THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF PRAGUE ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE OPEN COMPETITION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 18TH BIENNALE OF ARCHITECTURE IN VENICE 2023
International Architecture Biennale in Venice is the largest and most prestigious exhibition of contemporary architecture and current architectural trends. National Gallery Prague is the guarantor of the Czech representation at this international exhibition. The chosen solution deals with one of the key questions of today – can young architects and architects working in precarious conditions build a better world? The concept is built on the unique conditions of the idea and research of professional employment of young architects and architects in the Czech and international context. The current non-standard situation, when the Czech and Slovak pavilion is closed, allows authors to find a new innovative digital and spatial solution unencumbered by the past.
“We were looking for a concept on the topic of the laboratory of the future, which would stand up in the international arena. Our goal is to put the Czech Republic back on the map of architecture. The toxicity of the professional environment of architecture is undoubtedly such a topic. Representatives of all important areas were invited to the jury – representatives of foreign institutions, curators, educators, members of the jury are a dean, an architect and an art critic. The result is a consensus of a wide spectrum of views on the discipline with an overlap into contemporary art,” he says Alicja Knast, CEO National Gallery Prague.
The jury unanimously decided on the winning project with a working title No more uncertain future laboratory (Laboratory of the no-longer-precarious future) from young female curators and architects Karolína Plášková and Eliška Pomyjová and motion designer and UMPRUM teacher Jana Netushil.
“We cannot design a better world in a toxic environment is the central theme of the winning entry,” stated the jury. “Problems of working conditions, precarization, and exploitation are central to the discipline of architecture. I believe that this project will help pave the way for a fairer architecture and a more socially equal profession. Is there a connection between what we build and how we build? If architects are to work ethically and create a better future, they cannot function in a negative professional environment.”
Commissioner of the Czech national team Helena Huber-Doudová adds: “The concept of the exhibition is based on already conducted and published research on the work of young architects in the Czech Republic. The references of the author’s team, the exhibitions Dear Architects and Pře(d)stav si Praha, made us place our trust in the hands of the winning team. Research on the Czech environment that has already been carried out was published in the magazine ERA 21 under the title Podhoubí architektury and is available online.
The winning project proposes a “laboratory for collective thinking and know-how sharing”. It consists of a digital hub/kiosk in front of the Czech pavilion in the Giardini, which can also function as a post meeting and discussion for a number of international guests. An immersive, unsettling environment of an architectural office will be reconstructed 1:1 in the exhibition space at the Arsenal with a connection to an online environment. The website will provide data visualizations and serve as a forum for the public. The publication summarizes international research on the given topic.
National of the Czech Republic at the biennial will take place with support Ministry of Culture.
Jury:
MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF THE CR
Zuzana Jandlováhead of the Department of Bilateral Relations of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
NATIONAL GALLERY IN PRAGUE
Helena Huber-Doudovácommissioner of the Czech representation for the 18th Venice Biennale in 2023 and curator of the Architecture Collection
Radka Neumannovádirector of the Strategy and Planning Section
EXTERNAL MEMBERS
Andreas Rubydirector of the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel
Eva Franch and Gilabertcurator and teacher at Princeton University School of Architecture
Osamu Okamuraarchitect and dean of the Faculty of Art and Architecture of the Technical University in Liberec
Marek Pokornýdirector of Plato Gallery, Ostrava
Marcin Szczelinaarchitect, curator and publicist
Yvette Vašourkováarchitect, theorist and teacher (CCEA MOBA)
