Hasta La Ideas

The Kosovo pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale features an upside-down neon house as a comment on migration and to encourage visitors to “reflect on their own association with home”.

Curated by Poliksen Qorri-Dragaj and Hamdi Qorri, the pavilion aims to encourage conversations about the various ways in which migrants, specifically those connected to the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, remain connected to their home countries.

The main installation and the accompanying texts focus on the idea of translocality – that one can be mentally connected to several locations.

“The Kosovar pavilion is dedicated to the spatial effects of migration and translocality – issues that have shaped Kosovar society and its habitats enormously in recent decades,” the curators told Dezeen.

“For our approach, war-related migration in the wake of the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s is of fundamental importance as a starting point,” they continued.

“The abrupt flight, separation of families and physical uprooting represented a state of emergency for the refugees – physically, they were safe in the hostland, but internally, they were very vulnerable – thoughts revolved around abandoned and endangered people close to them and around the abandoned home.”

The centrepiece of the pavilion is a simple representation of a house that was hung from the ceiling. It was built from three layers, a neon centre sandwiched between a pair of aluminium frames.

“We take up the theme of translocality metaphorically with the help of our installation: the outer and inner aluminum frames symbolize the several places in which one lives,” explained Qorri-Dragaj and Qorri.

“The neon frames in between take up the theme of being in-between, the question of one’s own identity and spatial belonging.”

The house was inverted to draw attention to the “upside-down” emotional state of the migrants, while the aluminium structure represents a physical presence and the neon tubes a mental presence.

“The installation also takes up the idea of transcendent locality: the upside-down house symbolises the emotional state of the upside-down of refugees who are torn from their familiar environment due to conflict and war and are forced to leave everything they associate with warmth, shelter, security and family – ie their home,” said Qorri-Dragaj and Qorri.

“The feeling of physical presence in one place and emotional presence in another is taken up again by the aluminium frames and the inner discord is symbolised by the neon tubes,” they continued.

“The accompanying projected theses are intended to stimulate the viewer to reflect on his or her own association with home, to consider his or her own migration experience in a spatial context or to make a change of perspective.”

Alongside the Kosovo pavilion we have featured numerous pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale including the Brazilian pavilion, which was awarded this year’s Golden Lion and the Australia pavilion that “questions the relics of the British Empire”.

The photography is by Bosnic+Dorotic.

The Venice Architecture Biennale, which takes place from 20 May to 26 November 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest information you need to know to attend the event, as well as a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Architect Chitra Vishwanath, Soho House founder Nick Jones, designer Chrissa Amuah, Material Bank’s Philippe Brocart and photographer Cristóbal Palma have been announced as Dezeen Awards 2023 judges.

Dezeen Awards 2023, in partnership with Bentley Motors, is open for entries. There are just nine days left to submit your project before the entry deadline on 1 June at midnight London time.

Now in its sixth year, the programme has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers everywhere, with winners selected by a prestigious panel of international judges.

Read on to learn more about the five new names that have joined this year’s judging panel:

Vishwanath is the senior architect and managing director of Biome Environmental Solutions, which specialises in ecological architecture and intelligent water and waste designs.

She has a background in teaching, conducting a workshop at graduate awards programme Archiprix and running the Monsoon semester at the education institute CEPT University.

She was also the Charles Correa Academic Chair at Goa College of Architecture and a design mentor at education centre NITTE Mangalore.

Vishwanath has been a member of the jury at the 2A Continental Architectural Awards Madrid and the Asia Edition of Young Talent Architecture Award (YTAA) organised by Barcelona’s Fundació Mies Van Der Rohe.

Jones is the founder of the members club Soho House and the director of the Board of Soho House & Co Inc, a global membership platform of physical and digital spaces.

He started his career as a graduate trainee at British hotel and restaurant company Trusthouse Forte before opening Cafe Boheme in Soho, London.

The first Soho House opened in 1995 on London’s Greek Street when founder Jones was offered the Georgian townhouse above Cafe Boheme. The gridded logo reflects the layout of that first space – three floors across three interconnecting houses.

Soho House now has 41 houses around the world, as well as restaurants, spas and cinemas, workspaces by Soho Works, a homeware brand called Soho Home and skincare ranges called Cowshed and Soho Skin.

Amuah is the founder of luxury homeware and interior brand AMWA Designs, which is informed by Adinkra symbols, Ghanaian symbols that represent concepts or aphorisms.

She also runs Africa by Design, a platform that showcases African design talent. Amuah works to mentor and promote designers throughout sub-Saharan Africa and has staged exhibitions in five cities across four continents.

The designer, who is British-Ghanaian, represented Ghana at the London Design Biennale with a pavilion created with architect Alice Asafu-Adjaye. She was named one of House and Garden magazine’s top 100 Designers and has since joined the magazine as a contributing editor.

The designer has collaborated with companies including automotive brand Lexus, furniture brand Bernhardt Design and the museum Detroit Institute of Arts and recently designed a colour-changing light for the whiskey brand Mortlach.

