people meet in architecture - giardine della bienalle 2010 kazuyo sejima venice, italy

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12th international architecture exhibition / people meet in architecture / 29th august > 21st november 2010 / the 12th international architecture exhibition, directed by kazuyo sejima, ran august 29th through november 21st, 2010, at the giardini and at the arsenale (preview august 26-27-28, 2010), and in various other venues in venice. After a series of editions of the architecture biennale directed by eminent critics and historians, this sector was once again in the hands of an architect, kazuyo sejima. the first woman to direct the architecture sector of the biennale, on 17th may 2010 sejima was awarded the prestigious pritzker architecture prize 2010 together with ryue nishizawa. /// introduction by kazuyo sejima /// the 2010 architecture biennale should be a reflection on architecture. the twenty-first century has just started. many radical changes are taking place. in such a rapid-changing context, can architecture clarify new values and a new lifestyle for the present? hopefully, this show will be a chance to experience the manifold possibilities of architecture, as well as to account for its plurality of approaches, each one of them being a different way of living. nowadays, it feels as if we are living in a post ideological society. we are more connected than ever, our culture, as well as our economy, has become global. because of this, people’s consciousness and lifestyles change, theoretically and substantially. sometimes relationships get shaped through indirect communication. still, we believe that architecture plays a significant role in this: it has the power to open up new perspectives. we imagine ideas that can have far reaching effects. these dreams come from many sources and may represent a new independent freedom that is essentially inherent to contemporary culture. in the end, we would be happy if, thanks to this exhibition, we could feel where our society might be going, what dreams the future might hold for us. there will be an independent space for each participant, in order to make them show their understanding of the theme and their personal response to it. individuals will be showing their position towards the interaction of new social and natural environments; all of which means that each person is his or her own curator. this way the atmosphere of the exhibition itself will be achieved through multiple points of view rather than a single orientation. the selection criterion has led to architects, artists and engineers who, in return to this call, propose a way to investigate relationships among people. each dynamic relationship has its roots in actual, physical space. matthias schuler of transsolar, for instance, in collaboration with tetsuo kondo, has proposed a real scale cloud. it is an installation that forces people into a new reading of space simply because its edges are ephemeral. other projects do not necessarily display an overt original style, whereas some others are clearly at the very edge of technology. r&sie(n) are presenting an installation that represents human life cycles through projected lights, which speaks about how we ultimately perceive space. further on, we have invited many architects to study their own work in films that will be shown in an attempt to examine how people make space what it is by living in it. in this exhibition architecture can be shown as a generator of new forms of understanding. the idea is to help people relate to architecture, to help architecture relate to people, and to help people relate to themselves. visitors can have different reactions towards each installation. the central pavilion and the arsenale are treated similarly, both opened up to natural light although the work is deeply varied, making it possible for everyone to make their unique route through displays freely. by experiencing architecture from different angles, people will be able to start creating their own personal “set of encounters”. /// participants /// /// aires mateus e associados francisco aires mateus portugal, 1964 lives and works in lisbon, portugal manuel aires mateus portugal, 1963 lives and works in lisbon, portugal /// /// amateur architecture studio wang shu china, 1963 lives and works in hangzhou, china /// /// amid.cero9 cristina díaz moreno spain, 1971 lives and works in madrid, spain efrén garcía grinda spain, 1966 lives and works in madrid, spain /// /// aranda\lasch with island planning corporation benjamin aranda united states, 1973 lives and works in new york, us chris lasch united states, 1972 lives and works in new york, us nathan browning united states, 1973 lives and works in miami, us /// /// aru/architecture research unit* florian beigel germany, 1941 lives and works in london, uk philip christou canada, 1956 lives and works in london, uk *aru is a design research laboratory based at the london metropolitan university /// /// atelier bow-wow yoshiharu tsukamoto japan, 1965 lives and works in tokyo, japan momoyo kaijima japan, 1969 lives and works in tokyo, japan /// /// berger&berger laurent p. berger france, 1972 lives and works in paris, france cyrille berger france, 1975 lives and works in paris, france /// /// lina bo bardi rome, italy, 1914 – são paulo, brazil, 1992 /// /// studio andrea branzi andrea branzi italy, 1938 lives and works in milan, italy /// /// janet cardiff janet cardiff canada, 1957 lives and works in grindrod, bc canada and berlin, germany /// /// caruso st. john + thomas demand adam caruso canada, 1962 lives and works in london, uk peter st john great britain, 1959 lives and works in london, uk rod heyes great britain, 1973 lives and works in london, uk thomas demand germany, 1964 lives and works in berlin, germany and london, uk /// /// aldo cibic aldo cibic italy, 1955 lives and works in milan, italy /// vdepaor architects tom depaor great britain, 1967 lives and works in dublin, ireland /// /// architecten de vylder vinck taillieu jan de vylder belgium, 1968 lives and works in ghent, belgium /// /// do-ho suh + suh architects (eulho suh and kyungen kim) do-ho suh korea, 1962 lives and works in new york, us and berlin, germany eulho suh korea, 1964 lives and works in seoul, korea and los angeles, us kyungen kim korea, 1972 lives and works in seoul, korea and los angeles, us /// /// peter ebner and friends peter ebner austria, 1968 lives and works in vienna and salzburg, austria and munich, germany michael eichner germany, 1968 lives and works in munich, germany and moscow, russia michael schwarz germany, 1958 lives and works in dubai, united arab emirates javier sanchez mexico, 1969 lives and works in mexico city, mexico franziska ullmann austria, 1950 lives and works in vienna, austria claudio valentino great britain, 1967 lives and works in rome, italy gianluca andreoletti italy, 1965 lives and works in rome, italy /// /// olafur eliasson denmark, 1967 lives and works in berlin, germany /// /// sou fujimoto architects sou fujimoto japan, 1971 lives and works in tokyo, japan /// /// antón garcía-abril & ensamble studio antón garcía-abril spain, 1969 lives and works in madrid, spain /// /// junya.ishigami+associates junya ishigami japan, 1974 lives and works in tokyo, japan /// /// toyo ito & associates, architects toyo ito korea, 1941 lives and works in tokyo, japan /// /// andrés jaque arquitectos andrés jaque spain, 1971 lives and works in madrid, spain /// /// christian kerez venezuela, 1962 lives and works in zurich, switzerland /// /// luisa lambri italy, 1969 lives and works in milan, italy /// /// walter niedermayr italy, 1952 lives and works in bolzano, italy /// /// noero wolff architects jo noero south africa, 1951 lives and works in cape town, south africa heinrich wolff south africa, 1970 lives and works in cape town, south africa /// /// hans ulrich obrist switzerland, 1968 lives and works in london, uk http://huoarchive.hfg-karlsruhe.de /// /// office kersten geers david van severen + bas princen kersten geers belgium, 1975 lives and works in brussels, belgium david van severen belgium, 1978 lives and works in brussels, belgium bas princen netherlands, 1975 lives and works in rotterdam, netherlands /// /// valerio olgiati switzerland, 1958 lives and works in flims, switzerland /// /// oma - office for metropolitan architecture rem koolhaas netherlands, 1944 lives and works in rotterdam, netherlands /// /// opensimsim daniel dendra netherlands, 1966 lives and works in berlin, germany and moscow, russia /// /// piet oudolf the netherlands, 1944 lives and works in hummelo, netherlands /// /// pezo von ellrichshausen architects mauricio pezo chile, 1973 lives and works in concepcion, chile sofia von ellricshausen argentina, 1976 lives and works in concepcion, chile /// /// renzo piano building workshop renzo piano italy, 1937 lives and works in genoa, italy and paris, france /// /// mark pimlott + tony fretton architects mark pimlott canada, 1958 lives and works in london, uk and in the hague, netherlands tony fretton great britain, 1945 lives and works in london, uk /// /// cedric price stone, staffordshire, 1934 – london, uk, 2003 /// /// smiljan radic + marcela correa smiljan radic chile, 1965 lives and works in santiago, chile marcela correa chile, 1963 lives and works in santiago, chile /// /// raumlaborberlin francesco apuzzo, markus bader, benjamin foerster-baldenius, andrea hofmann, jan liesegang, christof mayer, matthias rick, axel timm founded in 1999 based in berlin, germany /// /// r&sie(n) françois roche france, 1961 lives and works in paris, france teaches in new-york & los angeles, usa stéphanie lavaux france, 1966 lives and works in paris, france toshikatsi kiuchi japan, 1978 lives and works in paris, france /// /// tom sachs studio tom sachs united states, 1966 lives and works in new york, us /// /// selgascano josé selgas spain, 1965 lives and works in madrid, spain lucìa cano spain, 1965 lives and works in madrid, spain /// /// studio mumbai architects founded in 2005 based in mumbai, india /// /// fiona tan indonesia, 1966 lives and works in amsterdam, netherlands /// /// kazuyo sejima & associates * kazuyo sejima japan, 1956 lives and works in tokyo, japan * participants from the curatorial team not eligible for awards /// /// office of ryue nishizawa * ryue nishizawa japan, 1966 lives and works in tokyo, japan * participants from the curatorial team not eligible for awards /// /// transsolar & tetsuo kondo architects matthias schuler germany, 1958 lives and works in stuttgart, germany tetsuo kondo japan, 1975 lives and works in tokyo, japan /// /// wim wenders* germany, 1945 lives and works in los angeles, us and berlin, germany * participant related to the curatorial team not eligible for awards/// cerith wyn evans wales, 1958 lives and works in london, uk ///

