Latest news with #ArchitectureBiennale
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-exterior-san-marco-arts-centre-venice-SMACVCEOPEN0525-055a18551df24c6c8e3b2ec81237baea.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
14-05-2025
- Business
- Travel + Leisure
This Historic Building in Venice Hasn't Been Open to the Public in 500 Years—Now You Can Visit
One of Venice's most historical buildings is getting a new lease on life as a modern arts center. The second floor of the Procuratie Vecchie, a building running along one side of St. Mark's Square, is now open to the public for the first time in 500 years in its new form as the San Marco Arts Centre (SMAC). Venice is already a hub for contemporary art with its international biennale, but SMAC aims to do something that doesn't exist in the city's arts landscape: be a kunsthalle , a space that mounts regular temporary exhibitions but isn't constrained by a specific curatorial focus or theme. 'We want to be flexible, dynamic and reactive to what's happening in the world,' co-founder David Gramazio told Travel + Leisure . That's why SMAC isn't limiting itself to modern art, but will also exhibit architecture, fashion, photography, and film. It's kicking off its program at the same time as this year's Architecture Biennale with two architecture-themed solo shows, one a retrospective of the Austrian-Australian architect Harry Seidler—dubbed 'the high priest of modernism'—and the other the first international exhibition of the pioneering landscape architect Jung Youngsun, known for being the first Korean woman to earn the title of land development engineer. The Procuratie were originally built as residences for the Venetian Republic's public prosecutors in the first half of the 16th century. The building ended up primarily being used as offices by the Italian insurance group Generali, before the company launched a massive restoration project with Pritzker Prize-winning architect David Chipperfield. The third floor opened to the public in 2022 and is occupied by the company's foundation, The Human Safety Net. The extensive redesign of the space preserves the building's Venetian touches such as Napoleon-era frescoes and Venetian terrazzo floors, while making it suitable for exhibiting art, with state-of-the-art temperature and humidity control in every room. The 16-gallery, 10,793-square-foot space lines the square's northern side, laid out along a light-filled corridor. From the windows, visitors have a panoramic view of the iconic piazza, with St. Mark's bell tower and basilica on one side and the ornate arcades of the Procuratie Nuove opposite, mirroring the Procuratie Vecchie. SMAC's opening is a sign of Venice's gradual transformation into a year-round arts capital—one that isn't just dependent on the Biennale sweeping in.
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
A Visit to the Architecture Biennale: Robots, Roofs and a Porch
After two days of talks in Switzerland, trade negotiators for the US and China announced on Monday a major de-escalation in tariffs. You can follow Bloomberg News for developments as markets react. Meanwhile, over in Venice, the 2025 Architecture Biennale opened this weekend. Bloomberg Businessweek 's Europe editor David Rocks visited and gives his impression of a few highlights. Plus: In ICE towns, communities are convinced that financial survival depends on locking people up, and the CEO of Chomps talks about the popularity of meat sticks. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up .
Morocco World
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Morocco World
Morocco Unveils Innovative Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale
Rabat — Morocco launched its pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia – on Friday in Venice. The pavilion reflects Morocco's commitment to promoting its creative talents on the world stage. Set to remain open from May-November, the Moroccan pavilion is the fruit of a partnership between the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and the Ministry of National Territory Planning, Urbanism, Housing, and City Policy . This participation reflects Morocco's dedication to supporting its creative community under the leadership of King Mohammed VI. It marks a significant step in drawing attention to the country's artistic and architectural talents internationally. During the pavilion showcase, Morocco is presenting a groundbreaking project called 'Materiae Palimpsest,' designed by architects Khalil Morad El Ghilali and El Mehdi Belyasmine. The project explores 'earth architecture' by blending traditional Moroccan craftsmanship with modern digital technologies. Read also: 'L'Architecte': New Contest Empowers Morocco's Next Generation of Sustainable Architects 'Materiae Palimpsest' aims to redefine the understanding of collective intelligence in construction. It features the potential of Moroccan architecture to address today's environmental and social challenges. Visitors will experience an immersive journey into the art of earth construction, stressing its sustainability, flexibility, and inherent beauty. The exhibition takes a multi-scale approach to explore knowledge transmission and circular economy principles. The Moroccan pavilion stands as a testament to the country's rich architectural heritage while embracing forward-thinking approaches to design and construction. Tags: Moroccan architectureVenice Architecture Biennale
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ukrainians build avant-garde roof at Venice Architecture Biennale
