Two new shows launch at the V-A-C Foundation in Venice
The V-A-C Foundation is bustling with news and activity. Not only is the Russian art platform making fast advances on its upcoming home by Renzo Piano in Moscow (the redesign of a decommissioned power station into a gallery); its Venice outpost, Palazzo delle Zattere, has just launched not one, but two new offerings during the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale that previews today.
The first one is a new installation developed by architecture and design collaborative Assemble and We Are Here, an independent non-profit organisation that ‘addresses Venice’s challenges as a living city by strengthening connections between the best available information and stakeholders.’ The new courtyard installation is freely open to the public and aims to enhance the relationship between Venice and its context.
Entitled ‘Laguna Viva’, the piece is a meandering green landscape of hills and ponds, referencing the water and nature of Venice, its lagoons and salt marsh habitat. This is designed to evolve and change over time; and it is only phase 1 in the V-A-C’s collaboration with Assemble. At the end of the year, the piece will be covered in tiles and transform into the foundation’s next phase – as part of an ongoing strategy to enable the foundation to connect with its surroundings. For now, the installation is going to sit right next to the Assemble designed new bar and restaurant for the complex, sudest 1401.
The second show opening this week at Palazzo delle Zattere is ‘The Explorers, part One’, organised by London’s Whitechapel Gallery and curated by its director, Iwona Blazwick. Working with pieces from the V-A-C Foundation collection, the exhibition looks at piece discovered in the collection by artists Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, James Richards, Mike Nelson and Fiona Banner, mixing paintings, prints and photographs in a journey through nature and human nature.
See all the latest news and stories from Venice Architecture Biennale here
INFORMATION
For more information visit the V-A-C Foundation website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Wallpaper* checks in at the refreshed W Hollywood: ‘more polish and less party’
The W Hollywood introduces a top-to-bottom reimagining by the Rockwell Group, capturing the genuine warmth and spirit of Southern California
By Carole Dixon Published
-
Book a table at Row on 5 in London for the dinner party of dreams
Row on 5, located on the storied Savile Row, emerges as a perfectly tailored fit for fans of fine dining
By Ben McCormack Published
-
How a bijou jewellery salon in Monaco set the jewellery trends for 2025
Inside the inaugural edition of Joya, where jewellery is celebrated as miniature works of art
By Jean Grogan Published
-
Turin’s Museo Egizio gets an OMA makeover for its bicentenary
The Gallery of the Kings at Turin’s Museo Egizio has been inaugurated after being remodelled by OMA, in collaboration with Andrea Tabocchini Architecture
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
A floor made of tomato skins? Welcome to the Mutti Canteen by Carlo Ratti in Parma
Mutti Canteen by Carlo Ratti is a new, environmentally friendly foodie piece of architecture within Parma's green countryside
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Naples Central Station boasts a wavy, wooden signature roof that is dramatic and sculptural
Naples Underground Central Station by Benedetta Tagliabue is a work of art that’s inviting and vibrant, matching its dynamic context
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Venice Architecture Biennale 2025: a glimpse of what’s to come and Carlo Ratti's circular economy manifesto
Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 curator Carlo Ratti talks about the theme, 'Intelligens' and launches his circular economy manifesto; the first glimpses into what’s to come at the festival's launch next spring
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is an essential tour of the Italian master’s works
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is the perfect book for architecture enthusiasts
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
New Aesop Milan store is a haven of beauty and tranquillity
The latest Aesop Milan store to open is a hub of wellness, beauty and tranquillity in the Italian metropolis
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A new water mirror casts a misty veil over ancient Roman baths
Architect Hannes Peer reveals a water mirror in Rome – an immersive architectural installation at the heart of the ancient Baths of Caracalla
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Giovanni Michelucci’s dramatic concrete church in the Italian Dolomites
Giovanni Michelucci’s concrete Church of Santa Maria Immacolata in the Italian Dolomites is a reverently uplifting memorial to the victims of a local disaster
By Jonathan Glancey Published