The 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale closed less than a month ago, leaving architects pondering the takeaways of this edition and anticipating the next. The pandemic disrupted the usual cycle of biennials and triennials, as most of the events of 2020 and even some of the ones of 2021 were postponed; nonetheless, next year promises a full calendar of exciting opportunities for knowledge sharing and inquiry. The following are some of the most important architecture events to look forward to in 2022.
International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo
May 21st - July 10th, 2022
The 13th International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo, with its underlying theme of Travessias (Crossings), reflects on the relationship between bodies and territories, engaging with issues such as colonialism, movement of people, displacement and collective memory. Based on Maria Beatriz Nascimento's concept of crossings, the Biennale programme unfolds over a series of distinct "axes" such as democracy, memory, bodies, information, and ecology. What are the urban spaces that stimulate democratic processes? How to address intersectionality?, how do facial recognition IoT and collaborative cartography shape the built environment? What does it entail to build a collective memory? how to balance productive activities and ecology? are just some of the lines of inquiry proposed by the Biennale.
Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism / Architecture (UABB 2022)
August - October 2022
The Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale takes an innovative approach to the traditional architecture event, taking place concurrently in the two cities. With the tentative theme of "Rethink & Rebuild Resilience" and a curator yet to be announced mid-January, the goals and focus of UABB's 8th edition remain to be seen. However, past editions have established this biennial as a platform for innovative ideas relating to cities and urbanization.
Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2022)
September 07th - October 31st, 2022
The 6th edition of TAB, which was scheduled to take place this year, was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic. Under the theme Edible. Or, the Architecture of Metabolism, the event will explore ways in which the natural world can inform the circular economy, highlighting frameworks and logic that can be transferred to the domains of architecture, design and urbanism. Curated by architects Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou in collaboration with co-curator Ivan Sergejev, TAB 2022 aims to empower architects, planners and environmental practitioners to develop a proactive stance on architecture's expressive capacity to perform circular operations, to produce resources – generate food and energy- as well as to decompose itself."
Oslo Architecture Triennale (OAT 2022)
September 21st - November, 2022
Mission Neighbourhood – (Re)forming communities is the working title for OAT 2022 curated by Christian Pagh, an edition that brings to the spotlight the public space and the realm of collectivity. Proposing the neighbourhood scale as a starting point for rethinking cities and the frameworks of everyday life, the Triennale builds on the surging collective interest in the local, as is shown by concepts such as the 15-minute city, as well as the pandemic-triggered preoccupation for the qualities of the immediate urban infrastructure. The event will act as an open laboratory to "boost critical and constructive inquiry into the possibilities of the neighbourhood".
Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022
September 29th - December 05th, 2022
Terra is the 6th edition of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, addressing climate challenges, the depletion of resources and environmental inequalities within the context of an increasingly globalized world. "A declaration of intent and a call to action", the event curated by Portuguese duo Cristina Veríssimo and Diogo Burnay explores ideas for a sustainable future shaped by circular and holistic models, examining material strategies and contemporary design methods, improvements within the urban fabric and visionary narratives. The programme, comprising 4 exhibitions, 4 books, 3 awards, 3 days of conferences and a selection of independent projects, will highlight alternate place-making strategies ranging from the scale of the architectural object to that of the city.
Ibero-American Architecture and Urbanism Biennial (XII BIAU)
September 2022
The XII Iberoamerican Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism will take place in Mexico next year and explore solutions to social, ecological and economic challenges outside mainstream architectural discourse. The Biennial highlights the urban context specific to Iberoamerican territories, reflecting on private and collective space.
While some architecture events embraced hybrid formats this past year, all of the events mentioned are set to take place in-person at the moment of writing. Accompanying this series of biennials and triennials are the yearly architecture festivals and design weeks such as the London Festival of Architecture (1st -30th June 2022), Dutch Design Week, Copenhagen Architecture Festival, Sydney Architecture Festival (November 2022), and the LA Design Festival.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topic: Year in Review. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and projects. Learn more about our monthly topics. As always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.
