At the 2025 Time Space Existence exhibition in Venice at the Biennale, architectural firm MVRDV has unveiled a groundbreaking solar-responsive installation: the SOMBRA Pavilion. Designed in collaboration with Metadecor, Airshade, and Alumet, among others, the project is located in the lush setting of the European Cultural Centre’s Giardini Marinaressa.
SOMBRA, a name fusing the Latin words for sun (sol) and shade (umbra), is more than a temporary pavilion—it’s a living laboratory. Shaped like a heliodon, the structure mimics how the sun moves through the sky, providing an intuitive experience of solar patterns.
It operates without motors, electronics, or external energy. Instead, it breathes, opens, and closes using only passive physical principles. A similar shade system was developed by Dutch engineers in the Gulf region — see the startup Airshade. And this group has partnered on the Venice exhibit.
Measuring just 30 square meters, SOMBRA is a compact marvel of climate-sensitive architecture. The pavilion’s six metal ribs, angled to correspond with the solar angles of the summer and winter solstices, support triangular shading panels made of perforated MD Formatura screens by Metadecor.
These panels respond autonomously to sunlight: opening when skies are overcast to maximize views, and closing during intense sunlight to offer shade.
The core innovation lies in the Airshade system. The pavilion hides small air canisters within its ribbed frame. When sunlight heats a canister, air pressure increases, inflating a miniature airbag. Inspired by soft robotics, the airbag acts like a muscle, countering the spring hinge to close the shading panel. As clouds pass and temperatures drop, the air deflates and the panel reopens.
This poetic movement mimics a living organism, giving the pavilion an animated presence as it reacts to its environment—without consuming any operational energy.
As MVRDV partner Bertrand Schippan explains: “With the climate crisis accelerating, it’s clear that we need new architecture that is more in tune with the environment. SOMBRA is a demonstration of one approach among many to this philosophy: an architecture that senses its environment and reacts to it in much the same way that plants do.”
SOMBRA’s narrative is layered in symbolism. Its circular floor plate is engraved with the polar sun path chart used to guide its geometry. Underneath the ribs, over 200 translations of the words “sun and shade” remind visitors that the sun connects all of humanity—a shared experience cutting across cultures, geographies, and languages.
::MVRDV
Credits and Collaborators
Architect: MVRDV
Founding Partner in Charge: Jacob van Rijs
Partner: Bertrand Schippan
Design Team: Yayun Liu, Alberto Carro Novo
Structural Engineering: Van Rossum Raadgevend Ingenieurs
Mechanical Engineering, Sunlight Studies: Arup
Bending: Kersten Europe
Ideation & Technology Partners:
Metadecor (engineering and fabrication)
Airshade Technologies (actuation, R&D)
AMOLF Institute (research)
Alumet (anodizing)
