Australian pavilion

The Australian pavilion is a structure that houses Australia's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts and architecture festivals.

The Biennale parent organization also hosts regular festivals in other arts: architecture, dance, film, music, and theater.

[3] The original Australian Pavilion, designed by Philip Cox to be a temporary structure of fiber cement and steel,[4] was opened in 1988 at the western edge of the Giardini.

[5] Italian-born Australian industrialist Franco Belgiorno-Nettis had previously lobbied so successfully that in 1988 Australia beat 16 other countries to the last site on which to build a permanent pavilion in the Giardini.

[9][2][10] Built from concrete and steel, the two-storey structure contains 240 m2 (2,600 sq ft) of exhibition space, and the exterior is covered in black granite from Zimbabwe.