Blueprint

Issue 296 | International

This month, Blueprint reports on Venice and the twelfth Architecture Biennale. In particular, attention has been focussed on those countries who have chosen to use their temporary pavilions to express and discuss ideas that look far beyond the festival’s three-and-a-half months. Adrian Friend explores Bahrain’s award-winning attempts in creating a more harmonious relationship between Middle Eastern development and cultural traditions. Peter Kelly finds that Aldo Cibic is mixing the abstract with the actual in his notion of rural urbanism, presented at the International Pavilion.

Interdisciplinary collaborations reign large on Venetian soil this year, Owen Pritchard explores the Garden Pavilion by Belgian architects Office KGDVS and photographer Bas Princen which tests the boundaries of architectural representation. Richard Ingersoll turns to Brussels-based Rotor whose contribution demonstrates modesty as the best policy in confronting questions of morality. Shumi Bose talks to designers, Salottobuono, who prove Italy to be more forward looking than its history would have us believe. William Menking meets closed doors to the archives but talkative previous curators whilst piecing together a history of the Architecture Biennale with Aaron Levy.

Returning to British shores, Herbert Wright enters the ambiguous world of photographer Edgar Martins through A Metaphysical Survey of British Dwellings. The third annual This is Not a Gateway festival has the financial district set in its sights in solving the urban problems pushed to one side as Tim Abrahams reports. Silvana Taher notes that Architecture, Landscape and Urbanism design practice East have once again dared to tread on disputed architectural territory in creating a place to play that subtly encourages rules to be broken.

Other features include the newest addition to Herman Miller’s catalogue of office chairs where Caroline Roux discovers SAYL, furniture as a tool for the ‘sprightly worker with an iPad’ as designed by Yves Béhar. In produce, Isabelle Chaise finds herself at Maison et Objet, the biannual Parisian design showcase, expanded in 2010 in an all encompassing bid for unknowns to rub shoulders with the big names.

More info: http://www.blueprintmagazine.co.uk