description

/// the italian pavilion ///

the new padiglione italia, destined to the exhibitions promoted by the ministry for cultural affairs, overlooks the gaggiandre and the 16th century tese on one side, and the giardino delle vergini on the other. it hosts italian artists in a significantly enlarged and requalified structure (in 2009 the exhibition space was extended from 800 to 1800 square metros).

/// arsenale ///
since 1999, the biennale has been particuarly attentive to all the restoration works designed for the arsenale, a complex urban estate of high historical importance, in order to plan a new functional exhibition arrangement in the areas conceded by the demanio militare.

50.000 square metres (25.000 of which of indoor space) of the south-east area of the arsenale have become the stable site of the biennale activities, with exhibition spaces such as: corderie, artiglierie, gaggiandre, tese cinquecentesche, tese delle vergini.

live performances have taken place at the teatro alle tese and at the teatro piccolo arsenale.
these buildings were properly renewed, restoring shingles, plants and floorings, providing up-to-date and equipped services for visitors: ticket-offices, bookshops, catering services, control rooms.

at the same time a new reorganisation plan to access this area has been defined, specifically by realising a new entrance from the ponte dei pensieri, which links the giardino delle vergini to the castello neighbourhood. this bridge is in fact a completely new access to the arsenale, making the giardini-arsenale being perceived as a new unity.
its entire surface (6000 square metres) having been used for the first time in 2008, on the occasion of the 11th international architecture exhibition, nowadays the giardino delle vergini also hosts a landscape installation by gustafson porter – gustafson guthrie nichol firms.

