exemplify that legacy, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them and DesignConnects to uplift that scholarship and explore new, global conversations ‘PORCH’ will open up at the United States Pavilion in the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.”  

The interdisciplinary, collaborative team of commissioners is joined by a notable design and curatorial team: architect Marlon Blackwell of Marlon Blackwell Architects, who is also the E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture at the U of A; designer Stephen Burks of Stephen Burks Man Made; and landscape architects Julie Bargmann of D.I.R.T. Studio and Maura Rockcastle of Ten x Ten Studio. Blackwell received the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in 2020; Burks received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in product design in 2015; and Bargmann was the inaugural recipient of the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Prize in Landscape Architecture from the Cultural Landscape Foundation in 2021. The Architect’s Newspaper is the media partner for the exhibition. 

“PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity” proposes an exposition of a quintessential American architectural place-construct that persists across scales, geographies, communities, construction methods and histories. Through an exhibition design of multiple scales, experiences, media and engagements, the commissioners and design team intend to spotlight the character, value and contemporary purpose of the place of the porch through the exhibition of projects and practices across the nation. 

The physical construction of a new, temporary porch, amenities and surrounding landscape for the U.S. Pavilion, as designed by Blackwell, Burks, Bargmann and Rockcastle, will be the site of programmed events and activities throughout the run of the Biennale. Musical performances, readings, farm-to-table meals, children’s education, social exchanges, craft demonstrations and educational dialogues will be coordinated by an allied team of programming directors. The interior of the U.S. Pavilion will feature approximately 50 projects and practices drawn from across the United States, resulting from an open call for projects to be announced later this fall, all highlighting the ongoing importance of the porch typology in American civic life. 

This American porch, as projected in exhibition and in animated character, is more than an exercise in nostalgia or a demonstration of contemporary inventive and ambitious architecture. This American porch is a collaborative porch, a projective porch, a speculative porch, a place of future-thinking, a place of optimism. 

ABOUT THE CO-COMMISSIONERS 

Peter MacKeith is dean and professor of architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the U of A. Appointed in July 2014, he is the fifth dean of the school and a nationally recognized design educator and administrator. MacKeith is an ACSA Distinguished Professor, a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, and a Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland. MacKeith has led, organized, and curated exhibitions of the vitality of contemporary architecture in the Nordic region — including serving as curator and designer for the 2012 Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale — and in the American South, most recently the exhibition, publication and symposia centered on the “South Forty” initiative, an ongoing project that presents and supports emerging and accomplished practices across the region. The South Forty project will be exhibited at the National Building Museum, in Washington, D.C., beginning in February 2025. 

Susan Chin, an accomplished urbanist and civic leader, leads the independent consultancy DesignConnects. She led the Design Trust for Public Space, a nationally recognized New York City nonprofit organization at the forefront of shaping the public realm for over eight years. Prior to Design Trust, she was assistant commissioner for Capital Projects at NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, commissioning innovative and high-performance architecture and public art citywide. She currently serves as AIA Committee on Design chair; and also served as vice president on AIA national board and chapter president of AIA New York. Her awards include American Society of Landscape Architects Honorary Membership; AIA NY State’s Kideney Gold Medal and Del Gaudio Service Award; and The Ohio State University's Distinguished Alumna Award. She recently served on the East Midtown Governing Group and the NYC & Company Board of Directors. 

Rod Bigelow serves as executive director and chief diversity and inclusion officer for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary. He has served as executive director since 2013, guiding all facets of the museum’s strategies, mission, vision, and values, reflecting his more than 20 years of experience in the management of arts and cultural institutions. Bigelow joined Crystal Bridges in 2010, serving as the deputy director of operations and administration, with a focus on organizational and policy development as well as construction activities leading up to the museum’s opening in November 2011. During Bigelow’s tenure, the institution has welcomed more than 12.2 million visitors.

ABOUT THE CO-PRESENTERS

The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas advances design excellence through a multidisciplinary, place-responsive design education, in service to Arkansas, the nation, and the world. Within the curricular context of an excellent professional design education, the school provides a vital design culture and educational environment grounded in critical design thinking, multidisciplinary collaborations, and civic engagement. 

Founded in 1946 with degree programs in architecture, and named in honor of the Arkansas-born Fay Jones, the 1990 AIA Gold Medalist, today the school is constituted by nationally recognized degree programs in architecture, interior architecture, and landscape architecture, as well as the award-winning University of Arkansas Community Design Center, the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation, and Garvan Woodland Gardens, a botanical garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

Across the school, students focus on issues of community with a global awareness, designing for the lives of real people and towards a better environment, through a responsible emphasis on the materiality and experience of design, preparing students to work productively across geographies, societies, and cultures.  

DesignConnects’ mission is to create and nurture places and organizations using art and design, collaboration, and civic leadership. DesignConnects provides services in design, nonprofit management, community engagement, advocacy, policy making, government operations, and public / private partnerships, associated with culture, architecture, preservation, landscape, and urban design and planning. 

Recent projects include Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden; NY Chinese Scholar’s Garden renovation; and Portland, Oregon’s Back to Square One: Rethinking O’Bryant Square.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s mission is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 12.2 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. 

The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities. 

Some 418,375 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails. 

In February 2020, the museum opened the Momentary in Downtown Bentonville (507 SE E Street), conceived as a platform for the art, food, and music of our time. In 2026, Crystal Bridges will complete a nearly 100,000-square-foot expansion that will allow the museum to expand access for all. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712. 

ABOUT LA BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 

Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale is considered the most prestigious international art and architecture exhibitions in the world, introducing hundreds of thousands of visitors to exciting new architecture every two years. The 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (May 10 – November 23, 2025) will be curated by architect and engineer Carlo Ratti. Learn more about the La Biennale di Venezia. 

The United States Pavilion at the Giardini della Biennale, a building in the neoclassical style, opened on May 4, 1930. Since 1986, The U.S. Pavilion has been owned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and managed by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, which works closely with the U.S. Department of State and exhibition curators to install and maintain all official U.S. exhibitions presented in the Pavilion. Every two years, museum curators from across the U.S. detail their visions for the U.S. Pavilion in proposals that are reviewed by the National Endowment of the Arts Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions, a group comprising curators, museum directors, and artists who then submit their recommendations to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Past exhibitions can be viewed on the Peggy Guggenheim Collection website. 

The United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs supports and manages official U.S. participation at the International Art and Architecture Exhibitions of La Biennale di Venezia. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) builds relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional, and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. 

These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the United States, support U.S. international leadership, and provide a broad range of domestic benefits by helping break down barriers that often divide us, like religion, politics, language and ethnicity, and geography. ECA programs build connections that engage and empower people and motivate them to become leaders and thinkers, to develop new skills, and to find connections that will create positive change in their communities. More information can be found on the Bureau’s website.

About the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design: The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas houses undergraduate professional design programs of architecture, landscape architecture and interior architecture and design together with a liberal studies program. The school also offers a Master of Design Studies, with concentrations in health and wellness design, resiliency design, integrated wood design, preservation design, and retail and hospitality design. The DesignIntelligence 2019 School Rankings Survey listed the school among the most hired from architecture, landscape architecture and interior design schools, ranking 10th, 14th and eighth, respectively, as well as 28th among most admired architecture schools.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.