Bartlett Alumnus Exhibits 'Time for Trees' at Korean Pavilion, Venice Biennale

Bartlett alumnus Heechan Park (Architecture MArch; Part 3) is exhibiting Time for Trees at the Korean Pavilion as part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The installation is featured within the pavilion's 30th anniversary exhibition Little Toad, Little Toad: Unbuilding Pavilion, which runs from 10 May to 23 November 2025.

Time for Trees consists of three architectural apparatuses that respond to the trees and vegetation surrounding the Korean Pavilion: A Shadow Caster, Giardini Travelers and Elevated Gaze 1995. Each device serves as a multi-sensorial mediator between the interior and exterior boundaries of the pavilion, inviting visitors to capture and engage with the natural landscape of the Giardini gardens.

Through site-specific interventions, the project visualises the relationship between architecture and nature, examining how the built environment can interact with and respond to its natural surroundings. The installation draws attention to the trees of the Giardini as an unchanging presence within the ever-shifting context of La Biennale, where new exhibitions come and go each year.

The work emphasises the architectural transparency of the Korean Pavilion, which embraces the surrounding woodland. By focusing on this shared physical context, Time for Trees creates a connection not only for the Korean Pavilion but potentially for all national pavilions in the Giardini.

The installation was developed with several collaborators, including digital interaction specialist Kim Yoosuk (RGB lab), fabrication coordinator Park Il (Design Lab), and project assistant Kim Yurim (Studio Heech).

The Korean Pavilion's exhibition this year reexamines the meaning of the pavilion itself, viewing it not as a neutral exhibition space but as an organic entity with multilayered meanings. By exploring its founding motivations and past trajectory, the exhibition seeks to imagine future possibilities for the pavilion within broader discourses on climate change and sustainability.