The International Architecture Biennial of Antalya (IABA), organized biennially by the Antalya Branch of the Chamber of Architects, serves as a platform for critical discourse and exchange on architecture and urbanism. In 2025, IABA will return for its 5th edition, marking an important continuation of its legacy. As Türkiye’s first and only international architecture biennial, IABA was initiated by the Chamber of Architects Antalya Branch in 2011. Each edition has explored thought-provoking themes: Intersections (2011), Template (2013), Thinking the Future (2015), and Continuity (2017). The 5th edition, originally scheduled for 2019, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a temporary suspension of the biennial series. Now, with the 2025 edition, IABA aims to reestablish its rhythm and reclaim its role as a vital forum for architectural and urban dialogue.
The theme for IABA 2025 is In-Between – Architecture and the City in the New World Order. This edition is envisioned as a reminder of what was paused and a transition toward a renewed normality. The designation 4.5 symbolizes this transitional phase, as it is situated between the past and the future practices, reflecting on the profound shifts the pandemic brought to daily life, architecture, and urbanism. Many of these shifts have become permanent or have evolved into new dimensions, creating a state of constant in-betweenness. The In-Between theme emerges from the tensions and complexities of existing at the threshold, that is, between the familiar and the unknown, the expected and the unpredictable. This edition of IABA seeks to explore liminal spaces and states through the guiding question: Towards Where Architecture and the City Evolve in the New World Order?
Through this lens, the Biennial will provide a critical space to observe, question, criticize and interpret the forces shaping our built environment, addressing key global and local challenges, such as artificial intelligence, digitalization, hegemonic technology, migration and displacement, conflict and war, climate crisis, environmental urgency, food security and accessibility, sustainable living, social and spatial justice, cultural erosion, urban identity, health, security, community, and contemporary urban space. The In-Between theme encourages multiple interpretations and perspectives, serving as a departure point for ideas, critical debates, and creative explorations. We invite participants to consider in-betweenness as a space and state of negotiation and reconciliation, a catalyst for creativity, and a ground for discovering new relationships between opposites. We foresee that the discussions and productions in the Biennial may explore the following questions, along with thematic topics: Can the In-Between serve as a site of reconciliation, where opposites find common ground? Can liminality foster new modes of architectural and urban production? How do we redefine such opposing relationships as local vs. global, natural vs. artificial, and tradition vs. innovation? How does the global climate emergency shape the coexistence of architecture and cities? Can architecture slow down hyper-consumption and production cycles? What new themes, beyond traditional oppositions, should architects, planners, and designers be addressing today? How can architecture transcend national and disciplinary borders to address urgent social and economic challenges?
Prof. Dr. Lale ÖZGENEL
Curator
Elvan Hazal TÜRKYILMAZ BİLGİÇ
Curator