Benvenuti a Venezia: 12th Architectural Biennale opens [08-27-2010] Without doubt it is the most important platform for reflecting the state-of-the-art in architecture and urban development: the Architectural Biennale in Venice. In the next few days it will open its doors and invite visitors to come to the city of canals. Under the banner of “People meet in architecture”, its purpose this year is not just to act as a showcase, but also to invite us to reflect on architecture. To achieve this goal, artistic director and Pritzker prize winner Kazujp Sejima is staging interactive events and surprising concepts at the main “Arsenale” exhibition venue. Image of the outside of the German Pavilion Two new formats at the 12th Architectural Biennale are being used to encourage active encounters with architecture. For the first time, Kazujo Sejima is holding “Architecture Saturdays”. These debates on different topics will be chaired by former Biennale curators, including Hans Hollein and Paolo Portoghesi. Another aspect of the interactive approach at this year’s Biennale is also the new “Universities meet in architecture” programme. The idea is to prepare student groups' visits to the Biennale with seminars and to integrate it into their courses. Around 20 universities from all over Europe are participating. Visualisierung Beitrag des Ateliers Bow Wow In the "Arsenale" visitors can expect unusual exhibition concepts which Kazujo Sejima has nominated 48 teams from all over the globe to come to. Instead of just producing pretty pictures, this approach calls for selected curators to make the visitors’ perception more acute – with unusual solutions that go above and beyond what is expected. For example, the Japanese studio Bow Wow will use small objects to simulate the atmosphere of Tokyo in terms of space. The Chinese Amateur Architecture Studio will be setting up a temporary bamboo construction that can be reassembled in one day by 20 people. Landscape architect Piet Oudolf from the Netherlands will create a garden where people can meet up and dream. And thanks to Transsolar & Tetsuo Kondo Architects, you can walk through a real cloud in the Arsenale. Other contributions will be made by Toyo Ito, Olafur Eliasson and Wim Wenders who will be showing the 3D stereo video installation entitled “If buildings could talk”. Skizze des Beitrages von Wan Shu And in the Giardini you are invited to discover the pavilions. This year, a total of 53 countries are exhibiting - including nations like Albania, Bahrain or Ruanda - considered something of a rarity in the past. Dominique Perrault (France), Sergei Tchoban (Russian Federation) or BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) for Denmark are some of the renowned curators taking part. Called “Sehnsucht” or longing, the German pavilion is portraying contemporary architecture. Further information at www.labiennale.org. Photos: La Biennale Venue: Venice – Arsenale, Giardini and others Opening times: Daily 10 am – 6 pm, Giardini closed Mondays (except 30 August and 15 November), Arsenale closed Tuesdays (except 31 August and 16 November) > Overview