‘Freespace’ highlights openness and optimism at 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale

alison brooks venice architecture biennale 2018
Centred around this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale’s main theme, ‘Freespace’, installations by architects from all corners of the world flooded the Arsenale and Main Pavilion at Giardini with food for thought. Pictured here, ‘ReCastin’ by Alison Brooks Architects.
(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

If the Venice Architecture Biennale is anything to go by (and it is, arguably, the field’s biggest worldwide celebration), then for architecture, the days of loud manifestos and grand gestures may be behind us. Building up on a series of biennales that took a more humanistic approach, this year, Venice was all about subtle drama, human connections, textures, history, and free, open spaces for improvisation – all orchestrated around the curators’ chosen theme, Freespace.

Grafton Architects directors and 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale co-curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara’s call for architects to elaborate on the idea of architecture’s power to enlist and transform in-between, unassuming and possibly neglected areas into essential space for living and enjoying, received a rich variety of responses from architects from all over the world, making the displays at Arsenale and the Central Pavilion a rewarding and thought-provoking experience. This is not a biennale about the high profile and luxurious, rather about small projects that make a big impact in everyday life, schemes that may appear modest but offer not only inspiration, but also positivity and ‘generosity of spirit’.

Installation at Venice Architecture Biennale

Installation by Flores & Prats.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

The vast and dimly lit Corderie galleries were bustling with installations, ranging from films to models and specially constructed large-scale pavilions. Displays felt immersive and informative, yet not overwhelming – 71 firms took part this year in the curated section, compared to the 88 participants of Alejandro Aravena’s 2016 show. Explorations on the use of landscape and nature, housing, history, and, inevitably, public space, are common themes throughout. However Freespace’s opened-ended nature invites different readings.

In a – perhaps unconscious – gesture to honour the host country, contemporary Italian architecture felt highlighted with works by Aurelio Galfetti, Cino Zucchi, Francesca Torzo, Laura Peretti, and Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo.

Venice biennale carpets

‘This is not a shirt. This is a playground’ by Studio Anna Heringer.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

Equally well represented were Britain and Ireland, the selection from which offered a real who’s who of the more contemporary and pragmatic thread of modernism – a strand of architecture that Grafton’s own work is also a natural part of. Caruso St John, 6a, Sergison Bates, Niall McLaughlin, Hall McKnight and O’Donnell + Tuomey famously favour a sharp – if not on occasion austere – modernism based on craft and texture that is palpably present during this year’s Freespace show, where the architects’ painstaking attention to materials, light and proportion shines through.

Of course, this exhibition is not just about Europe – Pritzker-prize winner Wang Shu and his partner Lu Wenyu’s Amateur Architecture Studio occupies a prominent entrance spot with their photos and drawings of Chinese landscapes, while the 2016 biennale’s curator Aravena and his office, Elemental, also take part. Further offerings come from all corners of the globe, such as Australia’s John Wardle Architects, India’s Matharoo Associates, China’s Vector Architects, Vietnam’s VTN Architects, Brazil’s Grupo SP and Peter Rich Architects from South Africa.

Installation artwork at Venice Architecture Biennale

Installation by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

Established names, such as Souto de Moura, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, SANAA, David Chipperfield, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Studio Gang, and Peter Zumthor are also part of the event – with Souto de Moura winning the Golden Lion for best participant with a pair of stunning aerial shots of his Alentejo project, São Lourenço do Barrocal estate. Yet their presence does not overshadow the overarching theme, allowing the participants’ spatial reflections take centre stage. ‘Starchitecture’ was mostly noticeably present only by its absence, although the accents it has provided in the past were arguably missed, as there was a certain uniformity, at least in scale, among this year’s otherwise undoubtedly beautiful installations.

Even so, Farrell and McNamara’s down-to-earth and open approach is firmly optimistic and thoroughly welcome, highlighting all the weird and wonderful projects that often go overlooked but deserve to be seen and celebrated. ‘Architecture is by its nature optimistic’, the pair told us in a recent interview. ‘We would like to think that the work presented in the Biennale will stimulate discussion of space itself and the value of sharing.’

