6 National Pavilions in 3 Pairs

When Carlo Ratti defined Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. as the theme of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition a year ago, he adopted Rem Koolhaas's approach in the 2014 Biennale and “sought to create thematic coherence among the National Participations under the framework ‘One Place, One Solution.’” Ratti further explained his aim: “We invited each nation to explore architectural strategies grounded in their local context, yet ones that are relevant to global challenges. Instead of imposing a top-down vision, we facilitated bottom-up exchanges. Collective inspiration through numerous virtual gatherings did the rest.” 

Given that a number of the curators of the participating countries had already defined their themes ahead of Ratti “encouraging” them to “address the common prompt,” it seemed unlikely there would be as much synergy between the national pavilions as in 2014. “We eagerly await how contributions will intertwine,” Ratti nevertheless wrote in his curatorial statement, “a unifying thread through this Biennnale Architettura’s National Participations.” If there is one unifying thread it is an overwhelming concern for climate change, but at a more modest scale we did grasp a few themes and scenographic approaches—coincidences, most likely—that were shared among some of the 66 national pavilions. So here we share six pavilions in three pairs, reflecting three shared themes.

Exploring the national pavilions that are spread across the Biennale and tucked inside a few buildings at the Arsenale ranges from tiring to exhausting, no matter if one does it over the course of one day or many. But trying to find a place to sit down and rest in one of the pavilions will make you realize one reason the cafés are so busy: they actually have seats. Counter to the dearth of seating in most pavilions, two of them this year offer visitors places to rest: one rooted in the country's vernacular architecture, the other simply offering a collective experience of leisure.

United States of America: PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity

The US Pavilion in the Giardini is a nearly 100-year-old building designed by William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich in a neoclassical style that is more European then American, especially when vernacular architecture of the US South is taken into consideration. That is just what the commissioners of PORCH did: they looked to the namesake element as “a powerful architectural and cultural space of welcoming, community, and imagination,” erecting a large porch, designed by Marlon Blackwell, in the pavilion's courtyard. Supported by a mass timber frame, the cantilevered construction shades Biennale-goers and offers them numerous places to sit, both on chairs and on the slightly elevated deck. Inside the U-shaped building, the exhibition displays “PORCH windows” created by 54 participants who responded to a juried open call, a curated collection of texts exploring porches, and quilts made in Alabama displayed on the walls. 

PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity was organized by the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas in partnership with DesignConnects and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and co-commissioned by Peter MacKeith, Susan Chin, and Rod Bigelow. The design team was comprised of Marlon Blackwell Architects, Stephen Burks Man Made, D.I.R.T. studio, and TEN x TEN.

Australia: Siestario

Located in the Arsenale just steps from one of the Biennale's often crowded cafés, Argentina's pavilion eschews any dense theorizing or presentation of architectural projects in favor of a minimalist and humorous installation. The dark space is “invaded” by an inflated and extended pink silo bag—an agricultural vestige becomes a giant mattress. A sign asking people to remove their shoes indicates it is okay to climb onto the silo bag, lie down, take a siesta, or maybe watch the moving images that randomly flicker across the brick walls. The curators call Siestario “an interruption within the rhythm of the Biennale; a place where the body slides into drowsiness.” The siesta may be a thing of the past in Venice, unlike other parts of Italy, but it can still be found in the Argentinian pavilion.

Siestario was commissioned by Embj. Alejandra Pecoraro and curated by Juan Manuel Pachué and Marco Zampieron, who also served exhibitors.

If the curators of national pavilions actually did respond to Ratti's “One Place, One Solution” framework, while also taking his Intelligens: Towards a New Architecture of Adaptation manifesto into account, an obvious area of focus would be landscapes, which play a large role in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Two countries have literally put landscapes inside their pavilions, one using it as a laboratory for the duration of the Biennale, and one offering it as a lesson for Venetians and visitors.