/// historical hints ///

the arsenale is the largest pre-industrial production centre of the world. its surface occupied forty-six hectars, and it would host up to 2000 workers a day in full swing. it is an important place for venice, not only because the serenissima fleet was built there, but also because these shipyards, depots and workshops were the symbol of the military, economical and political power venice had back in time. its first unit dates back to the beginning of the 13th century, and was developed on the darsena vecchia sides. at the beginning of the 14th century the first extension was realised, by buiding the darsena nuova and, in the following century, the arsenale underwent other transfromations due to the impelling naval and military needs of the serenissima. as time went by, the arsenale kept losing its military importance, becoming a more commerce-related site. between 1876 and 1909, the last significant extension intervention was made, that is the realisation of the new structures between of the darsena nuova and nuovissima.

corderie. extending on the southern side of the arsenale, built in 1303 and then rebuilt between 1576 and 1585 after the designs of antonio da ponte, they were originally destined to the production of hawsers and naval ropes. the building, fully covered by wooden trusses, measures 316 metres in length, 21 in width and 9,70 in heigth. it presents a three-aisle structure, each one propping up wooden trusses, approximately at a seven metre heighth. the exhibition spaces cover a 6400 square metres surface.

artiglierie and isolotto. made up of a one floor building dating back to 1560, the artiglierie occupy a 3.300 square metres area. they originally hosted the arsenale workshops. next to this site, there is a former warehouse (the isolotto) that covers 900 square metres.

gaggiandre, tese, giardino delle vergini. the gaggiandre, two magnificent shipyards built between 1568 and 1573 after some designs attributed to jacopo sansovino, overlook a large internal dock. beyond the tese, partly realised in the 16th century, is the giardino delle vergini, a fascinating green area.

the biennale di venezia first employed the arsenale, specifically the corderie area, in 1980, in occasion of the 1st international architecture exhibition curated by paolo portoghesi, who set up the strada novissima at the corderie of the arsenale. in the following years, the same spaces were used in other art exhibition for the aperto section, devoted to the promotion of young artists.

/// central pavilion ///
in the framework of the reorganization of the exhibition spaces of the biennale venues, in the historical padiglione italia at the giardini was renamed central pavilion in 2009.

this change aimed at underlining its new versatile nature, destined to be the centre of multiple permanent activities as well as a milestone for other pavillions at the giardini.
it is a structure (3500 square metres, 2800 of which destined for exhibitions), open all year long in the service of hosting the main events of the biennale, with specific areas, designed for educational activities, a library service, open to students and scholars alike, and a bookstore.

in order to do so, a requalification program was launched (involving interventions on structures, plants, shutters, etc.) with the aim of realising the right set ups for the new bookstore and cafeteria, creating a new arrangement for the influx of both incoming and outgoing visitors.

the set up of some of these areas was curated by some of the artists involved in the 53rd international art exhibition: massimo bartolini (educational area), rirkrit tiravanija (bookstore), tobias rehberger (cafeteria). the latter won a golden lion for best artist of the exhibition.

the new asac library. the first phase of the realisation of the library of historical archives of contemporary arts (asac) ended in june 2009 –on the occasion of the opening of the 53rd international art exhibition – and regarded the adjustment of all internal spaces of the first part of a restored annex of the central pavilion at the giardini. this intervention implied the functional restoration of its rooms, all equipped with up-to-date gear for reference research.

this way the biennale library was finally open after ten years: a library specialised in visual arts, providing books, catalogues, papers that can be consulted in special reading rooms open to exhibition visitors, students as well as researchers in venice. the library of the biennale underwent an extraordinary requalification, both under a functional and an architectural point of view, offering very high standards for reference work. thanks to this operation, the long awaited event of giving back the asac to venice finally took place, in a requalified structure and in an ideal, alive setting, strongly engaged with events and exhibitions.

at the end of august 2010, in conjunction with the 12th international architecture exhibition, the second and last opening of the restored areas in the same annex of the central pavilion took place. the rest of the asac library collections (architecture, cinema, dance, music and theatre) are now placed there, along with the documents collections.

the asac has now reached a joint management status, and found a structurally rationalized organization: on one side it offers a new place for research reference work, on the other a renewed space for digitalization, storage and reference of its historical archives, at the vega centre in marghera.

