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This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine under the title "Taking a Second Look at This Year's Nebulous Venice Architecture Biennale."
One of the few incontrovertible truths to emerge from the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, which opened in Venice on May 26 and runs through November 25, is that sensitivity and skill in making architecture do not necessarily transfer to the work of organizing an architecture exhibition.
As La Biennale prepares to open to the public this Saturday May 26, PLANE—SITE spoke to curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara about this edition’s theme, Freespace. They move beyond architecture as an object, instead imagining Freespace as an invitation to think about architecture as a space of opportunities. Literally and metaphorically, Freespace presents environments of generosity, accessibility and freedom and celebrates the rich civic experiences that they create.
The Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia, upon recommendation from 2018 curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects, have announced the jury for the forthcoming Venice Biennale.
The jury will be responsible for awarding the Golden Lion for Best National Participation, the Golden Lion for Best Participant in the International Exhibition FREESPACE, and the Silver Lion for a Promising Young Participant in the International Exhibition FREESPACE. They will also have the opportunity to award one special mention to National Participations and two special mentions to the participants in the International Exhibition.
Yvonne Farrell and Shelly McNamara, directors of Grafton Architects, have been recognized along with three other individuals as winners of the 2017 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals. The award, presented by the University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, recognizes “the exemplary contributions of recipients to the endeavors in which Jefferson excelled and held in high regard”, including Law, Citizen Leadership, Global Innovation, and Architecture.
“As founding partners of Grafton Architects, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have built an international award-winning practice that has made substantial contributions to culture and education and have embodied their values in profound works of architecture,” said Ila Berman, dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
.jpg?1488337672 "Courtesy of Shell Arquitectos")
Yesterday, the Board of La Biennale di Venezia appointed Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects as curators of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Farrell and McNamara established Grafton Architects in 1978. They have held the Kenzo Tange Chair at Harvard GSD and the Louis Kahn Chair at Yale University. The pair has also been invited as visiting teachers at EPFL in Lausanne and the Accademia d'Archittettura, in Mendrisio, where they were appointed as teachers in 2013, in addition to visiting several other universities worldwide for lectures and crits.
Grafton Architects' co-founders Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have been jointly awarded the fourth annual Jane Drew Prize for their “massive influence” on the profession. The “hardworking” Dublin-based duo impressed the jury, which included Norman Foster and Patty Hopkins, for not being “afraid to speak in a language that is feminine” yet “produce buildings which are robust and full of conviction.”
“Grafton’s buildings are consistently high quality. Their approach is solid,” added the jury. “They are business-savvy.”
Inspired by Pritzker Prize laureate Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s call “to get architecture out of the making and thinking of isolated objects and to show it as an inexorable transformation of nature”, Dublin practice Grafton Architects presents Architecture as New Geography at the 2012 Venice Biennale. The exhibition explores the work of the Brazilian architect in the context of Grafton’s first South American project for a university in Lima, Peru.
The International Jury has awarded Grafton the Silver Lion for their “impressive” presentation’s ability to connect to the ideas of Paulo Mendes da Rocha and demonstrate the “considerable potential of this architectural practice in reimagining the urban landscape”. While the Golden Lion for ‘Best National Participation’ went to Japan for an engaging exhibition, curated by Toyo Ito, that develops solutions for a Community building on a post Tsunami site,
.jpg?1484674663 "© Shell Arquitectos")
