2024-12-24T14:02:58-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149948738/dispatch-from-the-venice-biennale-glimmers-of-hope-beyond-the-banal-and-self-harming Laura Amaya 2016-06-01T17:14:00-04:00 >2016-06-14T03:27:12-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/n5/n5jgqksuc6qkbnst.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Reporting from the Front seeks to also explore which forces&mdash;political, institutional or other&mdash;drive the architecture that goes &ldquo;beyond the banal and self-harming&rdquo;. The 2016 Venice Biennale calls for entries that not only exist in and of themselves, but that are a part of a larger social transformation. As Alejandro Aravena suggests, &ldquo;improving the quality of the built environment is an endeavor that has to tackle many fronts: from guaranteeing very concrete, down-to-earth living standards [&hellip;] to expanding the frontiers of civilization.&rdquo; Pavilions that go down this path exhibit very specific examples of how architecture expands its frontiers.</p><p>The <a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/141742651/ireland-s-niall-mclaughlin-architects-to-focus-on-designing-for-alzheimer-s-in-2016-venice-biennale" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ireland Pavilion</a>&rsquo;s installation, Losing Myself, explores the different layers of a building as experienced by people suffering from dementia. Co-curator Niall McLaughlin contextualizes the experience of this condition: &ldquo;when you have dementia you lose the capacity to remember, to find yourself&hellip; a little bit like what happens in Venice after w...</p>