austrian pavilion at the venice biennale

austrian pavilion at the venice biennale image © günter wett

the austrian pavilion at the ongoing 13th international architecture exhibition features a shifting installation which entirely omits the presence of buildings and instead turns to those whom inhabit them. human figures move along the structure’s walls, responding to the visitor’s dynamic location. the starting point of the works is rooted within the advancing technological developments over the past decades with the ‘processing’ and ‘forming’ of the human body within medical and natural sciences fields. celebrating the object of research which touches our everyday lives along with these influences on the architectonic thought and the production of space are addressed with the choreography.

a social physics is produced with the interplay of the animated figures and questions arise about the role of architecture under these conditions. will architecture and the handling of our bodies change to such an extent that both areas enter into symbiotic relationships and thus abandon or swap their traditional roles?

interior walls of the pavilion are surfaced with video projections of the human body image © günter wett

image © günter wett

team of the austrian pavilion: martin perktold, rens veltman, wolfgang tschapeller, arno ritter, christina jauernik, simon oberhammer with minister for culture claudia schmied image © günter wett

(from left to righT) commissioner arno ritter, minister for culture claudia schmeid, state secretary josef ostermayer image © günter wett