Brocart is the managing director and head of Europe at the American design technology and logistics company Material Bank.

The company aims to become the world’s largest marketplace for searching, sampling and specifying architecture, design and construction materials. Last year Material Bank purchased online platform Architizer as part of its expansion into the architecture space.

Brocart was formerly the CEO of design fair Maison&Objet, leading all digital initiatives including the launch of digital platform MOM. Prior to that, he managed trade fairs and events within RX France, a subsidiary of analytics company RELX.

Dezeen has partnered with the architecture materials platform Material Bank to host a talk discussing how its technology supports architects and designers in London on Wednesday 24 May, moderated by Dezeen’s design and environment editor Jennifer Hahn.

Palma is an architecture photographer based in Santiago, Chile. He studied at the Architectural Association in London before starting his career as a photographer focused primarily on architecture and the built environment.

Palma runs his office Estudio Palma from Santiago, where he currently resides and works. Recent projects include photographing a holiday home located on a hillside by Riñihue Lake, a round lakeside house wrapped in glass near Lago Ranco, and a large metallic bag-like stage for Chile’s biennale.

His work has been published broadly and exhibited both in Chile and abroad. Some of his editorial work includes commissions for magazines such as Monocle, Dwell, Wallpaper, Travel + Leisure and the Architectural Review.

Dezeen Awards 2023

Dezeen Awards celebrates the world’s best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.

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The lack of architecture at the Venice Architecture Biennale means that it is at risk of losing its position as the world’s leading architecture event, says Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher.

Schumacher labeled the event an “anti-architectural biennale” where the national pavilions “refuse to show the work of their architects”, in a post on Facebook titled Venice Biennale Blues.

“The Venice ‘Architecture’ Biennale is mislabelled and should stop laying claim to the title of architecture,” he wrote. “This title is just generating confusion and disappointment with respect to an event that does not show any architecture.”

“Assuming Venice to be not only the most important item on our global architectural itinerary, but also representative of our discourse in general: What we are witnessing here is the discursive self-annihilation of the discipline,” he continued.

National pavilions refuse to show “any architecture whatsoever”

The Zaha Hadid Architects principal criticised numerous European national pavilions including the British Pavilion, Dancing Before the Moon, which was given a special mention for National Participation by the biennale organisers.

He drew particular attention to the German pavilion, which he described as full of “piles of construction material”.

“Most national pavilions, including all major European nations like Germany, France, Spain, UK, Belgium, Holland, Norway/Sweden, Finland, but also Japan, Canada, Australia and the USA, refuse to show the work of their architects, or any architecture whatsoever.”

“What does this tell us?” he asked. “That there is no noteworthy architecture in Germany, France etc. etc .etc. or anywhere in the Western world? Is the design and construction of buildings only an occasion for bad conscience? Is this bad conscience the motive force behind the refusal (by now pervasive for more than a decade) to display any contemporary architecture whatsoever?”

“Architectural works are nowhere to be seen in 99 per cent of the exhibition space”

Schumacher continued by questioning what the curators expect the “unsuspecting general public” visiting the biennale to take away from the event. He argued that the exhibition should include more representations of buildings.

“Is my conception of architecture as discipline too narrow if I expect to see architectural design in an architecture biennale?” he asked. “I don’t think so. Whatever social, political or moral issues we want to address, the way to show their relevance to architecture is via projects that claim to respond to these issues,” he continued.

“No talk about ‘architecture as expanded field’ can convince me that we are still in an architectural event when the scene is dominated by documentaries, critical art practice and symbolic installations while architectural works are nowhere to be seen in 99 per cent of the exhibition space.”

According to the architect, the only places where architecture was displayed was in the Chinese pavilion where he saw an “impressive suite of projects” by studios including Neru&Hu and Standard Architecture, and in David Adjaye‘s exhibits, which he described as a “fantastic exception”.

Position as world’s leading architecture event “is up for grabs”

Schumacher believes that the lack of architecture on show at the event means that the Venice Architecture Biennale’s position as the world’s most significant architecture event is under threat.

“The event is now gradually consuming and drawing down its built up reputation,” he wrote. “It’s consuming its social capital. If the event keeps diluting, even actively avoiding or displacing its mission as architectural event, it becomes vulnerable to new possible contenders if they are delivering what is being expected by the silent majority of architects and I presume by the general public,” he continued.

“There is nothing in sight here but the vital function the Venice Architecture Biennale used to fulfil for our discipline for many years (and that needs to be fulfilled) is up for grabs.”

At previous editions of the Venice Architecture Biennale, Schumacher has been critical of the curators and national pavilion content. In 2018 he said that “pavilion after pavilion was devoid of architecture” and that “architects must fight back to reclaim the Venice Biennale from the arrogant and self-indulgent curators.”

This year’s biennale was curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko who was committed to putting Africa at the heart of the event. In an exclusive interview with Dezeen, she explained that Africa was a “powerful place from which to examine the issues that will dominate the next century”.

