21-11-2018

Highlights of the 16th Architecture Biennale in Venice, Giardini and Forte Marghera

ALA Architects, Rintala Eggertson, Grafton Architects, GRAFT,

Andrea Avezzù, Ken Schluchtmann,

Venice, Italy,

Pavilions, Public Buildings, Libraries, Biennale di Venezia,

Exhibition, Venice Biennale, Event,

We conclude our reports from the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, FREESPACE with a look at the Giardini, focusing in particular on two proposals from Scandinavia, the Finland pavilion and the work by Rintala Eggertson Architects at Forte Marghera.



  1. Blog
  2. Events
  3. Highlights of the 16th Architecture Biennale in Venice, Giardini and Forte Marghera

Highlights of the 16th Architecture Biennale in Venice, Giardini and Forte Marghera We conclude our reports from the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, FREESPACE with a look at the Giardini, focusing in particular on two proposals from Scandinavia, the Finland pavilion and the work by Rintala Eggertson Architects at Forte Marghera.


The closing events of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia called FREESPACE, a few days before it ends give us the opportunity to take a quick look at some of the national pavilions in the Giardini della Biennale. 
Of course, we recommend a visit to the Switzerland pavilion , winner of the Golden Lion, where you can enjoy the odd feeling produced by the oversized scales and take a series of visually striking photographs because it is almost impossible to resist temptation. And you should also take in the Germany Pavilion called UNBUILDING WALLS where curators GRAFT architecture firm and Marianne Birthler set up a spectacular installation to explore the development for new architecture of the death strip, the legacy of the division of Germany at FREESPACE.
Then again, if you want to dive into the theme of public libraries as non-commercial free spaces open to all, you can see the Mind-Building exhibition organised by Archinfo Finland, for the Finland pavilion, designed by the maestro Alvar Aalto. At the centre of the exhibition in the Aalto pavilion is the new Helsinki Central Library Oodi that will open straight after the end of the 2018 Architecture Biennale on 5 December. Helsinki's flagship building and all the Finnish library services will be presented by its designer, architect Antti Nousjoki of ALA Architects, during the Freespace of Libraries seminar. This event is part of the Meetings on Architecture, a programme of events held throughout the Architecture Biennale that explores all aspects of the Freespace manifesto. 
Off what we might call the traditional beaten track of the Architecture Biennale, just outside Venice is, instead, the proposal by the Oslo-based firm, Rintala Eggertson ArchitectsCorte del Forte, architecture with a strong and at the same time playful formal language. The team from Rintala Eggertson Architects designed and built this construction themselves, together with their assistants, specifically for the residents of Mestre and for visitors to the International Architecture Exhibition. The Irish curators of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara (Grafton Architects) didn't just pick this special project out of the hat, because the firm in question has always distinguished itself for a generous, altruistic approach to architecture, in particular respecting the specifics of the sites they work on. 
The building in the garden area of Forte Marghera in Mestre stands as an invitation to be experienced and used in any number of different ways. Located on the edge of the water, the wooden structure creates a kind of courtyard surrounded by a covered walkway, a stage, a bar, and shaded seating. Small groups can use it as a meeting place, to perform, to dance, to socialise, whatever fits their mission of atmospheres, sensations, significant and necessary experiences to create a feel-good atmosphere.
The project by Rintala Eggertson Architects addresses the question of open, free spaces to be visited and used. It's the complete opposite of spatial dynamics dominated by economic and hierarchical constraints because it gives users the possibility of performing shows in an appropriate context. In this way, it embraces the concept of Freespace with a particular attention to the social role of architecture.

Christiane Bürklen

FREESPACE
16th International Architecture Exhibition
26 May - 25 November 2018
curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara
#BiennaleArchitettura2018
Images: Finland, Nordic Pavilion, Germany, Switzerland: ken schluchtmann - diephotodesigner.de
Corte del Forte - Rintala Eggertson Architects - Dagur Eggertsson; Vibeke Jensen; Sami Rintala - Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia, ph. Andrea Avezzù

×
×

Stay in touch with the protagonists of architecture, Subscribe to the Floornature Newsletter