Australia's adventurous submission to this year's
Venice Architecture Biennale explores diverse futures for Australian cities.
Organised as a competition by Creative Directors John Collings (
Gollings Photography) and Ivan Rijavec (
Rijavec Architects), the NOW + WHEN project challenges entrants to consider 91 years in the future of Australian urban centres (a country which has a massive 93% of its population urbanised), and the selected 17 projects sound intriguing, and look absolutely amazing.
Intriguingly, the projects presentation strategy forms a crucial element of the exhibition, using digital stereoscopic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy] imaging to allow new levels of immersion for the viewer across the two-level pavilion designed by Philip Cox.
They explain:
"On the pavilion’s upper level, NOW will feature current urban environments in Sydney, Melbourne and Surfers Paradise. Stereoscopic visuals will show contrasting views of these cities from macro-scapes at 20,000 feet to ‘helicoptering’ views of urban and architectural icons at close range. All three cities will be filmed at dusk, when the ‘Australian urban spectacle becomes luminous and articulate in conveying the way our cities work'.
On the pavilion’s lower level, WHEN will dare to imagine Australian urban spaces in 91 years time, with the intent of ‘catapulting urban debate into eye-popping visceral entertainment set in a soundscape’. Australian architects will be asked to submit 3D entries for inclusion by entering an ‘Ideas for Australian Cities 2100’ national competition. A range of entries will then be chosen focusing on the creative potential of architecture.
Two stereo screens mounted back to back at the rear of the upper and lower exhibition spaces will be the focus of the installation. An urban themed black and white geometric matrix will be projected on the walls, floors and ceilings of both levels leading to two stereo screens, which will feature the urban environments in continuous three minute loop cycles."
Sounds fantastic, and hopefully we can get a better look when the Australian Pavilion opens on August 26, and I've heard some word of a return tour of the exhibition (makes sense..) but I can't find the dates yet...
Here's the full list of the 17 finalists, I suspect you could google a few of them to find more imagery, but I've included a few that are floating around online currently:
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Sydney 2050: Fraying Ground, RAG URBANISM, Richard Goodwin (Richard Goodwin Art/Architecture), Andrew Benjamin, Gerard Reinmuth (TERRIOR)
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Symbiotic City, Steve Whitford (University of Melbourne, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning) + James Brearley (BAU Brearley Architects and Urbanists, Adjunct Professor RMIT)
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The Fear Free City, Justyna Karakiewicz, Tom Kvan and Steve Hatzellis
Fear Free City.
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A City of Hope, EDMOND & CORRIGAN, Design - Peter Corrigan (everything), Realisation - Michael Spooner (and support)
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Mould City, Colony Collective, Madeleine Beech, Jono Brener, Nicola Dovey, Peter Raisbeck and Simon Wollan
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Sedimentary City, Brit Andresen and Mara Francis
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Aquatown, NH Architecture with Andrew Mackenzie
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Multiplicity, John Wardle Architects & Stefano Boscutti
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Ocean City, Arup, Alanna Howe, Alexander Hespe
Ocean City.
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-41 + 41, Peck Dunin Simpson Architects, Fiona Dunin, Alex Peck, Andrew Simpsons in association with Martina Johnson, Third Skin, Eckersley Garden Architecture, Angus McIntyre, Tim Kreger
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Survival vs Resilience, BKK Architects (Tim Black, Julian Kosloff, Simon Knott, George Huon, Julian Faelli, Madeleine Beech, Jane Caught and Steffan Heath) Village Well, Charter Cramer and Daniel Piker
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Terra Form Australis, HASSELL, Holopoint & The Environment Institute, Tim Horton, Tony Grist, Prof Mike Young, Ben Kilsby, Sharon Mackay, Susie Nicolai, Mike Mouritz
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Island Proposition 2100 (IP2100), Scott Lloyd, Aaron Roberts (room11) and Katrina Stoll
Island Proposition 2100, absolutely stunning visual, a clear reminiscence of Le Corbusier's project for Algers circa 1938 (below)
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Implementing the Rhetoric, Harrison and White with Nano Langenheim, Marcus White, Stuart Harrison and Nano Lagenheim
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How Does it Make You Feel (HDIMYF), Ben Statkus (Statkus Architecture), Daniel Agdag, Melanie Etchell, William Golding, Anna Nguyen, Joel Ng
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Loop-Pool / Saturation City, McGauran Giannini Soon (MGS), Bild + Dyskors, Material Thnking, MGS - Eli Giannini, Jocelyn Chiew, Catherine Ranger, Bild - Ben Milbourne, Dyskors - Edmund Carter, Material Thinking - Paul Carter
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a tale of two cities, Billard Leece Partnership Pty Ltd