MATERIA + gustavo carmona narrates emotion of architecture in venice exhibition

MATERIA + gustavo carmona’s crafting atmosphere exhibition

In an exploration of architecture’s emotional and cultural dimensions, Mexican studio MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona presents ‘Crafting Atmosphere’ at Palazzo Mora, Venice. This exhibition, part of the European Cultural Centre’s ‘Time Space Existence’ exhibition during Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, serves as an immersive spatial narrative, distilling the firm’s design ethos into a powerful experience. It is a meditation on how architecture can transcend mere form and function, inviting visitors to engage with space as a layered and deeply felt construct.

all images by Patricia Parinejad unless stated otherwise

The ‘Crafting Atmosphere’ exhibition, presented by MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona, is structured around three core design strategies, each articulated on a distinct wall to form a conceptual triptych: ‘Transitional Thresholds’, ‘Subtractive Light’, and ‘Transformative Skins’. ‘Transitional Thresholds’ explores the power of liminal spaces – the portals and pauses that create temporal resonance. ‘Subtractive Light’ emphasizes the sculpting of space through voids, allowing light to become a primary material that frames and intensifies experience. Finally, ‘Transformative Skins’ showcases envelope systems where a single tectonic unit becomes a modulating surface, expressing both identity and permeability.

MATERIA + gustavo carmona narrates emotion of architecture in venice exhibition

emotional and cultural layers of architecture

A luminous line encircles the installation, binding the diverse elements into a continuous perceptual loop. On the floor, tactile models invites slow, deliberate observation, while a suspended linen canvas above unfolds a constellation of architectural drawings and sketches. This vertical archive of thought and process – part exhibition, part spatial poem – affirms architecture as a cultural act: a vessel for memory, ritual, and transformation. ‘Crafting Atmosphere’ is a counterpoint to the relentless pursuit of efficiency and abstraction in contemporary architecture. It is a powerful call for presence, for sensual intelligence, and for the creation of spaces that remember and resonate long after they have been experienced.

The ‘Crafting Atmosphere’ exhibition, presented by MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona as part of  the European Cultural Centre’s ‘Time Space Existence’ exhibition, can be viewed at Palazzo Mora from May 5 – November 23, 2025 during Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.

it is part of the European Cultural Centre’s ‘Time Space Existence’ during Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

visitors are invited to engage with space as a layered and deeply felt construct

image by MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona

drawings by MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona

drawings by MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona

drawings by MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona

project info:

exhibition: Crafting Atmosphere
designer: MATERIA + Gustavo Carmona | @_materia

curator: European Cultural Centre

venue: Palazzo Mora, Venice

dates: May 5 – November 23, 2025

photography: Patricia Parinejad

sponsors: Zordan, Arozarena y Páramo, Predecon, Factor Eficiencia, Poesía Glass Studio, Kendu, Cristal + Diseño, Asintelix

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.