As Aravena said at the time of his appointment as curator at the end of July this year, his exhibition will be devoted to the social role of architecture, projects that improve the quality of the built environment and life in general for the poorest inhabitants of the Earth. In this sense, he now used the word "front" - the border, the edge where the most important "battles" of today are taking place (in the original, the theme sounds like ‘Reporting from the Front’). The curator emphasizes that more and more people cannot find a worthy place for themselves in any way, and it becomes more difficult to find it every hour: the “inertia of reality” prevents the solution of this problem.
On the "front line" any success is relative, not absolute, and therefore, given the enormous scale of the problem, even advancing one millimeter is very important. However, Alejandro Aravena opposes the excessive economy and simplification often characteristic of projects created as a quick response to a tough challenge to reality. In his opinion, the way out is in collective action, in the interpretation of design as "additional value", and not an unnecessary item of expenditure, and architecture - as "the shortest path to equality."
At the same time, Aravena seeks to show reality - the work of practitioners, completed projects and success stories. The 15th Biennale, he said, will not become a complaint about the current state of affairs or an inspiring speech: it will be an exchange of ideas, stories and experiences for professionals and activists from around the world.
The curator conventionally divides the exposition into four sections. "Architects" Are invited to participate architects, engineers, urbanists, landscape architects and even amateurs working on the "front line" of any kind. "Civil society" will show the public examples of active actions of communities and individual citizens who have been able - often without special education - to improve the quality of the built environment. Those at the top or bottom of the social pyramid will also be invited to participate. "Leaders"that guide practitioners in the “battles” worth participating in. National pavilions, according to the plan of Aravena, will tell the participants of the Biennale and the general public about the "battles" that are going on in this or that country, about new challenges, so far unknown to the world community. Also, participants from different countries will share the knowledge gained in their homeland, because "we should not be alone in our desire to improve the spaces where life goes on."
The 15th Architecture Biennale will be held in Venice from May 28 to November 27, 2016, the vernissage is scheduled for May 26 and 27.
