VENICE - Giardini

10th Biennale of Architecture - French Pavilion. Outside the French Pavilion, whose installation is called Metacite Metavilla, Patrick Bouchain is being interviewed. His manifesto is entitled Le Pur Plaiser d'Exister (the pure pleasure of existing); involve as many people as possible, ensure that the various desires converge, allow yourself to be carried along, lead the overall project leaving no one aside, combine knowledge and materials, bring in the user before construction is completed, allow him to finish, transform, maintain and, in turn, pass things on. And, that is just what happened in the pavilion. It is occupied for the whole duration of the Biennale by the EXYZT group, it is not a staged performance but an architectural act aimed at establishing an unaccustomed type of operation. This system is not 'exhibited', though it does have a certain demonstrative, even educational component. The occupied pavilion is intended to be used. Participants are invited to stay there, not as mere visitors to an exhibition, but as users encouraged to use the site. The aim is for the French Pavilion to be an area where people can rest, have meals, work and exchange.

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