ARCHITECTURE:Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
The lady on the ladder who, climbing up onto the highest steps can gaze over a far broader horizon, and by doing so conquers an “expanded eye”, announces the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 curated by Alejandro Aravena. The lady is the German archaeologist Maria Reiche studying the Nazca lines. Aravena thus express his hope that the Biennale might offer a new point of view like the one Maria Reiche has on the ladder.
By Dimitris Lempesis
The title chosen by Alejandro Aravena for the 15th International Exhibition of Architecture is “Reporting from the Front”, a title which he explains as such: “There are several battles that need to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people’s quality of life. More and more people in the planet are in search for a decent place to live and the conditions to achieve it are becoming tougher and tougher by the hour. Any attempt to go beyond business as usual encounters huge resistance in the inertia of reality and any effort to tackle relevant issues has to overcome the increasing complexity of the world”. The 15th Biennale is, therefore, about politics rather than aesthetics: it is about the economic, legal, fiscal, social, and institutional processes that shape architecture, and that ask for solutions. The Exhibition “Reporting from the Front”, is laid out in a unitary exhibition sequence from the Central Pavilion (Giardini) to the Arsenale, and will include 88 participants from 37 different countries. 50 of them will be participating for the first time, and 33 architects are under the age of 40. The 15th International Architecture Exhibition features 3 Special Projects: The exhibition curated by architect Stefano Recalcati, titled “Reporting from Marghera and Other Waterfronts”, is shown in the exhibition venues of Forte Marghera at Mestre, and analyse significant projects for the urban regeneration of industrial ports, helping to fuel the debate on the conversion of production in Porto Marghera. In “A World of Fragile Parts” at Sale d’Armi A, Arsenale, La Biennale di Venezia and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) explore the threats facing the preservation of global heritage sites and how the production of copies can aid in the preservation of cultural artifacts. “Report From Cities: conflicts Of An Urban Age” at The United Nations Habitat III, provides a view from the front-line of cities. Like national pavilions that describe the ‘fight they face at home’, the cities pavilion will provide the visitor to the Biennale Architettura with insights on the major trends and conflicts experienced today in the urban realm. The Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia, upon recommendation from Alejandro Aravena, have announced the Brazilian Pritzker Prize-winning architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha as the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Citing the “timelessness” of his work “both physically and stylistically” as “the most striking attribute of his architecture,” the board have also stated that “this astonishing consistency may be the consequence of his ideological integrity and structural genius”. In celebration of the four decade career of the late Zaha Hadid, Fondazione Berengo will host an exhibition of her paintings, drawings, and models at the 16th century Palazzo Franchetti in Venice. The exhibition displays the full range of Hadid’s design work from built projects, to those under construction, and others ultimately never realized. Some of the early, unrealized work that are represented includes “Malevich’s Tektonic”, a bridge concept for the Thames River, which Hadid developed while she was still a student at the Architectural Association School in London, as well “Peak Club, Hong Kong” (1982-83), “Hafenstrasse, Hamburg” (1989), “Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London” (1985), the “Victoria City master-plan for Berlin” (1988), and the “Cardiff Bay Opera House” (1994-95).
Info: Director: Alejandro Aravena, Venice Architecture Biennale 2016, Giardini & Arsenale, Venice, Duration: 28/5-27/11/16, Days & Hours: Giardini: Daily 10-18:00, Arsenale: Tue-Thu 10:00-18:00, Fri-Sat 10:00-20:00, Admission: Full Regular 25€ (valid for one entry to each venue, Giardini + Arsenale, to be used also on non-consecutive days), Reduced 22€-20€, www.labiennale.org
