Vacancies, voids and squatting the pavilions of Venice.
The Netherlands Pavilion (Vacant NL) explores the thousands of buildings in the Netherlands that lie vacant, in a call for the “intelligent reuse of temporarily vacant buildings around the world in promoting creative enterprise.” Their physical response was to embrace the void of their temporarily occupied pavilion, creating a roof that reveals itself from above to be an intricate installation of the urban fabric, revealing great potential in occupying these spaces.
These strategies are of great interest to me: I’ve been spending the last year creating pop-up shops in empty storefronts and gardens in vacant lots in London, where the Meanwhile Space movement has gained some serious momentum ...
Romania on the other hand, filled the void of their pavilion with a 1:1 model of Romania, in an abstraction that compresses the space into population density.
“The concept is to “exhibit space,” and by doing so, to explore its various instances. A specific and quantifiable facet is related to the idea of “space”: 94m2/person is the population density level in Bucharest, and its representative for the urban condition in Romania. It illustrates at the same time, both an individual and collective state of existance. 94m2 will be the exhibited “space.” It will be experienced by one person at a time. Translating at 1:1 scale this abstract and yet fundamental relationship between man and its space, becomes a key in decoding different meanings of space.”
Over dinner last night we were talking about the other 9 months of Venice, when the biennales are not happening. These off-season country pavilions are unoccupied for the majority of the year, making them some of the most desirable temporary squatting properties in the world. We started claiming our favorite country pavilions and of course Britain was quickly snatched up, standing regally at the high point of the Giardini. Which would you choose?
Great Britain ...
Russia ...
USA ...
France ...
Germany ...
Nordic (nice space, no privacy ...)
Greece ...
Japan ...
Venezuela ...
Israel ...
Poland, Serbia, Romania, Egypt ...
Netherlands ...
Sorry, I know these pics aren't too descriptive! Would love to know more about the history and politics of situating these pavilions ... and whether new ones can be built. About to go to the Croatian pavilion, which just arrived by boat!
More soon,
Heather
1 Comment
That masterplan/roof is ridiculous. love the flickering quality, and as for me the Israeli pavilion seems nice.
Although, the name is self evident i would like to hear more about the Meanwhile Space movement, is it an outgrowth of the British squatting movement???
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.