2004 Venice Architecture Biennial

With over a century of history behind it, the Biennial in Venice is today one the world’s most important cultural events. In addition to the film festival and the Art Biennial, since 1980 the Architecture Biennial has also firmly established itself as a central event for the architectural world. Many thousands of visitors are expected at the show before it draws to a close on the 7th of November. In addition to the national pavilions and the "Golden Lion" awards ceremony, focus will also be on the METAMORPH exhibition dedicated to presenting the latest developments in architecture.

Hani Rashid (above) founded the Asymptote architects’ offices in New York together with Lise Anne Couture in 1988. Avant-garde designs using the latest technologies - which themselves have been the subject of many awards and exhibitions - have earned Asymptote a reputation as one of the world’s most creative offices. The design concept for METAMORPH is based on computer processes such as "Morphing" and "Keyframing".

The director of the 9^th architectural biennial is the Swiss architectural historian Prof. Kurt W. Forster (below). His exhibition concept, entitled "METAMORPH", is aimed at making the visitors become witnesses to the fundamental changes observable in contemporary architecture - changes in both the theory and practice of construction and in the use of new technologies.

The "Corderia dell’Arsenale", a 300m-long, historical building and former rope factory, provides an attractive setting for the exhibition. Rows of dynamically curved, gleaming white platforms conjure up images of gondolas bobbing up and down on the swell. The highly effective scenic lighting on the exhibits and partitioning walls - the latter resplendent with plans, sketches, photos and computer graphics - was provided by ERCO, who supplied 480 meters of track and a total of over 450 powerful spotlights and floodlights from the Stella, Parscan, Optec and Jilly ranges, plus accessories such as attachment lenses, filters and barn doors.

9^th International Architecture Exhibition 'Metamorph'
12^th of September to 7^th of November 2004

Director: Kurt W. Forster
Location: Arsenale, Venice (Corderie and Artiglierie) - Giardini della Biennale

Opening times:
10:00am - 6:00pm, daily

Information:
www.labiennale.org/en/architecture
e-mail: infoarchitettura@labiennale.org

Catalogue:
Italian: Marsilio (3 volumes) 50 €
English: Rizzoli New York (3 volumes) 75 $

Exhibition architecture::
Asymptote, Hani Rashid + Lise Anne Couture, New York
www.asymptote.net

Lighting designers:
Arup Lighting, Rogier van der Heide, Amsterdam