The pavilion of Austria at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016

Places for people – the Pavilion of Austria at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016

The exhibition in the Austrian pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 presents a project connected to one of today’s most debated and urgent issues, namely that of mass migration to Europe.

If giving shelter, creating liveable places, and building the basis of an effective social integration have always been key points of good architecture, it’s then easy to understand the sense of the project Places for People.

Started a few months ago, the project involved three teams of architects and designers (Caramel architects, EOOS, and the next ENTERprise architects) with the objective of developing creative approaches aimed to improve the conditions of those who seek refuge in Austria; specifically by transforming three places in Vienna, very different from one another, into spaces capable to offer both privacy and socialization.
The projects, already partially implemented in collaboration with Caritas Austria, provide a model and a solution for the most urgent needs, but at the same time foster a more general reflection on the role of architecture and on its social responsibility.

The title of the exhibition, “Places for People”, refers to two Austrian architects and designers who operated in the United States during the 20th century:  Bernard Rudofsky, who in his essay “Street for People” argued in favor of more human urban planning, and Victor Papanek, who asked for a change of perspective aimed to make the physically-oriented design evolve into one based on relationships between people.