Hong Kong in Venice: Can the ‘Archival Impulse’ Be Projective? Can the Tectonics of the ‘Tradition’ be Modern?

Abstract

<p>This set of Field Notes charts research presented at the Venice Biennale of Architecture through the voices of some of those who contributed directly to its 19th edition in 2025. The editors of <em>Architectural Histories</em> invited seven contributors to national pavilions deemed particularly relevant (Switzerland, Peru, Ukraine, Australia, Austria, Italy, Hong Kong) and one contributor to the main exhibition (Kate Crawford) to expand upon the research underpinning their exhibits, offering them space to publish their thinking in a journal of record. Framed by an introduction from three of the journal's editors along with critical notes by Léa-Catherine Szacka and Philip Ursprung, the set of Field Notes illuminates the role of historical research in the Biennale, and the role of such biennale(s) for research in the field of architecture. <br></p>