VENICE Biennial Board of Directors chaired by
Paolo Baratta following its meeting in July, announced
that Chilean architect Aravena was
appointed as the director of the ınternational
architecture show. Aravena will serve as the
curator of the Architecture Biennial to be
open to visitors on May 26, 2016. After this news, which
created a buzz in the architects community, Alejandro Aravena
had this to say: “There are several battles that need
to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded
in order to improve the quality of the built environment
and consequently people’s quality of life. This is what we
would like people to come and see at the 15th International
Architecture Exhibition. Success stories worth to
be told and exemplary cases worth to be shared where
architecture did, is and will make a difference in those
battles and frontiers.
“The 15th International Architecture Exhibition will
be about focusing and learning from architectures
that through intelligence, intuition or both of them at
the same time, are able to escape the status quo. We
would like to present cases, despite the dif ficulties,
instead of resignation or bitterness, propose and do
something. We would like to show that in the permanent
debate about the quality of the built environment,
there is not only need but also room for action.
Alejandro Aravena, who
graduated from Universidad
Católica de Chile,
founded Alejandro Aravena
Architects in 1994.
Among the projects of
the office are the School
of Mathematics (1998),
School of Medicine (2001)
and School of Architecture
(2004) buildings designed
for Universitad Building
Católica, Siamese Towers
(2005), Texas St. Edwards
University (2008),
the Children’s Workshop
(2008), Angelini Innovation
Center (2014) and
Novartis campus in China (2015).
Aravena, who served as guest instructor in Harvard GSD
from 2000 until 2005, founded the social housing initiative
ELEMENTAL with engineer Andres Iacobelli set up in
collaboration with Universidad Catolica and Chilean Gas
Company (COPEC). ELEMENTAL was part of significant
projects in terms of urban justice expanding its field of operation
to infrastrucure, public space and public buildings.
Some of these projects where ELEMENTAL was part of, are
Santiago’s Metropole promenade and children’s park, the
recontruction of the city of Constitucion post-2010 earthquake,
redesigning of the copper mining town Calama and
the intervention by Choapa region against Pelambres Mining
company that polluted the environment.
Among the prizes won by Aravena who has been in the
Pritzker jury since 2009 are Year’s Design Award (2015),
Zumtobel Global Award First Prize (2014), Holcim Awards
Silver Medal (2011), Marcus Award (2009), 11th Venice
Biennial Silver Bear Prize (2008) and Erich Schelling Architecture
Award (2006). Aravena, who was one of the finalists
in New Center for Contemporary Arts of Moscow in
2013, came back with the first prize from the Teheran
Stock Exchange Competition in Iran.
The Chilean Architect has spoken in var ious inst itutions
including London School of Economics (LSE),
RIBA, InterAmerican Development Bank in New York,
Experimental Design in Por tugal. His works were
shown at Sao Paulo Biennale (2007), Milan Triennale
(2008), Venice Architecture Biennale (2008 and
2012), MoMA (2010), Tokyo MA Gal lery (2011)
and Cent re Pompidou (Source: Architect Magazine
& Mimar i sm).
