Counteract
Temporary Exhibition 20th May - 20th November 20th
2023
18th Biennale di Architettura di Venezia, Italy
~ 50 sqm
Stage One, AECOM, ApARTe°/Escuela Moderna
Andrea Maretto, Leonne Vögelin, Nataniel Sawadogo, Fabiola Büchele
Francis’s Kéré was invited by Lesley Lokko, the first African curator of the Biennale Architettura in Venice, to participate in the Biennale Architettura 2023 exhibition titled “Laboratory of the Future”. Occupying two rooms in the Central Pavilion in Giardini, Kéré’s installation sought to give context to the history and potential future of the architecture from and for West Africa. “Just because our history was interrupted by others, does not mean our future has to be,” read Kéré Architectures curatorial statement. The installation explores what this may mean for architecture through three themes: Was Was, What Is and What Can Be.
What Was took the shape of a clay wall showcasing the sustainable material that has been tried and tested in West African architecture for centuries.
What Is attempts to drive home the crammed and more uncomfortable living conditions of urban living in many of West Africa’s metropolises today, with an abstract interpretation of the concrete structures commonly found in rapidly growing urban areas.
For the installation’s highlight, What Can Be, Francis Kéré prototypes what happens when the expertise of traditional architecture is thoughtfully braided together with the needs of contemporary living. The work occupies a dedicated room, and takes the shape of an organic pavilion, inviting visitors to pause and immerse themselves in an architecture that feels at once familiar and unlike anything they have experienced before.
Staying true to Kéré’s participatory way of working, the details of the installation were worked out with Stage One, a York based creative manufacturing and engineering company, which has been a trusted Kéré partner since their collaboration for the studio’s Serpentine Pavilion in 2017. Stage One’s team familiarised itself with working with clay for the first time and in a close creative exchange ensured the vision of Kéré Architecture was turned into a viable installation format.
Francis’s Kéré was invited by Lesley Lokko, the first African curator of the Biennale Architettura in Venice, to participate in the Biennale Architettura 2023 exhibition titled “Laboratory of the Future”. Occupying two rooms in the Central Pavilion in Giardini, Kéré’s installation sought to give context to the history and potential future of the architecture from and for West Africa. “Just because our history was interrupted by others, does not mean our future has to be,” read Kéré Architectures curatorial statement. The installation explores what this may mean for architecture through three themes: Was Was, What Is and What Can Be.
What Was took the shape of a clay wall showcasing the sustainable material that has been tried and tested in West African architecture for centuries.
What Is attempts to drive home the crammed and more uncomfortable living conditions of urban living in many of West Africa’s metropolises today, with an abstract interpretation of the concrete structures commonly found in rapidly growing urban areas.
For the installation’s highlight, What Can Be, Francis Kéré prototypes what happens when the expertise of traditional architecture is thoughtfully braided together with the needs of contemporary living. The work occupies a dedicated room, and takes the shape of an organic pavilion, inviting visitors to pause and immerse themselves in an architecture that feels at once familiar and unlike anything they have experienced before.
Staying true to Kéré’s participatory way of working, the details of the installation were worked out with Stage One, a York based creative manufacturing and engineering company, which has been a trusted Kéré partner since their collaboration for the studio’s Serpentine Pavilion in 2017. Stage One’s team familiarised itself with working with clay for the first time and in a close creative exchange ensured the vision of Kéré Architecture was turned into a viable installation format.
