Togo is making its debut on the international architecture stage with a national pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, running from May 10 to November 23, 2025. This marks a historic first for the country, highlighting the richness and diversity of its built heritage under the theme “Considering Togo’s Architectural Heritage.”
The pavilion, located in Squero Castello, explores a century of Togolese architectural history through an Afrocentric perspective. The Togolese exhibition, organized by the Ministry of the Digital Economy and led by Sonia Lawson, director of the Palais de Lomé, is the result of the work of Studio NEiDA, co-founded by architect Jeanne Autran-Edorh and curator Fabiola Büchele.
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The scenography showcases vernacular practices such as the Tatas Tamberma of northern Togo, the troglodyte dwellings of Nôk, and the Afro-Brazilian architecture inherited from former slaves returning from Brazil. The exhibition also presents post-independence modernist buildings still in use, such as the Hotel Sarakawa, the BOAD and ECOWAS banks, as well as buildings in decline or undergoing restoration, such as the Hôtel de la Paix and the Palais des Congrès.
“This built heritage – sometimes ingenious, sometimes eccentric – is a powerful guide for thinking about future architecture, contextualized and adapted to the climate,” explains Studio NEiDA.
With this participation, Togo joins 65 other countries in Venice this year, competing for the prestigious Golden Lion, the event’s top prize.
