The 13th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale is curated by David Chipperfield, who has offered a challenge to his colleagues: set aside egocentrism and open up to the sharing of experiences, ideas and, last but not least, the spaces of the most important architecture exhibition in the world. The chosen theme, Common Ground, essentially signifies the identification of shared elements within a context rich with differences, ‘provoking us to think about the physical expression of our collective aspirations and ideas of society. It reminds us of our shared history and encourages us to think about the collaborative nature of architecture and the extraordinary potential of its collective process,’ explains Chipperfield.

The first step was to ask a close group of architects to expand the invitation to those who would share a project – an idea and a vision in line with the theme Common Ground – designed to generate site-specific works rather than simply presenting pre- defined and familiar works of architecture and approaches. The result was diversified into three different formations, all presented as part of a single path that runs from the Central Pavilion inside the Giardini to the Arsenale.

In addition to this large survey exhibition, the Giardini offers a reflection of events around the globe. A total of 54 nations are presented, with Angola, the Republic of Kosovo, Kuwait and Peru appearing for the first time. Topics range from rehabilitation, recycling and informal cities to natural disasters and the economic crisis. With the pavilions, each nation proposes its own vision of architecture, often completely at odds with the theme of Common Ground, and in some cases far more stimulating. What follows is a tour guide of the ten pavilions at this year’s Biennale in Venice most worth seeing, specially chosen for A10 by the Italian Association of Architecture and Criticism. (…)

ZM

Eurovision: Italy