The International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is the discipline’s leading event, bringing together those who, in response to today’s challenges, envision the solutions of tomorrow. Since 2014, Rolex has been its Exclusive Partner and Official Timepiece. This support highlights our dedication to excellence in design and sustainability.
The Biennale Architettura 2025 is open until 23 November.
Replacing the previous structure built in 2018, the Rolex Pavilion has been reimagined along principles of sustainability, using local craftspeople, traditional building methods and recycled materials. Rolex invited a talented international architect, Mariam Issoufou, to design the pavilion with a brief to reflect the identity of the brand, and its philosophy of sustainability that stems from creating watches that are made to last.
Issoufou’s design for the pavilion is inspired by the shape of Venice itself, an island sinuously split in half by the Grand Canal. It features a wooden facade, crafted locally from recycled wood beams and fashioned to evoke the iconic fluted bezel on many of Rolex’s iconic watches. Inside, the translucent coloured ceiling – made by Murano glassmakers – produces a range of shades and hues that morph throughout the day. The terrazzo flooring is made of an aggregate that includes recycled “Cotisso” crushed glass.
IInside the pavilion, Rolex reveals its connection to the world of architecture and interior design through three displays, accompanied by films. They describe the construction of the new Rolex Pavilion, a research study in Beirut and the refurbishment of two boutiques in Milan and Tokyo.
French architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Anne Lacaton espouses building renewal and opposes demolition. In 2023–2024, through the Rolex mentoring programme, she guided young Lebanese-Armenian architect Arine Aprahamian’s two-year research project on Bourj Hammoud, a densely populated quarter in Beirut’s eastern suburbs where she grew up. The study demonstrates how small, strategic interventions are the right strategy to enhance life in a place with economic constraints, where space is scarce and public areas are virtually absent.
Rolex reveals its tradition of exquisite craftsmanship in the refurbishment of boutiques in Milan and Tokyo.
In Milan, an extensive restoration of a Rolex boutique in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II offers a new language for retail space design that is based on an appreciation for traditional Italian craftsmanship, and a selection of refined materials and furniture. ACPV ARCHITECTS’ design revives the Milanese atmosphere in a contemporary key but preserves the historic value of the location.
In Ginza, Tokyo, the new Rolex flagship store seamlessly blends tradition and modernity. Occupying four floors of the Rolex Building, the facade and store were designed by Gwenael Nicolas of Tokyo-based design studio Curiosity, who worked with local artisans and artists. The boutique’s glass facade shimmers with a unique double bezel pattern thanks to metal mesh produced in Kyoto.