Venice: The Latest Architecture and News

At the meeting point of the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal in Venice is a triangular plot of land, the Punta Della Dogana. On the site sits a long, low-slung 17th-century structure punctuated at its tip by a squat tower topped with an ornamental green and gold weather vane representing fortune. This former customs house of Venice, the Dogana da Mar, was purchased in 2007 by François Pinault with the intention of converting the structure into an art museum, a task he entrusted to Tadao Ando.

While the Japanese architect may not have been the obvious choice to work with a historic Italian building, Ando's solution combined a total respect for the existing building with the sharp minimalism for which he is known. Stripping back centuries of additions, the building was largely restored to its original structure. At the heart of the building's deep plan, a pure concrete volume hints at the architect of the restoration, serving to organize the spaces around it. In 2013, the building was photographed by Luca Girardini on the occasion of the exhibition "Elogio del dubbio."

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The Vatican has released details of the Holy See Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Biennale, marking the Vatican’s first ever entry to the architectural exhibition. Situated on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Holy See Pavilion will lead visitors on a journey through ten chapels designed by ten architects.

The beginning of the journey will be marked by the Asplund Chapel, designed by MAP Studio and built by ALPI, drawing inspiration from the “Woodland Chapel” built in 1920 by Gunnar Asplund at the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Greek Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Xristina Argyros and Ryan Neiheiser have been selected to curate the exhibition of the Greek Pavilion in the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia - under the general theme “Freespace,” commissioned by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Entitled “The School of Athens,” the project will examine the architecture of the academic commons - from Plato’s Academy to contemporary university designs. The selection was made by The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Secretary-General of Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Eirini Klampatsea.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Turkish Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Curated by Kerem Piker and coordinated by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the Pavilion of Turkey will present Vardiya (the Shift) at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, taking place from May 26th to November 25th, 2018. Co-sponsored by Schüco Turkey and VitrA, the Pavilion of Turkey is located at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale, one of the main venues of the Biennale.

Conceived in response to the theme of Freespace, the title of the Biennale Architettura 2018, Vardiya offers a programme of public events with the Pavilion of Turkey, providing an open space for encounter, exhibition and production.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Nordic Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Finnish architect Lundén Architecture Company has been chosen to design the Nordic contribution to the 2018 International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. Eero Lundén’s proposal, entitled Another Generosity, explores the relationship between nature and the built environment.

The goal is to explore new ways of making buildings that emphasise the delicate but often invisible interactions between the built and natural worlds.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the British Pavilion. Find the curator statement below.

The British Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Biennale, entitled 'Island', was curated by Stirling Prize-winning Carusco St John Architects, working in collaboration with artist Marcus Taylor. Responding to the Biennale theme of ‘Freespace’ set by curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects, ‘Island’ sees the construction of a new public piazza on the roof of the British Pavilion, leaving the building below empty of exhibits.

At the piazza's centre, the Pavilion’s roof protrudes upwards through the floor to represent both an island, and an undiscovered world beneath. The programme for the British Pavilion sees a series of events including poetry, performance, film and debate, all interpreting interpretations of ‘Island’ and ‘Freespace’.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Saudi Arabia Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

The first Saudi participation at the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will be located in the Arsenale and will feature an exhibition commissioned by the Misk Art Institute under the theme of “Un/Design.”

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the Finnish Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

Finland’s representation at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia responds to the theme "Freespace" by transforming the Alvar Aalto Pavilion of Finland into a temporary library space.

At a press conference earlier today, curators of the 2018 Venice Biennale Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects revealed more information about this year's upcoming event, to be hosted from May 26th to November 25th. Building on the thematic concept the duo presented last June—“Freespace”—the event will feature a main exhibition in the Central Pavilion of the Giardini and the Arsenale featuring work by 71 participants, while two Special Sections will feature a total of 29 further participants. Elsewhere, 65 national pavilions will present contributions from around the world, including 7 first-time participants: Antigua & Barbuda, Saudi Arabia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan and the Holy See.

As part of our 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale coverage we present the proposal for the UAE Pavilion. Below, the participants describe their contribution in their own words.

The National Pavilion UAE will present “Lifescapes Beyond Bigness,” an exhibition exploring human-scale architectural landscapes, at the 2018 Venice Biennale. The exhibition aims to highlight the role of architecture and urban design in forming the choreography of people’s daily routines. It particularly investigates the role of ‘quotidian’ (every day) landscapes in accommodating, enhancing, and facilitating social activities across different places in the UAE.

On the occasion of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, and in response to its general theme 'Freespace', the teams of the Belgian, Dutch and Spanish pavilions launch a joint Open Call.

This Open Call seeks to engage students, architects, designers, researchers, curators and artists of all ages and nationalities, to develop site-specific projects that encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing and solidarity across borders. Projects should propose a spatial intervention and action in the outdoor space in front of the Spanish, Belgian and Dutch pavilions, and during the official opening day of the Biennale, 26 May 2018.

“Will you look at that? St. Mark’s Square is flooded!” An Australian day tripper is astonished. “This place is actually sinking,” her friend casually exclaims. They, like so many I’ve overheard on the vaporetti, are convinced that the Venetian islands exist on a precipice between the fragility of their current condition and nothing short of imminent submersion. With catastrophe always around the corner a short break in Venice is more of an extreme adventure trip than a European city-break. If it were true, that is.

The 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia will take place from May 26th to November 25th 2018, in Venice, Italy.

As the coordinator of the Pavilion of Turkey, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) will host a series of events and student workshops throughout the Biennial.

This open call by the curatorial team invites students of architecture from all over the world to apply for these workshops in the Pavilion of Turkey.

The Irish Ministry for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht have announced Free Market as the theme of the Irish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. A team of curators—including Laurence Lord (AP+E), Orla Murphy (Custom), Jeffrey Bolhuis (AP+E), Jo Anne Butler (Culturstruction), Tara Kennedy (Culturstruction), and Miriam Delaney (DIT)—will present an exhibition which explores the common space of market towns in Ireland.

The Latvian Ministry of Culture have announced Together and Apart: 100 Years of Living as the theme of the Latvian Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Urbanist Evelīna Ozola, architect Matīss Groskaufmanis, scenographer Anda Skrējānem, and Director of the New Theatre Institute of Latvia Gundega Laiviņa will highlight "ideological turning points from the last one hundred years," presenting ways in which "architectural projects and processes of apartment blocks have embodied different ideas about living together and building a nation."

Following an open call, a selection committee coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) has revealed Vardiya (The Shift) as the theme of the Turkish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Kerem Piker, the exhibition will propose "a spatial organisation for meeting, encountering, and architectural production."

The Israeli Ministry of Culture have revealed In Statu Quo: Architecture of Negotiation as the theme of the Israeli Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. In the exhibition architects Ifat Finkelman, Deborah Pinto Fdeda, Oren Sagiv, and curator Tania Coen-Uzzielli, will examine "the complex mechanism of the 'Status Quo' within shared holy places in Israel-Palestine, which functions as an informal—if controversial and fragile—system of coexistence between rivals."

On October 15^th four languages, three countries, and three astounding architectural projects will be brought together through a series of events and workshops to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation seeks to commemorate the event with a full day program of activities entitled Drawing the Guggenheim. Visitors can explore and sketch the museums during a variety of public drawing exercises, architectural tours, films and family events at each of the Guggenheim locations.