historical hints
the first realisation of the central pavilion at the giardini dates back to 1894, on behalf of the city of venice, and its aim was to host the first biennale exhibitions the following year. the building (known as “pro arte” at the time) was conceived by enrico travisanato, and its liberty façade was designed by marius de maria and bartolomeo bezzi. until 1905, the biennale only occupied this palazzo, where artists coming from different countries would gather and exhibit their works together, with no internal division. because of the great success achieved by its first editions, the biennale encouraged foreign countries to build their own pavillion at the giardini to let their national artits have an exclusive exhibition space (the first country to take up this invitation was belgium, in 1907).

in the following decades, the main palazzo underwent many changes and transformations, hosting the interventions of important artists such as ernesto basile (entrance, 1905), galileo chini (decorations, 1907-1909), guido cirilli (façade, 1914), gio ponti (rotunda, 1928), becoming the present padiglione italia in 1932, with the still visible engaging façade by duilio torres. the strong collaboration between carlo scarpa and the biennale began in 1948 (and lasted until 1972), a direct bound which resulted in numerous remarkable projects. in 1968 carlo scarpa realised the loft conversion of the main salon of the pavilion, doubling the actual exhibition space. he also realised the giardino delle sculture in 1952. in 1977 valeriano pastor designed the auditorium, destined to the city of venice, and now trasformed into the asac library.

/// the giardini ///
these gardens in the east of venice have been the traditional venue for the international art exhibition since 1895. they were laid out during the napoleonic era, on land that had once been occupied by a district that included four churches and three convents. the area hosts the central pavilion and a further 29 national pavilions, built at various periods by the participating countries themselves.

several pavilions in the gardens were designed and built by famous architects. built in 1934, the austrian pavilion was one of the very last works of josef hoffmann, a leading figure in the “secession” movement.
the dutch pavilion was built in 1954 by gerrit thomas rietveld, the leader of the de stijl movement; its rigorously geometrical proportions are all based on a simple square.
the finnish pavilion is a pre-fabricated structure designed by alvar aalto – it was assembled in 1956 from parts produced in finland itself; entirely in wood, it was intended to be used for a single biennale.

/// national pavilions ///

alongside the central pavilion, built in 1894 and later restructured and extended several times, the gardens are occupied by a further 29 pavilions built at different periods by the various nations participating in the biennale. set amidst tall trees, the pavilions themselves form a sort of anthology of important twentieth-century architecture – given they were designed by architects of the status of aalto, hoffmann, rietveld, scarpa and stirling.

the pavilions were built over the years, in the following chronological order (name of the architect in brackets): 1907 belgium (léon sneyens); 1909 hungary (géza rintel maróti); 1909 germany (daniele donghi), demolished and rebuilt in 1938 (ernst haiger); 1909 great britain (edwin alfred rickards); 1912 france (umberto bellotto); 1912 netherlands (gustav ferdinand boberg), demolished and rebuilt in 1953 (gerrit thomas rietveld); 1914 russia (aleksej v. scusev); 1922 spain (javier de luque) façade renovated in 1952 by joaquin vaquero palacios; 1926 czech republic and slovak republic (otakar novotny); 1930 united states of america (chester holmes aldrich and william adams delano); 1932 denmark (carl brummer) enlarged in 1958 by peter koch; 1932 padiglione venezia (brenno del giudice), enlarged in 1938; 1934 austria (josef hoffmann); 1934 greece (m. papandréou – b. del giudice); 1952 israel (zeev rechter); 1952 switzerland (bruno giacometti); 1954 venezuela (carlo scarpa); 1956 japan (takamasa yoshizaka); 1956 finland (alvar aalto pavilion); 1958 canada (gruppo bbpr, gian luigi banfi, ludovico barbiano di belgiojoso, enrico peressutti, ernesto nathan rogers); 1960 uruguay; 1962 nordic countries: sweden, norway, finland (sverre fehn); 1964 brazil (amerigo marchesin); 1987 australia (philip cox); 1995 korea (seok chul kim and franco mancuso).