“Freespace”. This will be the title of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Bienniale, scheduled for May 26 to November 25, 2018, at the Giardini, the Arsenale and in various areas of the city.
During the official presentation held today in the Venetian city, with the presence of the President Paolo Baratta, the two curators, Yvonne Farrell e Shelley McNamara, motivated their choice by describing the concept of "freespace" as a representation of " the generosity of spirit and sense of humanity that architecture places at the core of its agenda, focusing on the quality of space [....] The ability of architecture to offer free and additional spaces to those who use it” and “an opportunity to emphasize the free gifts of nature, such as the one of light”, but also as “democratic, unorganized and free space for not defined uses”.
This is a theme with which the creative duo wants to present “built or not built” elements “of works that exemplify the essential qualities of architecture; surfaces modulation, richness and materiality; orchestration and the sequenced arrangement of movement, revealing the potentialities and beauty behind architecture”.
“The exhibition will have a spatial and physical presence on a scale and with features that will have a strong impact on the visitors, - they explain - communicating the complex spatial nature of architecture. The exhibition aims at the emotional and intellectual involvement of the many visitors that will come to the Biennale, to understand architecture, stimulate the debate around the central values of architecture and celebrate the real and lasting contribution that it offers to humanity”.
The intention of going beyond what is visible is in fact here clear: a way to emphasize and explore the role of architecture in everybody’s daily life through this internationally important exposition.
Baratta added: "just as in the previous editions of the Architecture Biennale, we are investigating the relationship between architecture and civil society. The disintegration between architecture and society, namely the growing difficulty of the latter to express needs and provide appropriate responses, generated examples of dramatic urbanization, characterized by a very serious lack of public spaces, or expansions governed by indifference such as the suburbs. The absence of architecture impoverishes the world and reduces the well-being achieved with economic and demographic development. Revaluating architecture is a way to strongly advocating the quality of the space we live in, which is a wealth to be protected, renewed and created”.
As usual, the 16th International Architecture Exhibition will present the National participations, with their own exhibitions in the Pavilions of the Gardens and the Arsenal, as well as in the historic center of Venice.
This next edition will also include selected side events proposed by international institutions that will set up their exhibitions and initiatives in Venice, in conjunction with the Exhibition.
