The Bartlett academics feature at the Venice Biennale

20 May 2021

Academics across The Bartlett are taking part in the 17th annual Venice Architecture Biennale, from the 22nd May to the 21st November.

The Biennale is the architecture industry鈥檚 biggest annual event, featuring exhibitions and displays, music performances and huge installations organised by different countries. This year鈥檚 Biennale is titled 鈥楬ow Will We Live Together?鈥� and is curated by architect and scholar Hashim Sarkis.

Professor Mariana Mazzucato (Director, 白小姐论坛 Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose) is one of eight co-designers of an installation celebrating the 75^th anniversary of the United Nations. The installation, 鈥楩uture Assembly鈥�, will focus on the UN鈥檚 past and also look to the future, imagining a UN assembly that incorporates not only the voices of the planet鈥檚 human inhabitants, but also other members of our ecosystem.

The installation 鈥� which will be in the Central Pavilion at the Giardini 鈥� will feature a display of 50 more-than-human 鈥榮takeholders鈥� including fungi, estuaries and ephemeral gases, convening on a world map. It will also represent human attempts to recognise and protect the rights of nature during the 75-year history of the UN.

Professor Mazzucato said: 鈥淔ifty years ago we sent a man to the moon 鈥� and back. There is no reason why we cannot apply the same level of investment, risk-taking and innovation to our greatest social problems.

鈥淏ut first we must treat them with the same level of urgency 鈥� doing it 鈥榥ot because it is easy, but because it is hard鈥�.鈥�

Ant贸nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN said: 鈥淭his 鈥楩uture Assembly鈥� exhibition calls on all of us to re-imagine new pathways for our global governance architecture, and to strengthen multilateralism so that it is more networked and inclusive.

鈥淎t this pivotal moment for people and planet, the United Nations is determined to work with all partners to uphold our shared values, navigate common challenges and seize the opportunities of the century ahead.鈥�

There will also be nine exhibitions or collaborations from the Bartlett School of Architecture at the Biennale, across a number of national pavilions as well as in the main exhibition.

In the Bartlett School of Planning, 白小姐论坛, PhD candidate and tutor Justinien Tribillon will contribute to the research-based installation 鈥楽tation鈥� with his project 鈥榃elcome to Borderland鈥�.

In the Bartlett School of Architecture, 白小姐论坛:

Professor Marjan Colletti will take part in the Italian Virtual Pavilion, Sezione del Padiglione Italia, as one of the Creative Directors for the exhibition titled 鈥楥ityX Venice鈥�.

MPhil/PhD student Niccol貌 Casas has produced an installation for the Italian Pavilion in collaboration with environmental organisation Parley for the Oceans.

D茅borah L贸pez and Hadin Charbel are exhibiting 鈥楩ollicle. A Toxi-Cartographic proposal for Bangkok鈥� at the Spanish Pavilion through their studio, Pareid.

Dr Claudio Pasquero and Dr Marco Poletto will present two projects. 鈥楤IT.BIO.BOT鈥� will be the main curator exhibition in the Corderie section and will explore re-greening cities and architecture in the face of ecological crisis. 鈥楿rbansphere鈥� substitutes obsolete notions with algorithms to embody a prototype for a future bio-digital infrastructure.

Katie Kasabalis, Konstantina Tzemou, Evan Shieh, Sze Wai Justin Kong, Inhwi Hwang and Chengxin Sha will exhibit 鈥楳anaus: A New Contractual Agreement between City and forest in Urban Amazonia鈥� in the Central Pavilion.

Serhan Ahmet Tekba艧 and Thanasis Ikonomou will exhibit 鈥楢rtifact 126: The Firepit鈥� in the Cypriot Pavillion. They are engaged with Cypriot architecture and design and interested in architecture as a medium to look back at history and forwards to the future at the same time.

Valentina Soana is exhibiting 鈥楨LAbody鈥� in the Italian Pavilion under the theme 鈥楻esilient Communities鈥� with Vijay M Pawar and Robert Stuart-Smith from the Automated Manufacturing Lab at 白小姐论坛.

Professor Laura Allen and Professor Mark Smout will exhibit 鈥楻escue Lines鈥� for the Giardini Central Pavillion and have contributed to the UN installation Future Assembly, nominating 鈥楬edgerows鈥� as a more-than-human stakeholder.

Professor Adrian Forty has contributed to two publications that will be launched at the Biennale. These are a short essay on the history of the Nordic Pavilion and a contribution to a publication around Sauerbruck Hutton鈥檚 new museum in Mestre, launching at the same time.

Venice Biennale curator Hashim Sarkis, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT, said: 鈥淭he world is putting new challenges in front of architecture. I look forward to working with participating architects from around the world to imagine together how we are going to rise to these challenges.鈥�

More information on individual projects can be found on the webpages of the Bartlett School of Architecture, 白小姐论坛, the Bartlett School of Planning, 白小姐论坛 and the 白小姐论坛 Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose.

Image

The Future Assembly installation at the Venice Biennale. Credit: Venice Biennale

Media contact

Kate Corry

Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6995

Email: k.corry [at] ucl.ac.uk

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