Official Portuguese representation at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale. In Conflict by depA architects
22/05/2022.
[VEN] Italy
metalocus, ÁNGELA MARTÍNEZ
metalocus, ÁNGELA MARTÍNEZ
Description of project by depA architects
The exhibition, present at the Palazzo Giustinian Lolin and part of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, gives news of Portuguese architecture in the temporal arch of democracy through seven processes marked by material destruction, social displacement or popular participation. All of these have had a sound media coverage amplified by the press – used here as a barometer of public action and involvement in the various processes. In Conflict promotes, through the exhibition and also through a series of debates, a thought about the role of architecture as an artistic, public, political and ethical discipline, in the hope of contributing to the project of a common future.
On the main floor of the Palazzo, the exhibition, which welcomes the seven architectural processes, supports a specular reading of the content based on the use of the mirror, as a device that creates a heterotopic space between the apparent fatality of the real and the will of the utopia of the debate they present. The mirror does not seek to neutralize the existing atmosphere of the palace rooms. Rather, it establishes a kaleidoscopic relationship, which breaks the spatial configuration and subverts the reading of the salons – characterized by paintings, fabrics, wallpapers and original mirrors – inventing space where it does not exist. It is therefore the mirror, the “polished” side of the device, which initially presents each project and also serves as a backdrop for the three-dimensional piece that rests on the plinth in front of it. Finally, on its reverse side, there is additional information, printed either on unpolished plate - invoking the large printing plates of the press which is itself one of the bases of the exposed material - sometimes on posters, reinforcing the analogue and manual tone that covers the entire exhibition project.
At the main entrance, the androne giving access to the Grand Canal, several televisions broadcasts an audiovisual installation, edited from archival television material and a selection of documentaries and short films dedicated to the seven processes. The regi set, which once again invokes the press, is another kaleidoscopic scenario that helps to frame the limit of the debate table.
At last, the debate table itself completes the exhibition scenography. Designed from the geometry of the floor of the space where it is located, and within the materiality of the remaining exhibition set, it is a symbol of meeting and discussion spaces, places of public conflict where architecture is included. The table, such as the dome and chair also specially designed for the exhibition, hosted a series of conversations that brought together agents of the transformation of the territory and the design of cities.
The depA collective was created in Porto in 2009. It is now run by Carlos Azevedo, João Crisóstomo and Luís Sobral and its staff covers the areas of architecture and the social sciences.
depA is focused on researching architectural practice through active listening on the idiosyncrasies of each project. There is a specific commitment to the dimension of time in the interventions: ranging from the interpretation of existing structures and architectural heritage to the open and progressive reintegration of spatial systems.
Some examples are the Casa da Cultura de Pinhel (Pinhel House of Culture), winner of the prize for best museum practice and an honourable mention by the Portuguese Association of Museology (2016), Casa do Rosário (Rosário House), winner of the Concreta Under 40 award (2017), honourable mention in the Nuno Teotónio Pereira prize in 2019 and honourable mention in the João de Almada Prize in 2019 and the Pavilhão do Lago (Lake Pavilion), winner of the FAD awards, in 2018.
Alongside this depA seeks to keep its practices and investigations relevant by taking part in competitions, which are special moments for wide-ranging and compelling research. Among them is the first prize achieved for the design of the Santiago Ydañez Museum of Contemporary Art (2010), in Jaén, Spain; the second place in the public tender for the renewal of Quinta de Baixo (2014), in Porto, and the first place for the design of the Mechanized Pedestrian Paths(2017), in collaboration with Pablo Pita architects, which will connect the riverside area of Porto to the upper town.
The collective has also designed more artistically focused projects that challenge the approach to architectural techniques, as well as being catalysts to a more pluralistic and cross-disciplinary conceptualisation. It was invited to design the set of the Fórum do Futuro (Forum of the Future) in 2018 and, that same year, Pavilhão do Lago (Lake Pavilion), built at Serralves Park as part of the 32nd São Paulo Bienalle - ‘Incerteza Viva’ (Living Uncertainty), was selected to be exhibited at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, as part of the 2018 Biennale di Venezia, while Sulco (2019) is part of the Desencaminharte project, which recognises and values artistic production in the Alto Minho region of Portugal. Alongside these projects, depA has also worked with Daniel Steegman, Lais Myrrha and Dayana Lucas, in close collaboration for the production of their projects.
In 2019, depA was awarded the tender for the curatorship of the Portuguese representation at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia, in 2020, with the In Conflict project.