Jesus Robles Showcases Tucson-Inspired Work at the Venice Biennale
Assistant Professor of Practice Jesus Robles, co-founder of the architecture studio DUST, was selected to exhibit work at the Biennale Architettura 2025 in Venice, Italy. This is one of the world’s most prestigious events celebrating innovation in art and design.
Robles’ studio is among a select group featured in the U.S. Pavilion’s “Porch: An Architecture of Generosity” exhibition. The installation, titled “Ofrescas: Between Earth and Sky,” represents the Tucson Audubon Society and highlights the ecological richness of southern Arizona’s Patagonia Mountains.
“It was an honor for DUST, but we’re more proud that the project by Tucson Audubon got the world stage,” Robles said. “To bring light to public lands, biodiversity, conservation and ecological restoration, and to all the agencies and organizations working for a healthy environment.”
Robles explained that the studio responded to the curators’ theme by reimagining the wildlife pavilion as both a public and natural space, “a metaphoric porch.” The submission expands on the built work to address broader environmental and cultural themes of the region, including bird migration and water resilience.
“While the project was a small wildlife viewing pavilion in the Patagonia Mountains, the submission looked to bring attention to the larger forces at play regarding landscape, resources, cultures and knowledge that are specific to this region,” Robles said.
For Robles, the project mirrors the same thinking he brings into his teaching at CAPLA.
“The two are inseparable,” he said. “How I think, perceive and act as a designer and community member ultimately frames how I see what our challenges are today and how to begin to address or make light of them, hoping to result in some poetic response about what it means to dwell in a place.”
Robles joins two other designers with University of Arizona ties, Jones Studio and Richard Kennedy, whose work is also being exhibited in Venice this year.
“I’m proud to be included with such company, and of our small Arizona community representing design excellence on the world stage,” Robles said.
Robles said this experience reaffirms DUST’s approach to design.
“It reinforces the idea that architecture can happen at the smallest of scales and still address some of the larger issues of our time, and the power of narrative and story to bring those connections to light,” he said.
DUST was also recently recognized by American Institute of Architects (AIA) Arizona.
“DUST was honored to receive an Honor award for Distinguished Architecture, among so many CAPLA award winners and projects exuding design excellence in our state,” Robles said.
You can check out their winning work, “Sombra de Santa Fe,” here.
Check out the Ofrescas: Between Earth and Sky Digital Book
