Venice Biennale: The Latest Architecture and News

In the second part of his interview with Archdaily, Hashim Sarkis reflects on the future of architecture as he tackles the timeless question of the 2021 Venice Biennale. The curator of the Biennale, which proposes the question of “How Will We Live Together?”, discusses the role of the profession in the midst of all these new paradigms, stating that “Architects do change the world […] by creating […] wish images for what the world could be”.

In this feature, the curator of the anticipated biennale and dean of MIT School of Architecture and Planning presents his views on the evolution of Architecture, and the new directions the academic world should take, to reflect “the complexity of the urban problems of today”. Sarkis also brings up Beirut, discussing reconstruction approaches, civil society, and the exasperating notion of resilience.

With the submission of "Reparation: Architecture of Action and Everyday Experiences," Chilean architect Emilio Marín will curate the Chilean exhibit at this year's Biennale of Venice, as announced by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Art, and Heritage.

Catalonia in Venice - air/aria/aire, part of the Collateral Event of the Biennale Architettura 2021, is an exhibition curated by architect Olga Subirós, commissioned by the Institut Ramon Llull, with the participation of 300.000 Km/s, an urbanism studio in macro data-based strategic planning. Reflecting on the central theme of the Biennale “How will we live together?” the project investigates the role of architecture and urbanism within the context of the climate emergency and the public health crisis.

La Biennale di Venezia is presenting for the first time an exhibition curated by all the Directors of the six Artistic Sectors from Art, Architecture, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theater. It will also be live-streamed on July 15th, 2020, at 2:30 pm (Italian time).

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The Russian Federation Pavilion announced that its exhibition Open! will "move to an entirely online presence". Coping with the recent outbreak of COVID-19 that led to the postponement of the Venice Biennale 2020, the pavilion will transform into a digital platform, to ensure the continuation of the projects.

The Australian Institute of Architects has announced it will no longer participate in the 2020 Venice Biennale. Last month, organizers postponed the event's opening until August in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Australia’s exhibition, titled In Between, was to be curated by creative directors Tristan Wong and Jefa Greenaway, and it aimed to explore connections between indigenous cultures across Australia and the South Pacific.

No one ever dies too late, but Vittorio Gregotti died too soon for some of his radical ideas to be fleshed out in form, and too soon for the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale of 2020, which has been postponed by the same pandemic that took him away last week, to say thank you.

Architecture owes a lot to Gregotti.

Last week the Venice Architecture Biennale announced it would postpone its opening to August 29 of this year, while maintaining the original closure date of November 29. The duration of the Biennale will thus be reduced to three months. The reason for this intervention is clear to everyone: the Covid-19 epidemic, which has threatened the usual intense preparations for the Biennale, and which, since the decision was announced, has exacerbated to a national state of emergency. The announcement of the decision reads as a lesson in common sense.

Venice Biennale 2020, curated by Hashim Sarkis, has been postponed and will be held from August 29th through November 29th, as announced on the event's official website.

The British Council has announced that curators Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler will represent the UK at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2020. Selected from a shortlist of nine proposals, the winning project entitled “The Garden of Privatised Delights”, explores the creeping epidemic of privatized public spaces across cities in the UK.

The Hungarian Pavilion at the 2020 Venice Biennale will feature the work of twelve design studios that will reconsider twelve iconic modernist buildings in Budapest. For the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, the pavilion's curator Dániel Kovács wants to explore the value and heritage of architectural modernism to reconcile past and future architecture.

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The Russian Pavilion has announced its first list of contributors for the 2020 Venice Biennale. Selected after an open call, a new generation of architects will set up a temporary office within the pavilion, from May to November, creating an open workspace to plan the on-going architectural transformation.

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Veteran Italian film producer and CEO of Luce Cinecittà Roberto Cicutto has been appointed president of the Venice Biennale. Cicutto was appointed by the Italian minister of culture Dario Franceschini, and will replace Paolo Baratta, who presided over the Biennale for 8 years. Cicutto’s term will run for four years with a maximum of three renewals.

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Cosmos Architecture, an international practice based in Madrid, Milan, Shanghai, and Cairo has designed a proposal for the Egyptian Pavilion in the Venice Biennale 2020. The project is an awareness campaign, highlighting diverse environmental issues occurring in Egypt and presenting proper solutions.

OMA'S architect and urbanist Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli will serve as the curator of the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2020. Moreover, Teresa Iarocci Mavica, co-founder, and director of the V-A-C Foundation was appointed as commissioner of the Pavilion by the Russian Ministry of Culture. The exhibition entitled Open! will showcase young Russian architects and will focus on the renovation of the century-old building of the pavilion, built by renowned Russian architect Alexey Shchusev in 1914.

Archinfo Finland has announced the theme and curatorial team for the Pavilion of Finland at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the 2020 Venice Biennale. Entitled New Standards, the exhibition conceived by Laura Berger, Philip Tidwell, and Kristo Vesikansa will explore Finland’s timber industry.

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Paul Andersen and Paul Preissner were selected to curate the United States pavilion for the 17th edition of the Venice Biennale. With a proposal entitled “American Framing”, the architects will try to respond to the general theme of “How will we live together?”.

Archinfo Finland is seeking exhibition proposals for the pavilion of Finland at the 2020 Venice Biennale. The exhibition will be situated in the Alvar Aalto-designed Pavilion of Finland in the Giardini Biennale Park.