baracco+wright and linda tegg set ten thousand plants inside australian pavilion in venice

the royal australian institute of architecture (RAIA) presents ‘repair’, an exhibition inside the australian pavilion at the venice biennale 2018. curated by baracco+wright architects and linda tegg, the show is designed to disrupt the viewing conditions through which architecture is usually understood.

all images by rory gardiner

the curators have installed ten thousand plants inside and outside of the pavilion — this component of the exhibition, entitled grasslands repair, will serve as a reminder of what is at stake when we occupy land – just one percent of these threatened species are left in their native ecosystem. the pavilion will be transformed into a field of vegetation, allowing visitors to enter a physical dialogue between architecture and the endangered plant community.

to accompany the green setting, linda tegg and baracco+wright architects have made an experimental video series, entitled ground, showcasing fifteen australian projects that unpack diverse iterations of repair, which will be projected inside the pavilion. a third installation, skylight, will incorporate lighting to simulate the sun’s energy required to sustain the plants inside the pavilion. through each of these works, the curators aim to provoke a rethinking of how we value and therefore create the built environment.

the curators invited a team of australian experts to reflect on architecture from unconventional positions so that the theme could be more deeply explored. the wider team supporting the creative directors includes architect and anthropologist paul memmott, landscape architect chris sawyer, landscape architect and urban designer tim o’loan, ecologist david freudenberger, curatorial advisor catherine murphy, architects lance van maanen and jonathan ware.

designboom’s coverage of the 2018 venice architecture biennale is in partnership with leading energy company edison. edison is taking part in the 16th international architecture exhibition of la biennale di venezia by initiating a path towards sustainability and the efficient use of resources. the collaboration between edison and la biennale is based on awareness that energy is one of the fundamental elements of architecture and of the places, spaces and cities of contemporary life.