Reporting from the front: what are the messages?

Jan 15

On the 15th Biennale of Architecture poster, there was the lady on the ladder, leads to our curiosity on who she is and what did she do in that place at that time in that certain way.

Bruce Chatwin has captured this shot on his trip to South Africa. The lady was Maria Reiche, in observing and studying Nazca lines with the limited budget, but unlimited perspectives, and without breaking the original state of the area.

The way she work gave us plenty of messages and encouraged us to ask ourselves on how we do what we do: the way we use resources and if we responsibly take any action.

“Architecture is about giving form to the place where we live.”

— Alejandro Aravena, The Curator of 15th Biennale of Architecture.

"Reporting from the front" existed to exhibit the new point of view to architectural issues, the complexity and the variety of challenge from the front. The exhibition aims to pass the messages from persons with horizontal visions, synthesized with dimensions, and continuously improving, to us who stay on the ground.

Introduction

Biennale Architettura 2016. Image©Futurecrafter

The entrance space, stunned visitors by a numerous repetition scale of materials. Made from the remain materials of Biennale Arte 2015, contains plasterboard, steels, stud. Introduced us an initial awareness of current issues, which address on the scheme sketch below by Alejandro Aravena -- the curator of Biennale Architettura 2016 and the winner of 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

We took the tour to see the views from the fronts. Where are they looking at, and what are their messages?

The Fronts who look back / Crime

Forensic architecture: on tracing wrongdoings through architectural design logics.

Forensic architecture. Biennale Architettura 2016. Giardini. Image ©Futurecrafter — Forensic architecture. Biennale Architettura 2016. Giardini. Image ©Futurecrafter

The intention of discovering and communicate wrongdoing by reversing architectural to investigate facts as evidence in the trial against humanity brought us to Eyal Weizman's work, which presented three cases of forensic architecture use on different dimensions: Body, City, and Geography by tracing the remain elements and ruin spaces back in reverse.

Forensic architecture became the key process to visualize facts and possibilities, rendering realistic environments and put back together onto discussion and find intentions.

The Fronts who look forward / Natural disaster

Marte.Marte's project on testing infrastructure planned in advance to react the site-specific unforeseen issues.

The search of unexpected, Marte.Marte Architects. Image ©Futurecrafter — The search of unexpected, Marte.Marte Architects. Image ©Futurecrafter

This area exhibited the experimental forms of structure based on the belief that a great potential in infrastructure could take care of common good in the way that contributes to the public good.

The Fronts who look up / Sustainability

The work of Transsolar on contributing to sustainability.

Transsolar. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter

This space took us to the forest of light where we can see the search for local strategies to find the way to use of available resources efficiently.

The project represented the use of local knowledge, design, and engineering to contribute to the various scale of living.

The Fronts who looks behind / Waste

Let's talk about garbage by Hugon Kowalski and Marion Szecelina.

Let's talk about garbage. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter — Let's talk about garbage. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter

The project considered wastes as human-made resources by transforming them into the building with workspace integrated.

The Fronts who imagine / Periphery

Looking beyond the possibility of original architecture, Swiss Pavilion exhibited 'Incidential' -- the cloud-like space to reveal the possibility on architectural experimentation using design thinking and technical process.

Incidential. Biennale Architettura 2016. Giardini. Image©Futurecrafter — Incidential. Biennale Architettura 2016. Giardini. Image©Futurecrafter

Call for The Fronts / Informality & Housing

The curated library, by Republic of Slovenia, located in Arsenale venue, represented a small scale of information-driven society by creating a wooden space and become a one day inhabit library. Which aimed collect books selected by the expertise in home and dwelling of their choices "from their fronts."

Republic of Slovenia. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter — Republic of Slovenia. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter

This space, after an exhibition, will be moved to the Museum of Architecture in the site in Ljubljana for public proposes.

The Fronts who fix / Natural disaster

The class of 6.3 was a project that aimed to rebuild nine schools in northern Thailand after and earthquake in 2014.

The class of 6.3. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter — The class of 6.3. Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter

The collaboration of community and profession in Thailand led to the earthquake-proof facilities for nine schools and brought the local communities back together.

What could we learn from "Reporting from the front" ?

Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter — Biennale Architettura 2016. Arsenale. Image©Futurecrafter

The entire international projects illustrated the potentials of architecture and architectural thinking as a method to confront actual issues, presenting the use of architectural executions to resolve common problems, and defining architectural values to deliver new meaning to community and society.