16th Venice International Architecture Biennale

The 16th International Architectural Biennale opened on 25-26 May in Venice, which will last until November 25, 2018. Its main theme is "Freespace".

Curators from Ireland Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell explain: "Space, free space, public space can reveal the presence or absence of architecture if we understand by it our ideas applied to the space in which we live ...".

The famous Venetian Arsenal, one of the main venues of the architectural Biennale, photo © finestresullarte.info

The solemn presentation of the Biennale's main awards took place on May 26, 2018. The Golden Lion was awarded to Switzerland for the best national pavilion named "Svizzera 240. House Tour".

Thanks to the special form of presentation, namely the "House Tour", the project focuses on the internal space of modern housing, when there is still no furniture. Visiting the house offers a non-linear perception, at the level of interior details. Interiors are built on an alternating scale and connected together, forming a labyrinthine sequence of internal perspectives.

Thus, the premises are perceived in accordance with the emotions arising from its architectural forms: a volume of ± 240 centimeters, white walls, plinths, wooden or tiled floors, standard components of the finish.

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Bercet, visits the pavilion of Switzerland, photo © tvsvizzera.it

The Swiss project «Svizzera 240. House Tour», photo © artribune.com

The international jury decided to award the main prize of the Biennale to "a pleasant and attractive architectural design that touches main issues of the interior's space's building scale".

A special award was awarded to the UK for a bold project, where an empty space for informal meetings was used to create "free space". On the roof of the British pavilion was build a unique terrace with a view to the lagoon, a new public space, called "Island".

At the bottom doors are open to visitors, but the building itself is empty. During the Biennale, various events will take place in the British Pavilion: poetry evenings, plays and films, as well as meetings and discussions on architecture.

The pavilion of Great Britain "Island", photo ©Hélène Binet

As the curators explain, the "Island" offers a variety of topics: "refusal, reconstruction, shelter, Brexit, isolation, colonialism and climate change".

With Golden Lion (as the best participant of the 16th Venice International Architectural Bienniale) was awarded the Portuguese architect Eduardo Soutu de Moura for "accuracy of approximation" in two aerial photographs showing the special relationship between architecture, time and place. "Free Space" is shown without special statements, clearly and simply.

The freespace of the Portuguese architect Eduardo Soutu de Moura, photo © artribune.com

The Silver Lion was received by promising young architects from Belgium: Jan de Vylder, Inge Vinck and Jo Taillieu. The jury called their project "confident, where slowness and expectations allow the architecture to be open to future development."

The Belgian project «UNLESS EVER PEOPLE – CARITAS FOR FREESPACE», photo © artribune.com

The architect Andra Matin (Indonesia) received a special prize for the thought-project about the materials and forms of traditional folk architectural structures, as well as the architect Rahul Mehrotra (India / USA) for three projects dedicated to empathy themes, delicately softening social barriers and hierarchies.

Andra's Matin's project «Elevation», photo © artribune.com

Also, the "Golden Lion for Career" was given to historian of modern architecture Kenneth Frampton (Great Britain) to pay tribute to his "amazing intellect, a unique sense of integrity" and a humanistic worldview. His works, dedicated to the fundamental values of architecture, inspired generations of students and architects.

Kenneth Frampton (Great Britain), historian of modern architecture, photo WEB

During the presentation of the prizes, the President of the Biennale, Paolo Baratta, remarked: "Each theme of the new Biennale gives the opportunity to express different points of view: each architect, from his own experience, lays "brick" for building themes at the foundation of the exhibition."

As for the concept of FREESPACE, the curators stated that they are delighted with its various interpretations by architects from all over the world. Only in this way is it possible to rethink the role of professional architects for humanity. "For us architecture is a transition from necessity, in the broadest sense of the word, to a meaningful space. We hope that the word FREESPACE will allow us to explore the aspirations, ambitions and generosity of architecture".

Giulia Ilina, Italy, Venice

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