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Worlds Beyond Architecture

The 11th Architecture Biennale, "Beyond Architecture", draws to a close this month. What of it? News coverage is generally limited to the pavilion of the newspaper's country. So here in Australiawe might read a little about the Australian pavilion, a room painted bright yellow and packed full of tiny unlabelled models from a bevy of architects. A lot to look at but what is it saying? we have alot of architects making good models. The other countries had similar difficulties expressing their country-ness. Whatever the approach, the appointed curator is bound to run into trouble back home.It is a time to be reminded that the architectural discussion is international that certain Sydneyarchitects might have a closer affinity to work in Tokyo than they do to work in Melbourne.

Poland's effort to express itself was memorable, and won the award for best national participation."Hotel Polonia: The Afterlife of buildings" developed a simple concept into an impressive result.What is a hotel, but a place to stay in, then leave and forget, perhaps stealing the shampoo. HotelPolonia is entered through its 'reception', which led into a large 'foyer' with photos hung around it.The photos were in pairs, about a metre high. The before shots were of gleaming recent buildings,mostly designed by architects staying in hotels (if they even visited Poland). Freed of context by the

photograph, these buildings are grandly generic anywhere buildings - a Foster here, an S.O.M.there. The curators postulated that these buildings might not be as permanent as they might suggest.

The building might last, but would its function endure? How could the buildings be recycled? Usingexquisite photoshopping, an office building becomes a slum tenement, a church becomes an aquaticamusement park complete with waterslides, an airport becomes a farm. The buildings arerepossessed in their obsolescence, and made Polish.

Link: http://www.labiennale.art.pl/

http://www.labiennale.art.pl/http://www.labiennale.art.pl/

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The Russians took a similar approach. Videos of mediocre but massive developments wereaccompanied by text stating matter of fact that they had no idea how to respond to the "beyondarchitecture" brief as ideas are a bit thin on the ground in Russian architecture - everyone is too

busy working on this crap. Next was a red room filled with large scale models of the same buildings, sitting on a giant chess board (Moscow).The names of the international architects

responsible were stencilled around the edge of the room.

The Italians had their exhibition over behind the Arsenale, along with the pavilion-less countrieslike China and Montenegro. This freed up the massive Italian Pavilion for an exhibition of experimental architecture by practices the world over. This was the heart of the Biennale over 60 architects given space to express what they made of the brief, without having to sell wares or represent unwieldy countries. As Biennale curator Aaron Betsky writes, this is utopian architectureunshackled from the tomb of building.

This was a who's who pavilion, a Herzog and de Meuron installation here, a Koolhaas video there, aHadid painting over there. Between the stars lurked lesser known entities, with some interesting

propositions. The architects could be very loosely grouped into three fields of design research. Onewe could call digital form, the next very green city, and the other politics and society. Toconcentrate on the last two interrelated and overlapping areas of experiment.

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Very Green CityThe work of these younger multi-disciplinary practices was literally very green. It is sometimeshard to spot the buildings for the foliage. Demountable, regenerating, and hardly touching the earthat all. Metabolism is alive and well in these attempts to push the envelope on sustainability. The

buildings are permeable, damp planter boxes, frameworks and scaffolds containing mixed uses andspilling with life. Cows and sheep share urban gardens with locals, landscape is privileged over

built form.

Ecosistema Urbano: Rather than an architect who leaves his indelible stamp on the city, we opt for the architect who intervenes with a strategic vision, preferring criteria to sensibility when making adecision, a real manager of energy and materials. We understand that we must act first as citizensand then as architects.