See all the latest from Venice Architecture Biennale here

alvaro siza at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Evasão’ by Álvaro Siza Vieira

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

amateur architecture studio at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘How to “Legalize” Spontaneously-Built Illegal Structures in the City by Means of Design’ by Amateur Architecture Studio.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

angela dauber at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Physical Presence’ by Angela Deuber Architect.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

Arrea architecture, Maruša Zorec and associates at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Unveil the Hidden’ by Arrea architecture, Maruša Zorec and associates.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

aurelio galfetti at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Aurelio Galfetti architect, the house of ПАРОΣ and the Transmission of Knowledge’ by Aurelio Galfetti.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

barclay crousse at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘The presence of the Absence’ by Barclay & Crousse.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

Big at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘BIG U: Humanhattan’ by BIG - Bjarke Ingels.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

burkhalter sumi architekten at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Konrad Wachsmann -The Grapevine Structure, 1953 / 2018’ by burkhalter sumi architekten.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

Carla Juaçaba at venice architecture biennale 2018

Installation by Carla Juaçaba.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

caruso st john at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘The facade is the window to the soul of architecture’ by Caruso St John Architects.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

case design at venice architecture biennale 2018

Installation by Case Design

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

Cino Zucchi Architetti at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Everyday Wonders / Meraviglie quotidiane - CZ reads LCD/CZ legge LCD’ by Cino Zucchi Architetti.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

Crimson Architectural Historians at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘A City of Comings and Goings’ by Crimson Architectural Historians.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

david chipperfield at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Beyond Purpose’ by David Chipperfield Architects.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

de Blacam and Meagher Architects at venice architecture biennale 2018

Installation by de Blacam and Meagher Architects.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

de vylder vinck tailleuvenice architecture biennale 2018

‘unless ever people - caritas for architecture’ by de vylder vinck tailleu.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

Dna at venice architecture biennale 2018

Installation by DnA_Design and Architecture.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

o'donnell tuomey at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Folding Landscape / East and West’ by O’Donnell + Tuomey.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

dorte mandrup at venice architecture biennale 2018

Installation by Dorte Mandrup.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

elemental at venice architecture biennale 2018

Installation by Elemental.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

Elizabeth Hatz at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Free Space – Line, Light, Locus’ by Elizabeth Hatz Architects.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

estudio carme pinos at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘CUBE. Office Tower, Puerta de Hierro’ by Estudio Carme PInos.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

francesca torzo at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Z33, house for contemporary art’ by Francesca Torzo.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

gion at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Veser Vrin’ by Gion A. Caminada.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

hall mcknight at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Unique Instruments: Expectant Spaces’ by Hall McKnight.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

ines lobo at venice architecture biennale 2018

’‘A Bench for a Hundred People, Piazzale Marconi’ by Inês Lobo Arquitectos.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

john wardle at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Somewhere Other’ by John Wardle Architects.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

kazoo sejima and rye nishizawa at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘guruguru’ by Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

kieran long at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Freestanding’ by Kieran Long, Johan Örn, James Taylor Foster with ArkDes, Petra Gripp, and Mikael Olsson.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

location vassal at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘freedom of use’ by Lacaton & Vassal.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

matharoo associates at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Notion of motion’ by Matharoo Associates.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

michael maltzan at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Star Apartments’ by Michael Maltzan Architecture.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

niall mclaughlin at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Presences’ by Níall McLaughlin Architects.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

studio gang at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA’ by Studio Gang. 

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

peter rich at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Landscape Architecture | Architecture Landscape’ by Peter Rich Architects.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

peter zumthor at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Dreams and Promises – Models of Atelier Peter Zumthor’ by Atelier Peter Zumthor.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

rintala eggertson at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Corte del Forte’ by Rintala Eggertsson Architects.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

robert mccarter at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Freespace in Place: Four Unrealised Modern Architectural Designs for Venice Carlo Scarpa’s 1972 Quattro progetti per Venezia Revisited’ by Robert McCarter.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

Salter Collingridge at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Proposal B’ by Salter Collingridge Design.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

Sauerbruch Hutton at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Oxymoron’ by Sauerbruch Hutton.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

odic deck at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Phantom’s Phantom’ by Studio Odile Decq.

(Image credit: Italo Rondinella)

Talli Architecture and Design at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Tila’ by Talli Architecture and Design.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

tezuka architects at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Fuji Kindergarten’ by Tezuka Architects.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

vector architects at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Connecting Vesse’ by Vector Architects.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

VTN at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Bamboo Stalactite’ by VTN Architects.

(Image credit: Francesco Galli)

Weiss Manfredi at venice architecture biennale 2018

‘Lines of Movement’ by Weiss/Manfredi.

(Image credit: Andrea Avezzù)

INFORMATION

’Freespace’ is running until 25 November 2018. For more information visit the Venice Architecture Biennale’s website

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).