Biennales, exhibitions, and architecture focused festivals provide a platform for opening debates, conducting research, and driving innovation, but they can also contribute to the incremental changes that shape the image and the character of a city. Through temporary installations and experiments, this type of events have the opportunity to open lines on inquiry into the quality of urban spaces, inviting visitors and residents to slow down, break away from their daily routine and interrogate their local environments. The effects might not be immediate, but by cumulating these impressions and moments of contemplation, architecture and design festivals can have a long-lasting impact on the cities that welcome them.
After a year delay due to the worldwide pandemic, October 1st saw the inauguration of one of the most anticipated events of the year; the Expo 2020 in Dubai. The event, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East, focuses on architecture, culture, and innovation, with over 191 national participants. The pavilions on display are divided into three districts: Mobility, Sustainability, and Opportunity, each showcasing how their country has contributed and will contribute to its respective theme. In addition to the national pavilions, each district has its own thematic pavilion: the Sustainability Pavilion “Terra” by Grimshaw, the Mobility Pavilion “Alif” by Foster + Partners, and the Opportunity Pavilion “Mission Possible” by AGi Architects.
Read on to discover 6 must-see national pavilions of each district that explored their designated theme in a unique and captivating way.
Al Wasl Plaza and Sustainability Pavilion. Image Courtesy of Expo 2020 Dubai
With Expo 2020 Dubai scheduled to debut in less than a month, new drone shots of the venue highlight water and garden features. Aiming to “explore the power of connections in shaping our world”, Expo 2020 Dubai will run from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022, under strict Covid regulations, after a year delay due to the worldwide pandemic.
The Moroccan Pavilion at the 2020 Expo in Dubai explores traditional Moroccan architecture and how it can be reimagined in contemporary construction techniques and urban developments. The pavilion is designed by architects OUALALOU+CHOI, and will display a first-of-its-kind structure with a 4000 m² rammed earth facade, pushing the boundaries of the material and exploring its full potential.
France Pavilion. Image Courtesy of Expo Dubai 2020
With 3 months to go until the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai, on October 1st, the organizing committee has released updated images highlighting ready and completed pavilions. With officially 191 participating nations, the expo is seeking to “explore the power of connections in shaping our world”. Showcasing architecture, culture, and inspiring innovations, the world expo has been, for the past 170 years, the leading platform to introduce great inventions and architectural revolutions, most of which shaped the world we live in today.
London Design Biennale 2021 Medal: Chile - Tectonic Resonances. Image Courtesy of ER
The jury of the London Design Biennale 2021 has announced today June 24 the winning pavilions to the third edition. Responding to artistic director and curator Es Devlin's theme ‘Resonance’, the Biennale brings together over 30 pavilions to showcase how design can provide solutions to the challenges of our times, from sustainability to globalization, to migration to the future of humanity.
“The winners of the 2021 London Design Biennale Medals truly illustrate the importance of design thinking to help bring social change and economic growth across the world," said John Sorrell, President of the London Design Biennale. While Victoria Broackes, Director of the London Design Biennale, stated the winners "clearly demonstrate how brilliant design can be in telling complex stories that communicate directly to hearts and minds."
Responding to “How will we live together” in 115 different ways, the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale welcomed, physically, the large public, on May 22nd, 2021. Opening up furthermore to the world, the timeless yet context-sensitive theme engendered a collective imaginary, highlighting a world that would rather come together than stay apart. Building an architectural narrative of the present that reflects on a resilient future, the interrogation, first asked in 2019, gained more relevance with the pandemic that paused the world for a while. With a lot of optimism and love for the craft, the architectural exhibition opened its doors to a longing public and revealed recurring qualities in the showcased interventions.
This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights cultural structures submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From pavilions to installations, this article explores the topic of cultural urban interventions and presents approaches submitted to us from all over the world.