Belgium: Building Biospheres

Landscape architect Bas Smets and neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso are using the Belgian pavilion to “investigate how the natural intelligence of plants can be used to produce an indoor climate,” one that runs counter to the way “most buildings have a completely artificial climate that responds to the needs of users,” per their curatorial statement. More than 200 subtropical plants occupy the large skylit central space, while the smaller rooms on the periphery provide historical and theoretical context, and show how contemporary Belgian architects respond to the theme. Another room, below, shows real-time data on the performance of the planted prototype, which is being analyzed for the six-month duration of the Biennale. 

Building Biospheres was commissioned by the Flanders Architecture Institute and curated by Bas Smets in collaboration with Stefano Mancuso.

Mexico: Chinampa Veneta

Chinampas are small urban farms where food is grown on water, a practice that dates back thousands of years in Mexico and is still carried out in the Xochimilco neighborhood south of Mexico City. Man-made blocks of organic matter are placed in a shallow lake, creating canals and “ecological niches that result in an explosion of life,” per the curators, who contend that “the chinampa system shows us a way forward in a world on the verge of collapse.” Chinampa Veneta consists of two installations: one in the Arsenale, seen here, where visitors are invited to place seeds on a chapin that will later be transplanted. The second piece will be a floating chinampa in the Venice Lagoon that is intended to serve as “a bridge to restore nature's potential presence in the city.” It will also be a bridge to the past, in its evocation of Aldo Rossi's floating Teatro del Mondo from the first Biennale Architettura, in 1980.

Chinampa Veneta was commissioned by José María Bilbao Rodríguez; the curators and exhibitors are the Chinampa Veneta Collective: Estudio Ignacio Urquiza & Ana Paula de Alba, Estudio María Marín de Buen, ILWT, Locus, Lucio Usobiaga Hegewisch & Nathalia Muguet, Pedro&Juana.

Visitors to the Giardini will occasionally see a large crane swinging around overhead, a reminder that the Central Pavilion, which was built in 1894 but had numerous additions in ensuing decades, is closed for renovations. It is not alone. The Czech and Slovak Republic Pavilion is closed for restoration, as is the French Pavilion, which put its exhibition on scaffolding on the outside of the building. Two pavilions have made restorations of their pavilions also the subjects of their national participations: The Danish pavilion is in the process of restoring its 93-year-old building, turning the construction site into the exhibit, and the Finnish pavilion makes the ongoing care of its Alvar Aalto-designed structure the theme of its display.

Finland: The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship

Although the Finnish Pavilion designed by Alvar Aalto is petit, it has required three restorations and considerable regular maintenance since it was built in the Giardini adjacent to the Central Pavilion in 1956. Part of this high level of care stems from the fact the pavilion was intended to be temporary, the wood imported from Finland was ill-suited to the Venetian Lagoon, and it is a protected cultural heritage site. The labor involved in the restorations and maintenance is the subject of Architecture of Stewardship, which consists of an immersive video and sound installation covering the walls of the small gallery. Scenes of repair and construction “demonstrate that architecture is a collaborative effort,” in the words of the curators, “and question if the building’s original architect is the sole author of buildings and built environments.”

The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship was commissioned by Katarina Siltavuori from Archinfo – Information Centre for Finnish Architecture and curated by Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä. The films are by Merle Karp and Jussi Hertz.

Denmark: Build of Site

A 2016 analysis of the Danish Pavilion, designed by Carl Brummer in 1932 and then extended by Peter Koch in 1958, revealed an increased vulnerability to flooding and the need to upgrade floors, windows, and door openings. The restoration work began ahead of this year's Biennale and will end after it, meaning visitors to the pavilion are seeing the work in progress—a fitting alternative to closing the pavilion this year. Visitors see piles of debris, slabs of stone and concrete leaning against walls, and other elements displayed on tables that are themselves made from the materials of the building. It is expression of Soren Pihlmann's hyperlocal philosophy of reusing all of on-site materials and not introducing any new ones from outside a building's walls. Everything visitors see will be reused, based on analysis of the materials by the architects and a bevy of experts.

Build of Site was commissioned by Kent Martinussen of the Danish Architecture Centre and curated by Soren Pihlmann of pihlmann architects, also the exhibitor.