The Venice Architecture Biennale takes place from 20 May to 26 November 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest information you need to know to attend the event, as well as a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Danish artist Thomas Poulsen, also known as FOS, has revamped the flagship store of accessories brand Boyy in Milan, keeping time-worn surfaces left over from the site’s former fit-outs.

This marks the third time that FOS has refreshed the space on Via Bagutta since 2021, as part of the artist’s plan to create a dynamic “evolving” store.

In its first incarnation, the Boyy flagship had funhouse-style mirrors, walls draped in faded pink fabric and cobalt-blue carpets emblazoned with everyday objects.

This colour scheme was inverted for the second iteration of the store featuring blue walls and bubblegum-pink carpet. Elements of both of these schemes now remain in the store’s third and final form, which was left purposefully unfinished.

“This space was an experiment in formulating a shared language for how Boyy could develop as a brand,” FOS explained.

“We started by creating an installation – the first rendition – then used that experience to create a second installation, and finally built upon the combined experience to create this final permanent space that we have now arrived at.”

“We always envisioned the third rendition as the final act,” added Boyy co-founder Jesse Dorsey.

The Boyy flagship now has walls panelled with the same grey ceppo stone that clads the store’s facade.

Some areas were left without panelling, revealing the aged, fabric-lined walls left behind by a previous occupant – a 50-year-old antique shop that sold quaint Americana-style objects for the home.

Blue fabric can also be seen hanging in the rear corner, saved from FOS’s second overhaul of the space.

These swathes of time-worn fabric were enclosed inside aluminium window frames, as were some of the store’s display units.

Elsewhere, Boyy’s selection of shoes and handbags can be showcased in several illuminated glass vitrines or on the ledge that runs around the periphery of the store.

FOS also created a display shelf around a crumbling structural column that sits in the middle of the floor plan.

A couple of tiered, sea-green bench seats were dotted throughout the store as decoration, complementing the flecks of greens stone that are found in the terrazzo floor.

Milan is home to an abundance of visually striking retail spaces.

Others include the Moschino flagship, which was designed to reference the history of ancient Italy, and the Off-White store, which is decked out with natural materials like Patagonia granite.

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British artist Steve Messam has created four inflatable sculptures with spiky and bulbous protrusions that intend to “reimagine the architecture” of their locations at Clerkenwell Design Week.

The project comprises four temporary sculptures erected in different locations across Clerkenwell – a London neighbourhood that is known as a design hub, and the location of the annual Clerkenwell Design Week, which opens today.

Gateway is a six-metre-high sculpture made from a bright blue hand-sewn textile. Characterised by its 27 spikes, the artwork was inserted into the archway of St John’s Gate, a medieval gatehouse built in 1504.

“I transform or reimagine the architecture,” said Messam, explaining his design process.

“In that way, the sites are part of the work, as is the wider environment,” the artist told Dezeen.

“By temporarily changing the familiar we get to reevaluate it and look at the building with fresh eyes and how it sits in its wider environment.”

“There’s also a conversation going on between the solidity of the building and the fragility of what is essentially fabric and air,” he added.

The three other sculptures that form the project are rounded inflatables with bulging protrusions. These have been attached to existing London phone boxes – recognisable public utilities that are widely considered to be synonymous with the city.

Two of these sculptures, created from red textiles, are attached to K2 phone boxes, which are traditional red kiosks designed by British architect Giles Gilbert Scott in 1924.

The sculptures are located on Clerkenwell Road and outside the neighbourhood’s St James’s Church, respectively.

The other phone box sculpture is similarly shaped but was designed in a pink hue, and wraps a black K6 kiosk – no longer in use – on Cowcross Street. The K6 phone box model was designed by Scott in 1936 to mark the coronation of King George V.

“The red phone box is an icon of the British street and Clerkenwell was among the first places to receive the first standard kiosk design – the K2 box,” explained Messam.

“Clerkenwell is the best place to see this rare early version. The K6 box on Cowcross Street looks at the conundrum of this design legacy – when the phone box is such a key part of the landscape character, what do we do when they have no practical purpose?” considered the artist.

Messam said that the aim of his project is to highlight Clerkenwell’s rich history of design.

“The pieces are just there for three days, but I hope that while they are there the wider vista is transformed so that once they are gone the memory of their existence lasts and becomes part of the historical narrative of this corner of London.”

The artist also considered the versatility of inflatable textiles.

“I’ve been working with textiles for over 20 years in my installations,” he reflected.

“Inflatables are an interesting way to use them. You can make things at a scale that would be impractical in other materials for temporary pieces,” added Messam.

“They are also a soft touch on their location. I like finding ways to fill a space or wrap it in such a way that there are no fixings into the fabric of the building and using inflated structures is a great way to do that.”

The County Durham-based artist previously installed a weight-bearing bridge across a stream in the Lake District using 20,000 sheets of bright red paper. Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck also designed a Guinness World Record-breaking inflatable sculpture informed by ancient statues, which created the centrepiece for fashion brand Diesel’s Spring Summer 2023 show at Milan Fashion Week.

Clerkenwell Design Week takes place in London from 23 to 25 May 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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