Belgian Pavilion

'Usus/Useres' exhibit, Giardini Venice, 2010 Architecture Biennale

The Uses/Useres exhibit explores the wearing down of Architecture from the standpoint 

of those who take an interest in building materials. This collection of Architectural parts presented like a Minimalist Art show. Comprised of old building fragments such as worn wooden treads, stained carpets and desktops removed from their original context, these inanimate objects took on a life of their own, through the expression and trace of human usage. This exhibition was a highlight of the Giardini Biennale. The analysis of wear quietly but convincingly made the point that Architecture is accountable for the ecological and social consequences that lie in its wake.

 

Netherlands Pavilion

'Vacant NL' Where Architecture meets ideas exhibit, Giardini Venice, 2010 Architecture Biennale

This installation made subject of the thousands of buildings in the Netherlands that remain unoccupied. Vacant NL aimed to show how this enormous quantity and diversity of temporarily available property offers a range of possibilities, and that temporary use can give positive impulse for innovation within the creative knowledge economy. Ironically, the building where the exhibition takes place had also been empty for over 39 years since its inauguration in 1954. Rietveld Landscape (the exhibition curators) emphasized the theme by leaving the ground level of the pavilion empty. From below, one could make out a suspended ceiling of blue foam. From the first level of the pavilion, the suspended field revealed itself to be a collection of model churches, schools, water towers, factories, hangars, light houses and offices. A diagram on the wall shows the connections that could be made between vacant buildings and creative professionals.

U.S Pavilion

'Workshopping'  exhibit, Peachtree Centre model, Portman & Associates, Giardini Venice, 2010 Architecture Biennale

Australian Pavilion

'Now & When' exhibit,  Giardini Venice, 2010 Architecture Biennale

The exhibition Now and when was presented in 2 parts, using stereoscopic (3D) technology in effort to change the way Australian urbanism is seen. 5 of Australia's urban and non-urban regions were depicted as they are now, before presenting 17 futuristic urban environments, imagining a "when" for 2050 and beyond.  The creative vision for these films was sourced from a national design competition hosted by Australia's creative directors for the Venice Architecture Biennale (John Gollings and Ivan Rijavec). The ambition for this exhibition was productive, and parts of the films were quite engaging. The total result however read somewhat like an over produced music video. Under these conditions it was hard to critique the proposals individually, and some of the theoretical basis was lost.

French Pavilion

'Metropolis' exhibit, Giardini Venice, 2010 Architecture Biennale

French Architect Dominique Perault is the curator of the French Pavilion this year. His project explores the theme of "Metropolis." The theme aimed to demonstrate that a metropolis itself is not a city but rather a territory mostly comprised of empty and available spaces. Consequently, the perception of these voids as the places where all possibilities can still be realised guides the approach to the subject and overall design of the pavilion. Walls of the exhibition space were  covered from floor to ceiling with film projections, promoting a sense of virtual inhabitation of the five French territories in question. The interplay of screens and mirrors exponentially increased images and sensations, creating an immersive sensory environment, forcing the viewer to engage with the discourse proposed. Though at times the message was a little sensationalized, the proposal was clear and well produced. The strength of this exhibit lay in it's integrated approach to the subject and demonstration of this approach through the exhibition design.

Architecture Biennale 2010

'People meet in Architecture' Arsenale Artiglierie, Venice

"The 2010 edition of the Biennale is an exhibition about finding Architecture; to reconsider the potential of Architecture in contemporary society" (Sejima 2010). 

This year's Director of the Biennale Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA invited architects, artists and engineers to explore the relationship between architecture and human interaction. Many architects were also invited to study their own work in films in an attempt to explore how people within the space make the space itself.

Transolar & Tetsuo Kondo Architects, Cloudscapes

Smilijan Radic+Marcela Correa, The boy hidden in a fish 

Anton Garcia & Ensemble Studio, Balancing Act'  

Architecten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu, 7 houses for 1 house

Hans Ulrich Obrist, Now interviews

Bahrain exhibit, Reclaim

Amateur Architecture Studio, Decay of a Dome

Estonia exhibit, 100 Maja/Houses 

Anton Garcia & Ensemble Studio, 
Balancing Act'

Olafur Eliasson 
Your split second house