In anticipation of the awards ceremony, curator David Chipperfield once again substantiated his choice of the theme of the Biennale - "Common Ground". In his opinion, modern architecture has recently reached such heights of inventiveness and originality that it is necessary to stop and summarize these achievements. Therefore, he deliberately dedicated the most important architectural review in the world, entrusted to him, to various ideas and professional positions, and not to the best projects that usually form the basis of architectural exhibitions. The curator recalled that architecture is always a collective work - both in the literal sense and in the aspect of different forces, influences and circumstances that determine the decision of the project and with which one has to “seek consensus”.
The first, according to tradition, were awarded the "Golden Lion" for their vital contribution to architecture: it was known in advance that the winner was
Alvaro Siza, but he was unable to come to Venice due to injury. The absence of the Portuguese master was redeemed by his contribution to the exhibition: he designed an installation-pavilion for the garden of delle Vergini. Its burgundy-red laconic forms draw attention to the beauty of the surrounding nature, slowing down the hectic movement of visitors to the exhibition. Also in the program of the Biennale is an exhibition of Siza's graphics "Travel without a given route" at the Kverini-Stampalia Museum, which shows a little-known side of his work: intimate drawings - portraits of friends and family, fantastic sketches, nude.
The "Lion" for the life contribution is awarded by the decision of the curator and management of the Biennale, the rest of the awards are distributed by the jury. This year it includes architects Benedetta Tagliabue, Robert Stern and Wil Arets, founder of the Aedes gallery in Berlin, Christine Feireis, and BBC creative director Alan Yentob.
They awarded the "Golden Lion" for the best national pavilion to the exposition of Japan, which was curated by Toyo Ito. It is dedicated to his Home-for-All program to help those who lost their homes as a result of the 2011 tsunami. Its task is to work with the population: Ito and his colleagues found out what kind of home the victims would like to get, offered them projects to choose from, which achieved the main goal - to cheer up grief-stricken people, to restore their interest in life. The title of the exposition contains the question: “Architecture. Is it possible here? " - and Ito answers it unequivocally in the affirmative.
Three special prizes were also awarded. The social line was continued by the US pavilion with the Spontaneous Intervention exhibition, which presents small projects for vulnerable groups of the population (for example, sheds for immigrant workers waiting for employers "for 1 day" at crossroads) or the common good (various urban gardens, vegetable gardens, and even chicken coops). They are all architect-initiated, very cheap, and designed to be repeated.
On the other side of the spectrum is the Polish pavilion, where the artist Katarzyna Krakowiak made the walls “shake as if they were filled with the secret consciousness of powerful forces” (the name of the pavilion is a quote from Dickens). She created a "sound sculpture" or "auditory system" from the interior of the building, maximizing the property of this space to absorb and distort sounds.
The Russian pavilion also received a special prize for the i-city exhibition dedicated to the architectural projects of the Skolkovo innovation city (curator Sergei Choban, co-curators Sergei Kuznetsov and Valeria Kashirina, Commissioner Grigory Revzin, development of a multimedia application Konstantin Chernozatonsky, etc.). In an unexpectedly playful verdict, the jury admitted that they felt like “digital spies” there, and the inspection process turned into a “magical journey”. Thus, the jury evaluated both the storyline and the visual image of the exposition.
The Golden Lion for the best project in the curated exhibition of David Chipperfield was awarded to the Urban-Think Tank association and journalist Justin McGuirk (among other things, he is the head of Strelka Press, the publishing arm of the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design). Their exhibition was dedicated to the unfinished Torre David skyscraper in Caracas, seized by poor citizens for housing. A unique self-regulating community was formed there, whose life is reflected in the photographs of Ivan Baan.
Irish architects Grafton (Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara) received the "Silver Lion" promising workshop for the project in the main section for an exhibition on their new project for the university campus in Lima, presented in conjunction with the work of Paulo Mendes da Roche. More about this exhibit
Archi.ru already wrote.
Chino Dzukki received a special prize for his contribution to the main exhibition. He participated in the section of the main exhibition on copying ideas and forms, organized by the FAT Bureau.
The ceremonial mood of the ceremony was lost in the middle, shortly after the award ceremony for the curator of the Russian pavilion Sergei Tchoban and his team: a group of Italian activists began a very noisy action in defense of Pussy Riot, agreed with the authorities. They chanted slogans outside the Russian pavilion, and then began to march along the main alley of the Giardini Garden. Although they did not try to interfere with the awarding of the biennial participants, the action created a specific sound background, in sharp contrast to the optimistic search for a "common ground" for architecture.
