VENICE - Giardini

10th Biennale of Architecture - Italian Pavilion. The Royal College of Art Architecture deptment's contribution to this year's Biennale with the theme Cities, Architecture and Society (curated by Biennale Director Richard Burdett) is an interesting exhibition of fifteen projects called Babylon:Don and is curated by Nigel Coates. As one of the most cosmopolitan cities anywhere, London is transforming into Europe's only ubercity; it is now a place that belongs to the world and no longer just to Britain. Though it offers high rewards for an infinite variety of aspirations, its multi-culture is showing serious signs of strain. Is the role of architecture to help pull a disparate city together or to accentuate its differences? The coordinated selection of projects reflect on these broad issues for London. Rather than solutions, they are intended as critiques or 'mightlihoods'. The show features architectural consequences of current tendencies such as the ecstatic city, the city as brand environment, idiocy as modernist critique, the cross-over of underworld and overworld, and sustainable futures with a selfish edge. Shown above is Nicola's Koller's project called, This Sceptered Isle.

www.labiennale.org. www.rca.ac.uk

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