The Australian Institute of Architects has unveiled plans and preview images of its exhibition, Formations: New Practices in Australian Architecture, which will open at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale this August.
As new economic, social and cultural challenges present themselves, the exhibition at the Australian Pavilion has been developed to act as a catalyst for discussion and debate around the changing role of architects and the ways in which they influence the world around them.
"Formations: New Practices in Australian Architecture" is the title of the exhibition which will feature a programme of events including workshops and informal discussions between exhibitors and visitors which will build upon the Biennale theme: Common Ground.
The exhibition was devised by creative directors Anthony Burke and Gerard Reinmuth with TOKO Concept Design and will be a showcase for six architectural groups who will aim to 'challenge traditional perceptions of what it is to be an architect' through a range of installations.
The line up will include:
A digital installation that showcases futuristic urban visions for the European Capital of Culture, the city of Maribor in Slovenia, and exploring how external pressures on the profession will change the way our cities are designed.2112 Ai (100YR City) | A digital installation that showcases futuristic urban visions for the European Capital of Culture, the city of Maribor in Slovenia Image © 2112 Ai (100YR City)
Arena Calcetto, an informal meeting area in the forecourt of the Australian Pavilion, featuring sculptural Foosball tables, which encourages discussion and engagement between pavilions and challenges international rivalry.
Archrival | An informal meeting area in the forecourt of the Australian Pavilion, featuring sculptural Foosball tablesImage © Archrival.
A touring team consulting local Venetians about ways to improve their homes, educating the public about connections between housing design and health issues.
Healthabitat | A touring team consulting local Venetians about ways to improve their homes, educating about the connections between housing design and health issues Image © Healthabitat
A water taxi journey around the Giardini, returning back to the Australian Pavilion via a zip line — extending the exhibition beyond the Australian Pavilion and creating new ways of experiencing the Biennale, whilst exploring the potential to create new public and private spaces in Venice.
Richard Goodwin Pty Ltd | A water taxi journey around the Giardini, returning back to the Australian Pavilion via a zip line Image © Richard Goodwin Pty Ltd
A complex robotically fabricated sculptural installation, which explores the potential for ‘robot craftsmen’ and new technologies to change the way we design.
Supermanoeuvre | A complex robotically fabricated sculptural installation, Image © Supermanoeuvre
A live roaming radio show, hosted by architects and academics, will be broadcast for the duration of the Vernissage, discussing international architectural issues.
The Architects radio show | A live roaming radio show hosted by architects and academics, Image © The Architects
The Creative Directors, Anthony Burke and Gerard Reinmuth,said:
"It’s very exciting to see how the architectural profession is evolving, the new domains that are being explored and the vitality and variety of innovative architectural types that Australia seems to foster. Formations highlights the range of unconventional and world-leading architectural practice types being developed across Australia, celebrating new opportunities for architects that are working in non-traditional and unexpected ways."
Formations’ six exhibitor teams
Maribor 2012 European Cultural Capital, 2112Ai [Architectural Intelligence]: 100YC (Year City) (Tom Kovac, Fleur Watson)
A group of international thinkers investigating disruptive patterns of global change and envisioning future impacts on architecture, urbanism, and life. 2112 Ai explores how new architectural practice ‘formations’ are responding to external demands on the profession, through multi-disciplinary and collaborative work.
Archrival (Ms Claire McCaughan, Ms Lucy Humphrey)
Architects from rival firms come together in a non-corporate space to produce work that would be impossible to create within the confines of a standard architectural practice. Archrival calls into question the obsession with individual authorship in the competitive international market.
Healthabitat (Mr Paul Pholeros, Mr Stephan Rainow, Mr Paul Torzillo)
An exemplary formation that improves the health and living environment of disadvantaged people through good design. Healthabitat works with Indigenous Australians and internationally in Nepal and Brooklyn, New York, through its World Habitat Award winning Housing for Health program.
Richard Goodwin Pty Ltd (Richard Goodwin)
A multi-disciplinary practice committed to advancing the power of urban planning and rethinking our cities via public art and ‘parasitic’ architectural interventions. Central to its work is the notion of adaptive reuse and testing the boundaries between art and architecture.
supermanoeuvre (Mr Dave Pigram, Mr Iain Maxwell, Mr Chris Duffield)
supermanoeuvre widens the physical and conceptual boundaries of architecture through computational design and advanced fabrication, experimentation, collaboration, teaching and research. Operating from Sydney and London, its work spans robotic design, technical and education networks and high-density housing.
The Architects Radio Show (Mr Stuart Harrison, Mr Simon Knott, Ms Christine Philips, Mr Rory Hyde)
Created in 2004, The Architects is a weekly 3RRR (Melbourne) radio programme produced collaboratively by academics and directors from various architectural practices. The not-for-profit vehicle is dedicated to discussing international issues in architecture, through conversation that is accessible to a broad public audience.
