Reimagining the Souvenir — Venice Biennale Architettura 2025

As part of the Venice Biennale Architettura 2025, curated by Carlo Ratti, we were invited by architecture office NUDUS to contribute to Bursting Bubbles—an installation by Volume/Archis in the heart of Venice. Set against the backdrop of growing tourism, the installation playfully reconsiders the role of the souvenir, using it as a way to strengthen the connection between architecture and the general public.

At the Giardini, visitors are invited to try their luck with a claw machine—part artwork, part game—stocked with Circular Souvenirs designed by ten Dutch architecture studios, including SuperUse and Studio Nauta. Each object touches on wider themes shaping the Biennale, from material reuse to climate awareness.

Our contribution: magnets—but not the kind you'd expect.

We returned to our archive of sketch models—intuitive fragments that once explored form, sparked ideas, or tested possibilities—and transformed them into unique magnets. These objects, visibly marked by process and craft, each come with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Made from repurposed materials, they are a reminder that even discarded things can still hold value—and that souvenirs, too, can carry a sense of care, place, and meaning. Also featured in the installation are ZUS, Enzo Valerio, Lola, among others.

More information here. 

Photography from Venice by Giulia Virgara.
Thanks to NUDUS, and VOLUME for the initiative and the invitation.