Featuring a pavilion nestled in the sand dunes of the Persian desert, an afrofuturistic, interactive art installation proposed for the upcoming Burning Man event, and a new take on summer cinemas in Russia, this roundup explores how architects reimagined traditional gathering places and created urban interventions in all scales. The round up also includes a collection of structures in the United Arab Emirates, United Sates of America, France, and the United Kingdom, each responding to different contexts and topographies.
New Architecture by Kennedy Nolan. Image Courtesy of Finding Infinity
Australian research lab Finding Infinity has collaborated with architects, councils and investors to create a strategy that would turn Melbourne into a self-sufficient city by 2030. Building on exemplary case studies and scientific research, the initiative proposes a 10 step plan for the city’s transition from a consumer of resources to a zero-carbon urban environment.
Sou Fujimoto. Image Courtesy of Sou Fujimoto Architects
After MAD’s Wormhole Library, the city of Haikou revealed a pavilion by Sou Fujimoto Architects. Scheduled for the end of spring, the ribbon-like white pavilion with an accessible roof will be one of the first public waterfront interventions to be completed in the spring of 2021. Shaping the future of Haikou city and Hainan Free Trade Port, the master plan of 16 permanent destinations re-imagines the future of coastal living.
SPRESSER and Peter Besley have won the Sydney Pier Design Competition and will create a pavilion made of recycled oyster shells. As the team explains, the Pavilion references human gathering by the sea; it is designed as a democratic gathering space under a landscape canopy for meetings and events. The Pavilion aims to celebrate elements that compose the site: land, sea and sky.
As our cities continue to grow and expand rapidly, there has been an increasing demand for architects and craftsmen to build houses more cost-efficiently under tight deadlines. Modular architecture has been introduced as a concept which involves assembling multiple pre-fabricated modules on site to create a working unit. By joining similar elements together in various ways, modular architecture allows for more flexibilities in design and standardized repair.
Pop-up architecture makes the most of tiny spaces and intimate experiences. As temporary structures, pop-ups are nothing new, dating back at least to Roman times as temporary stages for festivals called ludi. Pushing the boundaries of architecture, they feature a light-touch for maximum impact, each built to make a statement. Today, they are often designed around the full life-cycle of a project to minimize environmental impact.
"Sounding Forest” is a finalist proposal for the Latvian Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai, designed by Malitis Architects. The project was granted the 1st prize in the first phase of a national competition in Latvia. The interactive installation puts in place an artificial forest made of piano strings, generating a playful dialogue between the installation and the visitors.
“The Colour Palace” by Pricegore and Yinka Ilori has been chosen as the 2019 Dulwich Pavilion in London. A temporary structure to open at Dulwich Picture Gallery during the London Festival of Architecture in June 2019, “The Colour Palace” is a celebration of color, pattern, and light, drawing from European and African cultural traditions.
Fusing elements typical to Mexican architecture with local London references, the pavilion centers on a courtyard enclosed by two rectangular volumes constructed using the characteristic celosia method.
The project features 72,000 square feet of interior space across a 4.6-acre site, resulting in a 20% increase in public areas, and a doubling of outdoor space.
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.jpg?1622029620 "Argentina: La casa infinita by Gerardo Caballero. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1622015439 "Germany: 2038. The New Serenity by 2038. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1622015472 "Mexico: Desplazamientos / Displacements by Isadora Hastings, Mauricio Rocha, Elena Tudela. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1622015529 "Spain: Uncertainty by Domingo Jacobo González Galván, Sofía Piñero Rivero, Andrzej Gwizdala, Fernando Herrera Pérez. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
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.jpg?1613464615 "Sou Fujimoto. Image Courtesy of Sou Fujimoto Architects")
.jpg?1613464611 "Sou Fujimoto. Image Courtesy of Sou Fujimoto Architects")
.jpg?1613465267 "MAD- Wormhole Library. Image © SAN")
.jpg?1613465249 "MAD- Wormhole Library. Image © SAN")
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