Having worked extensively inside the Greek Pavilion during the development, installation and exhibition of Xirómero/Dryland at the Venice Biennale 2024, I wanted to gather and share knowledge of the building that is difficult to find elsewhere. Alongside its architectural history, this page documents the pavilion through first-person experience: its spatial, environmental and technical conditions, its infrastructure and hidden spaces, and the practical realities of working there. It is intended as a resource for artists, art students, researchers, curators and production teams who wish to understand the pavilion not only as an architectural space, but through the changing conditions of exhibiting and working there.
On this page
About the Pavilion
Outdoors
– Photos by Day
– Photos by Night
Indoors
– Interior and Conditions
– Access and Infrastructure
Practical Notes
Related Links
About the Pavilion
The Greek Pavilion at the Venice Biennale was built in 1934 and designed by architect Υ. Papandréou, with Brenno Del Giudice, who led the Biennale’s Sant’Elena expansion, collaborating on the project. The pavilion was built in a neo-Byzantine style, foregrounding the Byzantine dimension of Hellenism – a prominent issue in Greece at the time of its construction. While the overall structure of the building is a rectangle of approx. 11 x 21 metres, its interior consists of a single space visually divided into a T-shaped area and two additional spaces with lower ceilings. Above the main entrance, the word “GRECIA” is written in gold letters.
The pavilion is administered by the Greek Ministry of Culture, which is also responsible for organising the Greek participation in the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition. Every two years, a national committee selects one of the submitted proposals, with the selected proposal usually announced in the summer, eight to nine months before the opening of the Biennale exhibition. In addition to the Art Biennale, the pavilion also hosts the Architecture Biennale, organised by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy.
The Greek Pavilion is located in the Giardini of the Venice Biennale, which host 29 national pavilions and the central pavilion of the International Art Exhibition. The Greek authorities are responsible for the building itself, with the administrative boundary ending at the pavilion’s stairs; anything outside the perimeter is administered by the Venice Biennale. Below you can see the pavilion as it looked during the 2024 Venice Art Biennale.
OUTDOORS
A characteristic feature of the Greek Pavilion is its peristyle, with two columns supporting three arches. The entire building is surrounded by decorative brick patterns, which are also found on the exterior floor. The overall neo-Byzantine aesthetic and design of the building give the impression of an imaginary temple.
Photos By Day
Standing at the main entrance and looking towards the garden, on their left side the visitor can see the Australian Pavilion on the other side of the canal, while on the right side they can see the Romanian Pavilion. On sunny days, especially during summer, the sun’s light reflects off the curved wall of the Romanian Pavilion, shinning onto the Greek Pavilion’s main entrance. With open doors, the pavilion is lit and there is no blackening option in the building, unless a blackout curtain or similar solution is installed at the entrance.
Photos By Night
From the opening of the exhibition every April until September, visitors will never see the pavilion at night, with the opening hours being 11:00-19:00 (2024). However, as autumn progresses, even with the change of the opening hours to 10:00-18:00 (2024), the last days of the exhibition at the end of November offer a view of the Giardini with the sun having set. In the photo below you see the light shining onto the Greek Pavilion from a working light that is installed at the Romanian Pavilion.
INDOORS
Interior and Conditions
The Greek Pavilion, like every building in the Giardini, has withstood Venice’s high humidity, strong storms (typical of the region), summer heatwaves and low winter temperatures for decades. Since the building is used almost throughout the year (with only about three to four months left in silence), there is not enough time for extensive renovations, unless, unfortunately, a national participation is cancelled, either for the Art or Architecture Biennale.
In the image below, you can see the interior of the Greek Pavilion empty, a rare sight, since the space is used for the installation, dismantling and exhibition of artworks throughout most of the year. The floor and the walls are repurposed for every exhibition, with additional material often used to cover them. The pavilion’s original walls are made of brick; you can see the bricks on the wall opposite the main entrance, which, however, is partly covered by another material, most likely added for structural support during an older renovation. The two smaller spaces are part of the original architectural design and have been renovated (most likely their columns are made of concrete). The material that covers the brick walls in the main space (left and right walls around the main entrance) is a type of gypsum or cement board, glued onto the pavilion’s brick walls at regular intervals.
However, the material has not withstood the severe humidity, which can reach up to 80%, or the leaks that flood the pavilion during strong storms – something that also happens in other national pavilions throughout the Giardini. When the 2024 team began working in the pavilion, we found mould on the lower parts of the walls throughout the space. These levels of humidity can also damage electronic equipment, such as computers and amplifiers, particularly their ventilation systems, especially when combined with the high levels of dust brought in by thousands of visitors every day. At peak times, the pavilion can receive up to 4.000-5.000 visitors per day, with Tuesdays and Saturdays being the busiest days.
