Australia at the Venice Architecture Biennale

A re-imagined cubby house, a façade based on the filigree pattern of a moth’s wing, a ‘future shack’ made from a shipping container, a tattooed Aussie Rules football, a space science centre like the ‘spiralling arms of a birthing nebula’ and a luxury mixed use building based on a snowflake for Michael Schumacher in Abu Dhabi are just some of the architectural models destined for the Australian Pavilion at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale. 180 architectural practices from across Australia have created the ‘architectural artefacts’ for the ‘Abundance’ exhibition.

The delicately wavering garden of architectural artefacts will fill the lower gallery of the Australian Pavilion. Three hundred interpretative models, on stands of yellow anodised aluminum, and ranging from abstract forms to architectural fragments, will showcase what Australian architects are currently doing, a field of thinking and building at this precise moment.

The architects were invited to create the interpretative models based on an existing project and responding to Venice Biennale director Aaron Betsky’s theme: ‘Out there: architecture beyond building’. These imagined futures will show the inventiveness, creativity and responsiveness of Australia’s architects.

In the upper gallery immersive projections of buildings will include both well-known icons and the hybrid and little known. This kaleidoscope of moving images featuring 80 significant structures, from colonial constructions to recently completed projects across the country, will trace the threads that connect the last 200 years with today’s practice.

The exhibition will highlight Australia’s architectural diversity and is located in the Philip Cox designed Australian Pavilion in Giardini, Venice.

www.brettboardman.com/RAIA_VeniceBiennale2008