‘Freespace describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture’s agenda, focusing on the quality of space itself.’ With this bold statement, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara begin their manifesto for ‘Freespace’, the 16th International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia which continues until 25 November at the Giardini and the Arsenale. Farrell and McNamara are best known as the internationally acclaimed duo behind Grafton Architects. This February, for example, the firm was awarded the RIAI Gold Medal for Architecture (2007-2009) for its design for Bocconi University, Milan. Now, as curators of Freespace, they’re addressing different issues: the question of space; the quality of space; and the presence or absence of architecture within that space. It’s a big project. The seventy-one participants are divided into two sections: Close Encounter, which reflects on buildings of the past; and The Practice of Teaching, which is concerned with projects developed in the context of teaching. ‘When we were writing the Manifesto, we wanted primarily to include the word space,’ write Farrell and McNamara in their statement for Freespace.
Freespace until 26 November