The pavilion’s ceiling is a metal structure that follows the T-shaped layout of the building’s architecture. In its initial state, there were transparent panels at the top, allowing natural light to reach the interior. However, a decision was made to cover them, blacking out the exhibition space (most likely at some point after 2000). Every year, the roof requires maintenance, and even so, rain still leaks into the pavilion, depending on its angle and intensity. Alongside the metal structure over the T-shaped part, the two additional spaces also have inclined roofs. While the T-shaped main space is a approx. 6 metres high, the additional spaces are approx. 4 metres high.
Access and Infrastructure
On the right side of the pavilion, there is a ramp for wheelchairs, strollers and any equipment on wheels, which leads to the back entrance of the building and also serves as an emergency exit. All materials and equipment are delivered via the canal, through a small pier. The pavilion, being at the edge of the Giardini, neighbours a residential building. The two buildings are not directly adjacent to each other, as there is a garden between them. On the left side of the pavilion, there are toilets, one of only two toilet facilities in the entire area, bringing many people towards that part of the Giardini but can also cause unpleasant smells, especially during heatwaves. Further left is the rear entrance and exit of the Giardini. As of 2024, the pavilion has no working air conditioning and there is no running water. There is a hose outside the building, at the left corner, which belongs to the Venice Biennale, but its water is not drinkable. Power and internet have to be arranged separately by each team installing a work, in contact with the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies, which administers the electricity and internet bills.
The Greek Pavilion also has a basement. The basement is sometimes described as having problems with mice, although the 2024 team did not observe any mice at all. One unusual feature is that the basement can be accessed either through the exhibition space via a hatch in the left corner of the left-hand additional space, or from outside through a door at the back left of the building, reached by descending a few steps. However, this accessible basement room is only a small part of the building’s entire basement. It is approximately the same size as the left-hand additional space above it. There is a similar basement room on the other side of the building, beneath the right-hand additional space. That room has no proper entrance, apart from a hole in its brick wall. There is also no door into the main basement, except for a small window on the exterior left side of the building. The basement is approx. 1.5 metres high. The main basement has four circular structures in its floor, which may be part of the original drainage system from 1934. The basement is not depicted in the architectural plan that was available to the 2024 team. Below, you can see a 3D scan of the main basement made during a scouting visit by the artists, which does not include the two side rooms.
Depending on where visitors enter the Giardini, the Greek Pavilion is either one of the last pavilions encountered along the garden paths, when entering through the main entrance, or one of the first, when entering through the rear entrance near the Sant’Elena vaporetto stop. Tickets for the Venice Biennale can be purchased online or at the ticket counters at the main entrance and designated points in the city. The first and last hours of the day are best avoided: some pavilions with complicated exhibitions may not be fully ready when the Giardini open, while others begin shutting down their works shortly before closing. Peak hours are approx. 13:00–16:00, and the busiest months are April–June and September–November.
PRACTICAL NOTES
- Building restrictions: Modifications to the structure are limited, since the building is a monument. Installations must be reversible.
- Natural light: In its current condition, the pavilion does not allow natural light to enter, except through the main entrance and, to a lesser extent, through the emergency exit if it is kept open.
- Sound: Sound inside the pavilion can leak into the Giardini and the surrounding area, so sound levels need to be carefully planned. Speakers installed outside the pavilion should be set to low levels so that the sound does not disturb visitors to the surrounding pavilions. Depending on the materials used on the walls – and if the space remains open without subdivisions – the pavilion’s acoustics are similar to those of a warehouse.
- Conditions inside the pavilion: Humidity can be extremely high, as can dust levels, due to the thousands of visitors. The pavilion is prone to water leaks during heavy rain. During the summer months, air conditioning is necessary because of the high temperatures combined with humidity.
- Space dimensions: Approx. 11m x 21m with a height of approx. 6.5m.
- Technical support: The Greek delegation is responsible for all technical planning and setup. No technical support is provided by the Venice Biennale. Basic power supply is available; artists must plan their own power distribution and electrical needs. There is no water supply in the pavilion.
- Access: Loading and technical access are restricted during the installation period, so planning ahead is crucial. Equipment and materials should arrive by water. Large items can be brought into the pavilion by specialised transport companies through the main entrance using a forklift, after a raised corridor of wooden pallets has been built. Smaller items can be brought into the pavilion via the ramp on the right side of the building, which leads to the back entrance.
- Main entrance size: 3.22m high x 1.58m wide.
- Back entrance size: approx. 2.50m high x 1.10m wide.
Photo credits and copyright on this page: Thanasis Deligiannis.
Map screenshots: Google Maps
Related Links
→ Explore Xirómero/Dryland, the Greek national participation at the Venice Art Biennale 2024, conceived by Thanasis Deligiannis and Yannis Michalopoulos and created with Elia Kalogianni, Yorgos Kyvernitis, Kostas Chaikalis and Fotis Sagonas.
→ Page in Greek / “Ελληνικό Περίπτερο Μπιενάλε Βενετίας” (η σελίδα στα ελληνικά)