alejandro aravena enlists stellar cast for 2016 venice architecture biennale

alejandro aravena enlists stellar cast for 2016 venice architecture biennale
all images © la biennale di venezia

alejandro aravena has invited a host of big names to participate in the 2016 venice architecture biennale, with more details revealed about the prestigious event. titled ‘reporting from the front’, the 15th international architecture exhibition is curated by alejandro aravena and organized by la biennale di venezia, chaired by paolo baratta. in total, aravena has announced 88 participants, including fellow pritzker laureates: shigeru ban, wang shu, eduardo souto de moura, kazuyo sejima, ryue nishizawa, peter zumthor, richard rogers, jacques herzog, pierre de meuron, rem koolhaas, norman foster, renzo piano, and tadao ando. 50 of the architects will be participating at the biennale for the first time, and 33 are under the age of 40. others enrolled include david chipperfield, kengo kuma, francis kéré, and luigi snozzi. see here for the full list of participants.

alejandro aravena with la biennale di venezia chairman paolo baratta

this year’s event seeks to confront pressing issues such as segregation, migration, inequality, access to sanitation, the shortage of housing, and community participation. ”reporting from the front’ will be about bringing to a broader audience, what is it like to improve the quality of life while working on the margins, under tough circumstances, facing pressing challenges. or what does it take to be on the cutting edge trying to conquer new fields,’ explains alejandro aravena. ‘simultaneously it will be about presenting examples where different dimensions are synthesized, integrating the pragmatic with the existential, pertinence and boldness, creativity and common sense.’

rem koolhaas will return for the 2016 event after curating the 2014 biennale

in addition to the main exhibition, the biennale will also include 62 national participants in the pavilions at the giardini, the arsenale, and in venice’s historic city center. five countries will be involved for the first time: the philippines, kazakhstan, nigeria, seychelles, and yemen. three ‘special projects’ will also be featured: an exhibition curated by architect stefano recalcati will analyze significant schemes for the urban regeneration of industrial ports, while london’s victoria and albert museum will present ‘a world of fragile parts’. finally, la biennale will host a pavilion dedicated to the themes of urbanization, with particular attention paid to the relationship between public and private space.

the 2016 venice architecture biennale will open to the public on may 28th, and run until november 27th. see designboom’s ongoing coverage of the event here.

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