Austrian pavilion of the Architecture Biennale 2027 to be used as a diplomatic arena

The presented concept for Austria’s 2027 contribution entitled Koncesija / Konzession / Concession(e) proposes awarding the Austrian pavilion to Bosnia and Herzegovina for one year in the form of a cooperative concession, as this is the only country in the former Yugoslavia that does not yet have its own place of representation on the premises of the Giardini della Biennale.
 
Focus on diplomacy: the staged hotel lobby of the history-steeped Hotel Holiday Inn in Sarajevo will act as a “lobby for lobbying”. A symbolic waiting room for the lasting establishment of Bosnian perspectives in the international architectural discourse. The Hoffmann pavilion itself is to become a constructed stage for a diplomatic role play of interests which, as an “International Architecture Exhibition”, is what the Biennale has in fact always been.

Featuring close exchange between the Austrian and Bosnian architecture scene, Koncesija / Konzession / Concession(e) collects, archives and discusses the daily realities of building and planning in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its significance for Austria. The “Concession” – as a “space of negotiation” for exchange, knowledge transfer and networking – connects two countries that are already interlinked in multiple ways: shared histories, labour migration, post-war experiences, economic relations and a diaspora that has long been a part of Austrian society.

The concession anchors this reality within the international architectural discourse and examines Bosnia and Herzegovina as a post-Dayton “negotiated space” and as a diagnostic model for potential European futures. The team conceives of the Biennale pavilion as an intersection of interests that comments on, moderates and breaks open different ideas and interpretations of architecture. The aim is for the Austrian Biennale pavilion to seek out and understand current trends, but also to act as a pioneer and catalyst.

Accordingly, the pavilion is not conceptualised as a static exhibition, but rather as a “negotiation space” for the open and participative research process: a series of “summits”, film programmes, public supporting events and the envisaged signing of the Biennale Participation Request for the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Venice Architecture Biennale 2029.

The jury unanimously praised the coherent concept by Adna Babahmetović, Ajna Babahmetović and Sebastian Höglinger, which provides both a political and an architecturally relevant answer to a contemporary topic. The representation of selected countries in the Giardini has been questioned for some time now.

Konzesika 2027 gives a twofold response to this question. On the one hand, Austria’s tradition as a neutral mediator of various political interests is quite literally built into the Hoffmann pavilion as a “diplomatic arena”. On the other, this arena enables Bosnia and Herzegovina to make an appearance on the premises of the Biennale for the very first time.

And what could better serve this purpose than a famous hotel lobby? Prominent elements of the lobby at the Holiday Inn in Sarajevo, which was designed by Ivan Štraus in 1984 to mark the occasion of the Winter Olympics, are inscribed as fragmentary 1:1 replicas in the rooms of the Hoffmann pavilion. In particular, the bold geometric pattern of the tiled floor and the various canopy-like elements, beneath which hotel guests can linger a while, transport the atmosphere of the hotel lobby to the pavilion; a place where glamorous guests have come and gone, but so too has the war, clearly leaving its mark.

An invitation is thus extended to the international audience of the Biennale to spend some time in the rooms of the lobby: as guests or participants, they become part of the various diplomatic summits, bilateral talks, networking and events on the history, conflicts and existence of Bosnian architecture and spatial production as well as on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s geopolitical relations with Austria, intended to simultaneously serve as a form of lobbying for a future pavilion for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Diplomatic practice involves an extensive network. What won over the jury was that the three curators established diverse relationships with (architectural) institutions, architects and other people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Italy and intend to expand on these as a bilateral exchange of knowledge. One especially interesting and entirely new element is the presentation of a dedicated film programme, which will also exist in a direct exchange with the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Viennale. 

The jury is convinced of the three curators’ commitment and energy, and believes that their concept is not just confident and coherent, but also feasible and with realistic financing goals.

Since the Biennale 2021, Austria’s contribution for Venice has been sought in the scope of an open competition. The federal government invites curators, architects, artists and cultural creators to participate in this project competition.

The submitted projects are presented to a specialist jury made up of national and international experts in a three-stage selection procedure. The decision regarding the nomination of the winning project and the curation is made by the relevant Federal Minister of Art and Culture at the recommendation of the jury.

• Angelika Schnell, professor of Architectural Theory, Architectural History and Design at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, member of the editorial advisory board of ARCH+
• Baerbel Mueller
  architect and researcher in Vienna and Ghana, associate professor at the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts Vienna;
• Wilfried Kühn
  architect and professor of the design course “Between the Lines” at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien);
  head of Austrian Science Fund research project Curatorial Design at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz)
• Sabine Pollak
  architect and architectural theorist, head of the Urban Studies department at the University of Art and Design Linz. Together with Michael Obrist and Lorenzo Romito, she was a curator of Austria’s contribution to the Architecture Biennale 2025 in Venice.
• Nikolaus Gartner
  planning and research architect, lecturer at the TU Wien, artistic director at Architekturraum Burgenland.

• Adna Babahmetović
  (*1992, Zenica, BiH)
  obtained her architectural degree at the TU Graz. Together with her twin sister Ajna, she founded the architecture studio Adna i Ajna. She also teaches in the research unit of housing and design at the TU Wien and is a member of the architectural research collective Diskursiv. During and after her studies, she gained professional experience in architectural practice in Austria and Denmark and has worked at offices in Graz, Vienna and Aarhus. She is the holder of the 2025/2026 START scholarship from the BMWKMS, in the scope of which she is continuing to develop the topics of her master thesis “Wohnen, Erinnerung und Wohn-Erinnerungen” while also tying in her current research focus.
• Ajna Babahmetović
  (*1992, Zenica, BiH)
  Together with her twin sister Adna, she founded the architecture studio Adna i Ajna. She is an authorised civil engineer and was awarded the 2024/2025 START scholarship by the BMWKMS. In parallel to her work at the studio, she is a university assistant in teaching and research at the KOEN Institute of the TU Graz and a member of the architectural research collective Diskursiv. She studied architecture at the TU Graz and, as part of her ongoing research, tracks the spatial manifestations of migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On this basis, her work has been presented in Graz, Berlin and Sarajevo. She also has professional experience at various architectural offices and has published in numerous international publications.
• Sebastian Höglinger
  (*1983, Linz, AT)
  studied theatre, film and media studies and has many years of experience in the organisation and implementation of cultural events. His focus is on curatorial and journalistic activities as well as dramaturgical consultations (script development) both in Austria and abroad. He is a member of the editorial board of film magazine kolik.film and has participated in juries and the programme consultation for international film festivals such as the Berlinale Forum, Viennale and Duisburg Film Week. From 2015 to 2023, he was the artistic co-director/co-managing director of the Diagonale – Festival of Austrian Film in Graz. Previously, he helped organise the International Youth Media Festival YOUKI in Wels.