Archinect - Features

Uniting the peripheral and the central at the 2016 Venice Biennale

2016-06-18T10:13:00-04:00

How architects are educated, and the role they play in society, are key questions of today. As an architecture teacher, I ask my students how they see their role; are they makers, choreographers, gardeners, enablers, artists? This year’s Venice Biennale asks, and tries to answer, the same question. There are many different answers.

Make room, make room: Aravena's Venice Biennale juggles inclusivity with individuality

2016-06-15T10:11:00-04:00

The call for the 15th La Biennale Architettura di Venezia, “Reporting from the Front,” asked architecture to give a damn. It did so as an expression of dissatisfaction with past performances, and by attempting to showcase remedies, all under the curatorial leadership of 2016 Pritzker Prize winner, Alejandro Aravena.

Aravena's discomforting Venice Biennale: taking on "Reporting from the Front"

2016-06-13T12:28:00-04:00

This year’s International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale feels refreshing. It showcases, for the most part, attempts at real architecture for real people. Titled Reporting from the Front, the Biennale is curated by 2016 Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Aravena, and has a fresh lineup of new faces and alternative practices. It puts the spotlight on those who work on the ground to prove that architecture can make a difference. As president Paolo Baratta states, the Biennale presents “creativity and hope in the here-and-now, not in some uncertain aspirational, ideological future.”

Examining the 2016 Venice Biennale: "Sarajevo Now"

2016-05-28T10:15:00-04:00

During the early days of the 2016 Venice Biennale, we've spoken with the curators of a few select pavilions to get a read on the ideas behind their exhibitions. For this feature, we share our conversation with Alfredo Brillembourg of Urban-Think Tank and Nina Baier-Bischofberger of Baier Bischofberger about their project, Sarajevo Now.

Previewing the 2016 Venice Biennale: Anupama Kundoo's "Building Knowledge"

2016-05-26T12:14:00-04:00

In advance of the 2016 Venice Biennale, we've spoken with the curators behind a few select pavilions to check in on the status of their exhibitions. For this feature, we spoke with Anupama Kundoo about her project, Building Knowledge.

Previewing the 2016 Venice Biennale: the United States' "Architectural Imagination"

2016-05-17T17:01:00-04:00

In advance of the 2016 Venice Biennale, we've spoken with the curators behind a few select pavilions to check in on the status of their exhibitions. For this feature, we share our conversation with Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon of the American Pavilion, "The Architectural Imagination".

Previewing the 2016 Venice Biennale: Spain's "Unfinished"

2016-05-12T11:37:00-04:00

Iñaqui Carnicero, principal of RICA Studio, has been selected along with Carlos Quintáns to co-curate the Spanish Pavilion at the 2016 Architecture Biennale in Venice, “Reporting from the Front”. Iñaqui is active both in the academic field and in professional practice, which he combines to push the limits of architectural explorations.

Previewing the 2016 Venice Biennale: the British Pavilion's "Home Economics"

2016-05-03T02:03:00-04:00

In advance of the 2016 Venice Biennale, we've spoken with the curators behind a few select pavilions to see how they're grappling with Alejandro Aravena's theme, "Reporting from the Front". For this feature, we spoke with the curators behind the British Pavilion, "Home Economics".