Time Space Existence 2023 Envisions New Sustainable Ways Forward

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on May 05, 2023

Organized and hosted by the European Cultural Centre (ECC), a non-profit organization committed to promoting culture through international exchanges, the sixth edition of the Time Space Existence exhibition “will draw attention to the emerging expressions of sustainability in its numerous forms, ranging from a focus on the environment and urban landscape to the unfolding conversations on innovation, reuse, community, and inclusion.”.

Architects, designers, artists, academics, and photographers, from 52 different countries will come together to explore and contemplate the philosophical concepts of Time, Space, and Existence, through different mediums and from diverse perspectives. Highlighting a total of 217 projects, the exhibition will run from the 20th of May until the 26th of November, 2023, at Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens, in Venice, during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Throughout the six months of opening, the show will be complemented by a program of talks, conferences, and workshops.

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Crafting an exhibition that aims to re-envision new ways of living and rethink architecture in today’s context, the 2023 edition is a direct response to climate change, social justice, digital building technology, decarbonization of the building industry, etc. Focused on the notion that “our home, our surroundings, and our planet are under pressure, urging us to work together to explore a sustainable way forward”, the architecture presentation organized every other year, aims to become essentially a platform for exchange and experimentation, a dialogue among of participants working across different disciplines. In fact, it puts in place a living workshop, where practitioners from all over the world can work together and present their own visions.

Holcim and the Norman Foster Foundation to Announce Essential Houses Research Project at the 2023 Venice Biennale

With our architecture exhibition we continue the research on the fundamental topics of time, space and existence. We started this project back in 2011 with the idea of bringing together in Venice a group of architects, designers, academics, and creative working across disciplines, and to promote exchange among different cultures and initiate an engaging dialogue. With this exhibition we hope to provide everyone with the opportunity to discover different voices and perspectives on architecture, while also raising awareness on the fundamental issues in contemporary architecture nowadays. -- Rachele De Stefano, Head of Architecture at ECC Italy

Read on to discover more about this year’s contributors with text from the ECC, and for the full list of participants, check the official website of the Time Space Existence exhibition.

Digital building technology

With the aim to investigate carbon-free solutions, the University of Stuttgart filigree concrete structure demonstrates how lightweight constructions can contribute to the decarbonization of the building industry. On the other hand, studios and research groups introduce new technologically innovative construction techniques and materials that can sustain the cities of tomorrow. ETH Block Research Group in collaboration with Digital Building Technology, explores on-site prefabrication using by-product material, whereas Princeton University together with SOM utilizes augmented reality to create a self-supporting vault.

Climate emergency: migration and climate displacement

Investigating ways to ameliorate the impacts of the current cost of living crisis and address the need for social and spatial justice.

The Norman Foster Foundation (NFF) and Holcim present the Essential Homes Research Project, a proposal to provide displaced people with safe, comfortable, and dignified homes. Designed by the Norman Foster Foundation and built with Holcim sustainable solutions, the project opens the conversation on how to make sustainable buildings accessible to everyone. Rafi Segal and Susannah Drake examine the existential threat that climate change poses on communities in Miami, studying the legacy of racial segregation in South Florida. To tackle the issue of people displacement due to political reasons or natural disasters, Hariri & Hariri design prefabricated folding POD that are affordable and secure, whereas the Civic Data Design Lab at MIT collaborated with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) to outline interactive visualizations which illustrate critical findings about the root causes of migration. Other projects examine the tensions between the built urban environment and the nature surrounding it, identifying opportunities for coexistence and establishing a dialogue with local culture. All of these realities and pressures are shifting how we live and perceive our surroundings. Counterbalance by Snohetta is a site-specific installation at Marinaressa Gardens, a collective furnishing in dialogue with the Venetian lagoon and the natural environment that they describe to be at once, a bench, a seesaw, a room, an instrument, an artifact, and a folly, while Gerber Architekten demonstrates different attitudes and approaches in dealing with the landscape, making the building a mediator between urban structure and the natural environment.

Solutions for a better living

Creating space for discussion, celebrating women in architecture and emerging talents, and portraying new scenarios for our cities

The project Reconceptualizing Urban Housing brings together nine women-led practices from around the globe: Adengo Architecture, Alison Brooks Architects, Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, Eleena Jamil Architect, Fernanda Canales Arquitectura, Manuelle Gautrand Architecture, Mecanoo, Meyer-Grohbruegge, and Studio Gang investigate how urban collective housing can be more liveable and how it can be ensured that the design of housing will enhance inhabitants’ wellbeing and quality of life. Looking at Tehran’s current urban fabric, Studio Pouisti offers an alternative to conventional models of habitation and dense urban living, proposing a vertical flow between the skyline of the building and its feet. In a more utopian way, artist Pedro Friedberg imagines a city where all problems are solved in a dream of love. Each of his works presents a series of elements that function as a semiotic theatre of civilization.

Finally, the European Cultural Centre has partnered up with the EUmies Awards - Young Talent 2023, supporting the talent of recently graduated architects, urban planners, and landscape architects, who will be responsible for transforming our environment in the future. The results of this year’s edition will be presented as a Collateral Event of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia with an exhibition titled The Laboratory of Education. The show will open on the 20th of May, and run until the 26th of November, 2023 at the European Cultural Centre’s historical venue of Palazzo Mora. An award ceremony and debate will complete the exhibition and will take place on the 29th of June, 2023 at Palazzo Michiel in Venice.

Title Time Space Existence

Venues: Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora & Marinaressa Gardens
Location: Venice, Italy
Promoter: European Cultural Centre
Organisers: Benedetta Bianchi, Elisa Dallanoce, Sara Danieli, Rachele De Stefano, Hadi El Hage, Bérénice Freytag, Ilaria Marcatelli, Vittoria Mastrolilli, Lucia Pedrana, Martina Rodella, Lucia Trevisan, Suzanne van der Borg, Elena Volpato.
Period: 20 May - 26 November 2023
Openings: 18 - 19 May 2023

Collateral Event: Mies van der Rohe Awards – EUmies Awards

Venue: Palazzo Mora
Location: Venice, Italy
Partner: Fundacio Mies van der Rohe, the European Union’s programme, European Cultural Centre
Period: 20 May - 26 November 2023
Award Ceremony: 29th of June, 2023 at Palazzo Michiel in Venice