Content of the International Architectural Exhibition - Essay Example

Current Events and Debates in Architectural Theory Name Course Institution Date Episode: International Architecture Exhibition Introduction The episode discussed in this paper is the International Architecture Exhibition that is held every two years alternating with the the International Art Exhibition. It happens in Venice in several venues such as the Arsenale and Giardini and is commonly referred to as ‘La Biennale Architettura’. It started as a small event in 1980 when it was directed by Paul Portuguese but it has grown to be a highly anticipated international event where many countries are allowed to participate. The current exhibition is the 14th International Architectural Exhibition and is themed ‘fundamentals’ and is currently ongoing till the 23rd of November. The exhibition involves exhibition of architectural presentations from all over the world. Additionally, it incorporates aspects of cinema, art and dance since La Biennale hoists these four sections. This research paper looks into the content of the exhibition, participations and genealogies. Planning and participants of the International Architecture Exhibition The exhibition is headed by a president and invites other countries to participate in the event. Other participants are the public and tourists that visit the venue to view what is exhibited. In 2014, the number of participating countries has increased from 55 in 2012 to 65. This denotes that the exhibition is gaining good ground since it started. The theme is provided by the curator. Apart from architectural exhibitions, dance, music, theatre and art are also showcased to enhance the event as well as showcase other life aspects that relate to architecture in many different ways. In the 2012 exhibition, it is reported that there were about 119 participants with 55 national participants. Kuwait, Peru, Kosovo and Angola were first time participants at the time. Universities, art academies and secondary schools also presented their architectural projects during the Biennale sessions. In reward, La Biennale gave them discounted entrance rates, space to set up their exhibitions, lunch, organized accommodation, free access to architectural events and conferences and increased communication from the exhibition on dates and important links. Apart from these there were participants that were architects, architectural groups, companies and organizations. Selection of who to participate was done by considering the set theme and it sought diversity in what is exhibited. National participants in the exhibition presented their exhibitions through architectural bodies in their respective countries. For example, the architectural bodies in China that have participated in the exhibition since 2008 are the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. In 2012 they had 13 exhibitions which were part of the Collateral events. For Switzerland the Swiss Arts Council has been and is representing the country in the 14th exhibition at the Swiss pavilion where they present an exhibition and a publication. Korea, which has won the Golden national participant award in 2014, is represented by Korea Arts Council and exhibited about 40 projects that were a unification of North and South Korea architectural works.1 The award project was called ‘Crow’s eye view: the Korean peninsula’ and the Korean pavilion was headed by Min-Suk Cho, a great Korean architect, which was in the ‘Absorbing Modernity‘ section. Chile which received the silver award was represented by two architectural firms. These were Ortuzar and Gebauer and Simonetti and they worked on two projects which were a hotel built on stilts and open office design. Stewart2. Most of national countries are represented by architectural and arts bodies, architectural firms and universities in their countries. Content of the International Architectural Exhibition The main objective of organizing the event is the educational and recreational fun through viewing, listening and participating in the organized events. Several activities take place in the exhibition and include the special initiatives for schools. The main agenda of setting up programs that are meant for schools are to enhance creativity and practicality of the students through workshops, creative exhibitions and multimedia shows or presentations. Visitors were also allowed into the exhibition for guided activities without necessity of a reservation. Their activities included the tours, itineraries based on the theme and the history and in depth visits. There were also guided tours for individual visitors. Families were also invited for creative sessions. The main objective was to emphasize the role that families play in the creativity of the children and was also used for bonding. There were also training days that were set aside for professionals and architectural firms to learn from the resources of Biennale. Apart from the educational sessions thee are awards that are given out before the start of the exhibition and are judged by the international jury. Several publications are given out are given out and are a catalogue, a simplified version of the catalogue and other publications that cover the elements of architecture. What was exhibited in the various sections were in line with the main theme that is decided upon by the director. The exhibition has four main sections: Absorbing modernity 1914-2014 which is restricted to the national participants, Elements of Architecture section, Monditalia section and the collateral events3. The Monditalia section is carried out in Arsenale and it allows the other Biennale sections to interact with the architecture. They involve music, cinema, dance and Film. The Elements of Architecture takes place in the central pavilions. In the 2014 exhibition it will be a presentation of the conclusions of a research project that has been carried out by chief architects in collaboration with the Harvard school of Design. It is a section that covers the foundations and significant aspects of architectural designs with regard to history, past, present and the future. The section Absorbing modernity 1914-2014 is limited to national participants and is carried out in the Giardini. In 2013 they were 50 but 2014 noted an increase in the number of national participants and included 65 of them. It looks into the architectural aspects of the different countries and what effect modernization and globalization has had on the historical and modernized architectural works of the individual countries. The collateral events are the ‘Biennale sessions’ that are used by the universities and academic institutions that visit in groups and the ‘Meetings on Architecture’ that include exhibitions for six months. Others include Freeports and weekend specials that involve workshops, debates, talks, workshops and performance. Generally, the international architectural exhibition is full of educational and fun activities for visitors, students and professionals. Apart from the presentations, several awards are given out in recognition of architectural works that are outstanding. One of the awards that is given out is the lion award of lifetime achievement that is given out to people that have been outstanding in the architectural industry and the Golden Lion award for the 14th exhibition was given to Phyllis Lambert who has been exceptional in the architectural industry for a long time4. Two awards are given out to the national participants: golden award and silver award. The awards are decided upon by an international jury. A silver lion for the best research project is also given out. In 2014, the University of Houston department of Architecture was one of the best presentations that looked into the reinvention of the Houston River. The Moscow pavilion was based on a proposal by Diller Scofidio on the Zarydye Park. It was focused on understanding the architectural future of modern Moscow. Additionally, progress of reports was presented such as the research project that was taking place at the Harvard school of design. Genealogy of the international Architectural exhibition There have been many architectural events that have preceded the current ongoing 14th international architectural exhibition. 5The first architectural exhibit was done in 1975 at A Proposito Del Mulino Stucky. The second was organized in 1980 after the architectural department was independent of political leadership and it became the first international architectural exhibit and was themed ‘the presence of the past’ and had architects that helped in the creation of ‘strada novissima’. The exhibit in 1982 was the second International Architectural Exhibit that was focused on architecture in Islamic countries. In 1985, the exhibition was focused on reinvention of some sites in Venice and received many applications including applications from Daniel Libeskind and peter Eisenman. In 1986, with the direction of Aldo Rossi, the fourth Architecture Biennale took place and was focused on a master architect known as Hendrick Petrus Berlage and involved the exhibition of the works of the architect. Rossi believed that modern architecture should not lose its connection to past architectures. The fifth exhibit took place in 1991 and it was the first time that national pavilions were invited to participate; it was themed on architects of the 90s. Switzerland, Australia and Norway were among the first participants. Additionally, about 43 educational institutions from diverse areas of the world were allowed to exhibit their works. The sixth exhibit took place in 1996. In this exhibit the architects looked into the future of architecture. Main participants in these exhibitions were the famous architects of the time. The seventh international Architectural Exhibition was held in 2000 and it was focused on the ethical aspects of architecture. The main concern of the director at the time was the integration of ethical architecture in the modern world6. His theme; ‘less aesthetics, more ethics’ related the role of architecture in technology, environment and society. The architects and photographers presented their findings on how modernization had affected architecture in the three areas. In 2002, the eighth exhibition was held and was focused on the future of architecture. In 2004 the ninth exhibition was held and was themed ‘metamorph’. It was focused on the changes in technology and materials that were used in architecture and the fact that architecture was growing diversely as time passed. Subsequent exhibitions have been held biannually since 2006 to the current 14th exhibition. 7 They were directed by different people and were focused on different themes such as common ground in 2012; people meet in architecture in 2010, architecture beyond building in 2008 and Fundamentals in 2014. The participants in the exhibition have grown with time. In the first exhibition in1980, there were only 100,000 people but currently thousands of people, architects, scholars and visitors are known to participate. In addition to that, the number of national participants is increasing since 1991 which was the first time national participants were in the exhibition. It started out with 11 national participants but now has about 65 of them. In the 13th exhibition, it is reported that there were more than 170,000 visitors in the twelve weeks that the exhibition continued. This number is expected to rise with future exhibitions. Conclusion The international Architecture exhibition has slowly gained prominence in the architectural world since its inception in 1980. It has grown to attract more participants from all over the world. Additionally, it has played a role in enhancing education on the history, past, present and future of architecture. This is done through the educational visits that take place. It has been a point where young, old and promising architects can meet and look into the progress of architecture. It has also played a role in society by enhancing recreation and creativity of architectural scholars, whether young or old. Apart from economic impacts it has had on Biennale and its country through tourism it has provided a platform of unity for all architectural organizations and different countries. Through awards, it has recognized architectural works that are outstanding and promising. References Arts Council Korea, Crow’s eye view: the Korean peninsula, Korean pavilion, 14th international Architecture Exhibition, 2014. Burdett, Ricky. Cities: people, society, architecture: 10th International Architecture Exhibition- Venice Biennale. Rizzoli, 2006. International Architecture Exhibition, ‘Architecture’. Accessed 13 Oct 2014. Quirk, Vanessa , "Phyllis Lambert to Receive Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice Biennale". ArchDaily. Accessed 14 Oct 2014< http://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/index.html > Rosenfield, Karissa. "A History of the Venice Architecture Biennale" 28 Aug 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 13 Oct 2014. Whelan, Jennifer. "Two Architecture Firms Represent Chile at Time Space Existence Exhibition”, 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed 14 Oct 2014. Read More