Associate Professor Theodora Vardouli of McGill University’s Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, alongside colleagues Mark Wasiuta (Columbia University) and Farzin Lotfi-Jam (Cornell University), has been selected to represent Canada at the 2027 International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.  

Following a national competition administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, the team’s exhibition, Early Warning Architecture, was chosen to be featured at the Canada Pavilion in Venice, Italy, from May 8 to November 21, 2027, with McGill University as the presenting partner.  

Early Warning Architecture will connect the history of early warning systems in Canada’s North to present-day global challenges, demonstrating how this architecture is implicated in climate change, emerging geopolitical pressures and questions of land and sovereignty across Inuit Nunangat. By showcasing the immense structure of these physical and informational systems, the project centres architecture in some of the most urgent technological, environmental and international issues of the current moment.  

“Our team is thrilled to represent Canada at the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale. We are truly committed to the ideas and issues our project raises for architecture, especially at a time of intense new global pressures,” Vardouli said. “We look forward to working with our academic communities, McGill University –my home university and our presenting partner – as well as our expanded team on a focused research and exhibition that will have a strong and immediate impact.” 

Added Michelle Chawla, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts: “The Canada Council is proud to support Mark Wasiuta, Theodora Vardouli and Farzin Lotfi-Jam, who have been selected to represent Canada at the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale. Their proposal brings a timely curatorial vision – one that invites audiences to think critically about how architecture can help us anticipate, interpret and respond to the complex challenges shaping our communities today. 

“The Canada Council believes in the critical importance of investing in the international presence of Canadian creativity at platforms like the Venice Architecture Biennale, showcasing distinctly Canadian perspectives and connecting them with the wider world,” Chawla said.  

To learn more, visit the Canada Council of the Arts website.