On 8 May 2025, the Ukrainian pavilion was opened at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition was unveiled as part of the project DAKH: Vernacular Hardcore. Source: Ukrainska (Life) Details: Tetiana Filevska, the exhibition's commissioner and creative director of the Ukrainian Institute, said in a comment to (Culture) that this is the fourth time Ukraine is participating in the Architecture Biennale. Quote from Tetiana: "Thanks to volunteers, municipal services and partner organisations, buildings and infrastructure are being restored daily so that Ukrainians can keep living, continue resisting Russian aggression and keep finding new ways of existing in this world. The DAKH project is precisely about these efforts. It's about various initiatives that unite people. It's about preserving our heritage and history. At the heart of the project is the story and work of Bohdana Kosmina and the life-long work of her grandmother Tamara Kosmina, who is featured in the project as a virtual avatar with which visitors can interact." The DAKH: Vernacular Hardcore exhibition. All Photos: Valentyna Rostovikova, PRYZM photography Details: In the concept of the exhibition, the roof is a fundamental element of architecture. The project explores and compares traditional Ukrainian housing with the "urgent vernacular" that has emerged through spontaneous, self-organised reconstruction in wartime conditions. The exhibition team explained: "'Vernacular' refers to everyday colloquial language specific to a community and locality – a vocabulary without dictionaries or grammar policing. But it also refers to forms of construction that occur outside professional oversight. This is architecture without architects". Thus, the DAKH project simultaneously refers to wartime and postwar reconstruction. It shows visitors how, despite the danger, Ukrainians continue rebuilding their lives. "We say 'a roof over one's head' when we mean home, comfort, safety," said Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska. "But that's exactly what every Russian attack takes from us... Our education and culture are also losing their roof: more than 4,000 educational institutions have already been destroyed by Russian bombs, including 3 universities, 1,419 cultural heritage sites, and 2,233 objects of cultural infrastructure. That's why the DAKH: Vernacular Hardcore project is so symbolic." The curators of the national pavilion, Bohdana Kosmina, Michał Murawski and Kateryna Rusetska, explained that "the word 'hardcore' in the project's title is used in its original meaning from the vocabulary of vernacular construction, referring to fragments, rubble and broken bricks that together form the foundation". Elements of the Ukrainian exhibition include: DAKH, a dynamic prototype of a Ukrainian roof developed by architect and artist Bohdana Kosmina. Selected materials from the archive Atlas of Traditional Ukrainian Housing from the Late 19th to the Mid-20th Century, a monumental 50-year research carried out by three generations of female architects: Tamara, Oksana, and Bohdana Kosmina. An AI avatar of architect and ethnographer Tamara Kosmina (1936-2016), who studied folk architecture for decades during field expeditions across Ukraine. Documentation of emergency vernacular architecture and roofing restoration processes in Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Places: Mykolaiv Oblast – a photographic project examining war-desiccated landscapes by artist and writer Yevheniia Bielorusets. It is dedicated to the workers of Mykolaivvodokanal [a water utility service in the city of Mykolayiv], who have been striving since 2022 to restore water supply systems damaged by Russian strikes. Drone Dome – an immersive sound installation curated by Clemens Poole, inspired by the Klyn project, a grassroots drone-building initiative led by Kseniia Kalmus. The exhibition DAKH: Vernacular Hardcore is accompanied by a nomadic Planetary Hardcore public programme, which will begin on 10 May at Scuola Grande di San Marco in Venice and later travel to other cities in Ukraine (Kyiv, Dnipro) and abroad. What is the Architecture Biennale? It is an international exhibition of architecture held every two years in Venice. Participating countries set up their own national pavilions and present their architectural vision of the present day. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Time Out
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Visitors to the Venice Biennale will get to taste coffee made with canal water this spring
Ever strolled along the Thames and thought that lovely brown water would make a solid flat white? Or sipped a café au lait and pondered whether it lacked the Seine flavour? No, neither have we. But it's time to open your minds, folks, as this year at the Venice Biennale, coffee aficionados will have the chance to sample espresso made with water straight from the city's canals. Yes, you read that right. As reported by the New York Times, an offbeat project at this year's Architecture Biennale will invite visitors to literally get a flavour of Venice in the form of a coffee made with water straight from the lagoon. But don't fret – espresso cups aren't being dunked into the canals willy-nilly. Instead, the Canal Café, a project by New York-based design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will be utilising some pretty swanky-sounding tech to purify canal water before our very eyes. The project was first thought up in 2008, but it's taken until 2025 for it to actually materialise thanks to the development of more advanced filtration systems. So, how will it work exactly? Well, the café will be installed outside and water will be drawn directly from the Arsenale Lagoon through clear pipes and split into two streams: one will be treated through reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection, the other biologically through a 'micro-wetland' of salt-tolerant plants. Sciency, right? After that, the two streams of water will re-join each other and – get this – Michelin-starred chef Davide Oldani will sample the combination and alter it to produce a distinct local flavour, as well as selecting the coffee blend to 'deliver the most authentically Venetian taste'. The project is 'about combining the sort of pleasure of drinking beautiful espresso while also thinking about the complexity that it takes to actually have potable water,' said Elizabeth Diller, co-founder of the studio. 'I will drink the first cup of espresso, and I will be the guinea pig.' The Canal Café can be found at the back of Arsenale, Venice's former shipyard and one of the Biennale's main sites. Venice and climate change Due to rising sea levels, Venice's MOSE system, which was installed to protect the city from storm surges, will likely become obsolete in years to come, and some scientists predict that Venice itself will be entirely underwater by 2150. Carlo Ratti, director of the 2025 Biennale, said that Venice won't just be facing the challenge of too much water, but will also have to grapple with ensuring there is enough clean, drinkable water. 'We could say that the project is a prototype of the global dilemmas we face in a time of increased climate change when our infrastructures must adapt,' he said.
