03/24/2026
Last year in early February, after a nationwide juried open call, Cunningham Quill Architects was selected to exhibit our work in the United States Pavilion at the 19th International Biennale of Architecture in Venice 2025. As one of only 54 architects from across the country, our affordable housing project embraced the welcoming theme, “Porch: An Architecture of Generosity”. The exhibition on American design was commissioned by the United States Department of State in partnership with the Fay Jones School of Architecture & Design at the University of Arkansas (Commissioner Peter MacKeith - Dean), DesignConnects (Commissioner Susan Chin - Principal) and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Commissioner Rod Bigelow - Executive Director).
In late November, Lee Quill FAIA and Ralph Cunningham FAIA traveled to Venice, Italy to participate in the Biennale’s Closing Ceremonies. This three-day event (11/21/25 - 11/23/25) - ‘Gathering and Giving Thanks’ was organized around “PORCHFEST”, an on-going activation and programming of the pavilion at key dates and included design talks, readings, hands-on artwork constructions, musical and theatrical performances. On Friday afternoon in the US Pavilion, Ralph joined Lee in his Design Dialogue talk about the Terraces East project, the role affordable housing occupies in our firm culture of giving back and helping others, and the welcoming nature our project’s porch has played in connecting and engaging residents, neighbors and the community at large.
On the evening of the last day of the Biennale, the co-commissioners and their team gathered all in attendance for a “Porch Farewell”. Author Charlie Hailey gave a reading from his inspirational book “The Porch, Meditations on the Edge of Nature” and Peter MacKeith and Susan Chin gave thanks and gratitude to each other, the US Department of State, their friends at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the City of Venice, their friends at the Biennale, and to all in attendance and that participated in the exhibit, for the opportunity to represent our nation, our nation’s architecture and our nation’s larger culture. After a final walk through of the exhibits in the pavilion, and a few parting conversations with our colleagues, we said goodbye to an amazing and inspirational experience, grateful to have been part of this premier international exhibition of exceptional, conceptual architectural works from around the world.
