swiss pavilion takes visitors on a stroll through a fun palace at venice biennale

swiss pavilion takes visitors on a stroll through a fun palace at venice biennale
photo by andrea avezzù / courtesy la biennale di venezia

at the 14th international architecture exhibition in venice, the swiss pavilion presents ‘lucius burckhardt and cedric price – a stroll through a fun palace’. curated by hans ulrich obrist, co-director of london’s serpentine galleries, the exhibition has been developed in collaboration with a range of leading designers including herzog & de meuron, atelier bow-wow and elizabeth diller.

presented by the swiss arts council pro helvetia, the multi-faceted project revisits the recent past of architecture through retrospectives of swiss political economist, sociologist and art historian lucius burckhardt and cedric price, a hugely influential british architect. following their revolutionary teaching methods, the exhibition radically re-approaches the idea of the national pavilion, reconceiving the space as a site for cross-disciplinary, interactive, international engagement.

the multi-faceted project revisits the recent past of architecture through two retrospective exhibitions
image © designboom

as two of the 20th century’s most visionary thinkers, lucius burckhardt and cedric price are attributed with redefining an architecture that revolved around people, space and performance. both burckhardt and price critiqued the traditional education system and were interested in rethinking the basic concept of a university.

instead of a static presentation of drawings, the exhibition offers visitors the chance to encounter the architects’ archives performatively. the display on lucius burckhardt is co-curated by architects herzog & de meuron, in collaboration with the lucius & annemarie burckhardt foundation and martin schmitz verlag, whille the temporary archive of cedric price is co-curated by mirko zardini, director of the canadian centre for architecture (CCA). herzog & de meuron present the temporary archives through a site-specific system located in the graphic room of the swiss pavilion, aiming to create a new network of knowledge and ideas.

trolleys are set up inside the pavilion presenting relevant and concise information
photo by andrea avezzù / courtesy la biennale di venezia

‘as former students of lucius burckhardt, we were very happy to accept hans ulrich obrist’s invitation to contribute to this small biennale project – the longer we worked on it and thought about it, the less ‘physical’ the exhibition concept became, so that, in the end, only lucius’s and cedric’s mental universe were floating in space’, commented jacques herzog and pierre de meuron.

‘we often invent the future with elements from the past. lucius burckhardt (1925–2003) and cedric price (1934–2003) were two great visionaries whose work resonates and inspires new generations in the 21st century. at the core of both their work is a practice of drawing. at the center of the project will be the archives of drawings of cedric and lucius, of which different aspects will be revealed throughout the biennale. ‘a stroll through a fun palace’ in collaboration with architects and artists will present a laboratory where the ideas of cedric and lucius can be toolboxes to invent the future’, explains curator hans ulrich obrist.

the exhibition radically re-approaches conventional ideas of the national pavilion
image © swiss arts council pro helvetia

the curators explain the installation, and the role of its collaborators, in more detail below:

‘the idea of an architecture that could take account of time was of central importance to both price and burckhardt’s practices, and the exhibition will reflect this aspect of their work. the space will be programmed according to a time-based dramaturgy, creating a changing mise-en-scène and an exhibition inconstant motion. as the invention of new institutional forms was essential to price and burckhardt, the exhibition will also theoretically reflect on this endeavor.’

the main room is conceived as a site for cross-disciplinary, interactive and international engagement
image © designboom

‘the opening days will feature a series of discussions on architecture, landscape design and modes of display. several times a day dorothea von hantelmann will present vignettes on the past, present and future function of art institutions. the exhibition will also include contributions by dominique gonzalez foerster, philippe parreno, asad raza and tino sehgal, whilst other contemporary artists and architects, such as dan graham, liam gillick and koo jeong-a, will present their homages to burckhardt and price.’

at the center of the project are the archives of drawings by cedric price and lucius burckhardt
image © designboom

‘following burckhardt’s and price’s critique of the traditional university system, lucius burckhardt and cedric price – a stroll through a fun palace will function as an architectural school under the leadership of italian architect stefano boeri with lorenza baroncelli. it will welcome and connect students in a worldwide network of thinkers, schools and researchers, enabling them to reflect on how the contemporary landscape is changing. this network will produce a digital daily and a weekly print magazine titled ‘the tomorrow’.

a scale model of price’s famous ‘fun palace’
image © designboom

‘invited by hans ulrich obrist, japanese architects atelier bow-wow echoed the idea of price’s fun palace with a strong visual intervention above the entrance to the swiss pavilion. a stroll through a fun palace was anticipated by the exhibition lucius burckhardt exhibition and educational program for the swiss pavilion at the architecture biennale 2014 and a series of seminars on lucius burckhardt and cedric price, which took place from 13 march to 11 april 2014 at the institute for the history and theory of architecture (gta) at the eth zurich. these were be presented by gta exhibitions in collaboration with herzog & de meuron, the lucius & annemarie burckhardt foundation, the canadian centre for architecture and samantha hardingham. the exhibtion is accompanied by a publication by NORM designers, zurich.’

curated by hans ulrich obrist, the exhibition has been developed in collaboration with a range of leading designers
photo by andrea avezzù / courtesy la biennale di venezia

the exhibition offers visitors the chance to encounter the architects’ archives performatively
photo by andrea avezzù / courtesy la biennale di venezia

the entrance to the swiss pavilion in venice’s giardini
image © swiss arts council pro helvetia

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lucius burckhardt and cedric price. a stroll through a fun palace
featuring: herzog & de meuron, atelier bow-wow, stefano boeri, eleanor bron, elizabeth diller, liam gillick, olafur eliasson, dominique gonzalez-foerster, dan graham, dorothea von hantelmann, samantha hardingham, carsten holler, koo jeong-a, philippe parreno, asad raza, tino sehgal, mirko zardini, jacques herzog, pierre de meuron
commissioners: swiss arts council pro helvetia—sandi paucic and marianne burki
deputy commissioner: rachele giudici legittimo
curator: hans ulrich obrist
venue: pavilion at giardini, venice