Italian architect Simone
Sfriso will curate Italy's pavilion at the 15th Biennale
International Architecture Exhibition in Venice in 2016, Culture
Minister Dario Franceschini said on Tuesday.
Sfriso was chosen following a selection procedure in which
10 candidates were invited to present an exhibition project,
Franceschini said.
He said Sfriso's proposal matched the theme of the overall
curator of the international show, Alejandro Aravena, who aims
to investigate ways to combine architecture with modern efforts
to boost sustainability and quality of life.
Franceschini said Sfriso's project also deals
"courageously" with the theme of urban periphery regeneration,
which the minister described as "the major challenge of the
century".
He said candidates had been specifically asked to address
the theme of the urban periphery, as Italy's culture ministry is
also trying to incentivise local authorities to spread cultural
initiatives out to city suburbs.
Sfriso, a project planner and consultant in the sustainable
architecture sector, has called his proposal for the show
"Taking Care: planning for the common good".
It aims to look at how architecture can contribute to
spreading principles of culture, participation, health and
integration.
Sfriso, 49, was named Italian architect of the year in
2014.
He has worked widely in the developing worlds, especially
on hospitals in Africa.
His speciality, though, is the 'requalification' of urban
peripheries.
The 15th International Architecture Exhibition is due to
run from end-May to end-November 2016.
Chilean architect Aravena has chosen the theme "Reporting
From the Front" after consulting with representatives from the
48 participating countries.
The 48-year-old presented the theme last week with Biennale
President Paolo Baratta.
"For some years now we have been saying that the hallmark
of our times is the mismatch between architecture and civil
society. Now Alejandro Aravena is taking us into that
battleground, showing us that if we strive to formulate clearer
questions, which are then taken into account while identifying
solutions, architecture really can make a difference," Baratta
said.
In contrast to last year's Biennale, in which Rem Koolhaas
shaped everything towards his own personal research, Aravena's
Biennale focuses on the external environment.
"There are several battles that need to be won and several
frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the
quality of the built environment and consequently people's
quality of life," Aravena said.
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