The Vatican City will make its debut at the Venice Architecture Biennale this year, by building a series of chapels by architects including Norman Foster, Eduardo Souto de Moura and Teronobu Fujimori.
Curated by architectural historian Francesco Dal Co, the Holy See Pavilion will feature 10 chapels, designed by prolific architects from around the world.
The other participating architects are Andrew Berman, Francesco Cellini, Javier Corvalán, Carla Juaçaba, Sean Godsell, Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores and Smiljan Radi?.
Foster + Partners has imagined a tent-like structure made from wood, built around three symbolic crosses. Images courtesy of Foster + Partners
The buildings will be constructed in a large wooded area on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. "The Holy See, which represents the Catholic Church in its entirety, makes its first entrance to the arena of the Biennale di Architettura di Venezia," reads a statement from the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture.
"It does so landing in the lagoon on the splendid island of San Giorgio, penetrating a woodland oasis not with graphic representations or models, but with a veritable sequence of chapels."
Melbourne-based Sean Godsell imagined a bell tower with his design. Image courtesy of Sean Godsell
Located within Rome, the Vatican City is the world's smallest state, both by area and by population, and is governed by the pope. The architects that will represent the state at the Bie...