Examples to look up:Avatar Archittetura, Italy: www.avatar-architettura.itColoco, France: www.coloco.orgEcosistema Urbano, Spain: www.ecosistemaurbano.comField Operations, U.S.A.: www.fieldoperations.netHusos, Colombia: www.husos.infoJulien de Smedt Architects, Denmark: www.jdsarchitects.comLot-ek, U.S.A.: www.lo-tek.comMao/Emmeazero, Italy: www.ma0.itMillegomme/Refunc, The Netherlands: www.millegomme.com

http://www.avatar-architettura.it/http://www.coloco.org/http://www.coloco.org/http://www.ecosistemaurbano.com/http://www.fieldoperations.net/http://www.husos.info/http://www.husos.info/http://www.jdsarchitects.com/http://www.lo-tek.com/http://www.ma0.it/http://www.millegomme.com/http://www.millegomme.com/http://www.avatar-architettura.it/http://www.coloco.org/http://www.ecosistemaurbano.com/http://www.fieldoperations.net/http://www.husos.info/http://www.jdsarchitects.com/http://www.lo-tek.com/http://www.ma0.it/http://www.millegomme.com/

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Politics and SocietyWhile the above examples are often assuming radical changes to society's power structures in order to happen, these ones look a little closer at how this might happen. The results are harder tocharacterise as they doesn't always end up in designed buildings - their similarities are more in

process. This is bottom up architecture that engages with a public, or at least observes and learnsfrom it. These architects are not afraid to get into squabbles with territorial authorities, questioning

assumptions about public and private space, in order to attempt urban interventions that might serveas models to us all.

Teddy Cruz: The work has evolved from the design of buildings or environments as ends inthemselves (the normative task of architectural practice) into a more meaningful creative processthat transforms them into social systems.

Examples to look up:2A+P Archittetura, Italy: www.dueapiup.itElemental, Chile: www.elementalchile.clEstudio Teddy Cruz, Mexico: www.politicalequator.orgFantastic Norway: www.fantasticnorway.noFast, The Netherlands: www.seamlessterritory.orgHilal, Petti and Weizman, Palestine and U.K.: www.decolonizing.psInternational Festival, Sweden: www.international-festival.orgRaumLabor, Germany: www.raumlabor-berlin.deRebar Group, U.S.A (Parking Day): www.rebargroup.orgRecetas Urbanas, Spain: www.recetasurbanas.netStalker/Osservatorio Nomade, Italy: www.stalkerlab.org , www.osservationomade.netUrban Think Tank, Venezuala www.u-tt.com

The Beyond Architecture Biennale was an exhausting but very stimulating three day trek throughthe ideas of architects from around the planet. Well, there was a tendency to show the work of European and American (North and South) architects. I'm sure there is work of similar interesthappening in Africa, Asia, and Australasia. Do we just need to find it and tell them. Or are wethinking too much within architecture not enough beyond it?

Peter Johns

Architects for Peace, November 2008

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Attached images:DSC02700.jpg Inside the Australian Pavilion. Peter JohnsDSC02800.jpg A Bearded Fiat in a yurt at the Biennale. Peter JohnsDSC02858.jpg Mao/Emmeazero, Footprints - fields, 2008DSC02857.jpg Fast, One Land Two Systems, 2008

http://www.dueapiup.it/http://www.elementalchile.cl/http://www.politicalequator.org/http://www.fantasticnorway.no/http://www.seamlessterritory.org/http://www.seamlessterritory.org/http://www.decolonizing.ps/http://www.international-festival.org/http://www.international-festival.org/http://www.raumlabor-berlin.de/http://www.raumlabor-berlin.de/http://www.rebargroup.org/http://www.recetasurbanas.net/http://www.stalkerlab.org/http://www.osservationomade.net/http://www.u-tt.com/http://www.dueapiup.it/http://www.elementalchile.cl/http://www.politicalequator.org/http://www.fantasticnorway.no/http://www.seamlessterritory.org/http://www.decolonizing.ps/http://www.international-festival.org/http://www.raumlabor-berlin.de/http://www.rebargroup.org/http://www.recetasurbanas.net/http://www.stalkerlab.org/http://www.osservationomade.net/http://www.u-tt.com/

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