11 chapels will shape the pavilion of the Holy See at the Venice Biennale

After the experiences of 2013 and 2015 at the Biennale Arte, and after announcing participation in this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, the Vatican has recently released more details on their Holy See pavilion or pavilions. The project is officially titled Vatican Chapels, featuring ten chapels commissioned from architects in ten different countries. Each structure will raised in the wood on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, located face of St. Mark's Square. Acording the Vatican, this wooded location serves as a space for silence and meditation as people discover the chapels group.

Acording the Vatican every structure contain a pulpit and altar, the chapels will be completely unique and up to the participant's interpretation of the project. However, as a guide the Church has encouraged each architect to respond to themes explored in the preliminary Asplund Pavilion.

Promoted by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, coordinated by the Pontifical Council for Culture, curated by Prof. Francesco Dal Co and Dott.ssa Micol Forti, the project is inspired by Gunnar Asplund’s 1920 Woodland Chapel in the cemetery of Stockholm.

Asplund Pavilion, designed by MAP Studio, will serve as an initial space for visitors before they head out to each of the ten chapels. This structure will house an exhibition of drawings featuring Gunnar Asplund's Woodland Chapel, a structure built in 1920 by the Swedish architect for Stockholm Cemetery.

From Italy, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, USA, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Chile / Serbia and Paraguay, architects adopt a new building style; chapels are usually identified as part of a larger religious space and worship environment, such as a church or cathedral, but here the chapels will be isolated and placed in a natural, abstract environment – a wood – that is a metaphor for the meandering of life.

The event is open to the public May 26 - November 25. Among the connected initiatives, see the event organized by the Courtyard of the Gentiles due to take place September 21: four internationally renowned architects discuss with the general public showing how fruitful dialogue between architecture and spirituality can be, and also investigating how to interpret the message contained in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’.

Design proposals from the ten participants below.