Building Changes at the Biennale

Venice architecture exhibition focuses on 21st century forms with Bellini, Gehry and more

The Ninth International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale kicks off this weekend with a focus on the changing nature of building practices. Metamorph, which will run to November 7, will feature the work of more than 170 architects, including established practitioners such as Mario Bellini, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Renzo Piano, and Alvaro Siza. Specially commissioned installations by a select group of international architects will also be featured, as will an accompanying photographic exhibition entitled Morphing Lights, Floating Shadows.
The theme of this year's exhibition reflects changes in architecture which, thanks to new technologies, are allowing the most adventurous of architects to design buildings which are more living organism than inert large-scale object. The trend has taken off in recent years with inspiration such as Frank Gehry's aesthetically bold and wildly successful Guggenheim Museum at Bibao, Spain. Models of Gehry's Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles will be featured at the Biennale architecture exhibition.
Canada is represented at the large show by the Montreal architecture firm of Saucier + Perrotte. Established in 1988, the Montreal firm will present models of their significant projects, including the First Nations Pavilion at the Montreal Botanical Garden, the Grande Bibliotheque du Québec, McGill University Faculty of Music and the New College Residences at the University of Toronto. The First Nations Pavilion earned a Governor General Medal in 2002 and design critic Beth Kapusta calls Saucier + Perrotte "one of Canada's most restlessly creative and searching architectural studios". The firm says their Biennale project focuses on "the constantly renewed reading and reconstruction of memory landscapes" and they're hoping their work helps to create an interactive experience for Biennale visitors. Saucier + Perrotte's presentation also includes competition entries for the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg as well as a new cultural building in Montreal.
Situated in the Giardini della Biennale, the Italian Pavilion features the residential and commercial work of 40 architects in a show entitled News from the Interior. Waterfront redevelopment is the theme of Cities on Water, which explores how cities around the world, including Buenos Aires, Lyon and Seoul, have incorporated new architecture in sensitive urban environments. This exhibit will be presented, appropriately, on a floating pavilion on the Venice Arsenale basin.
Canadian expatriates Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, based in New York, provided exhibition design as well as the show's graphic design, including books and catalogues. Their firm - Asymptote - is a leading edge studio among a newer generation of architects.
Metamorph intends to emphasize the inevitability of change and in a setting as ancient as Venice, the message should be powerful.

Publication Date: 2004-09-12
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4381